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  • The Literary District
    • Executive Partners
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  • Map
  • Events
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    • Take a Tour
  • Get Involved
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Upcoming Literary Events

Lesley University Winter Evening Reading Series (January 4th through 12th)
January 4 | Various
Lesley University Winter Evening Reading Series (January 4th through 12th)
Lesley University’s winter evening reading series will bring a variety of acclaimed authors to campus from Jan. 4 through Jan. 12 at Marran Theater, 34 Mellen St., Cambridge. All readings are free and open to the public.

The full schedule is as follows:
Friday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m.
Steven Cramer, poetry
Laurie Foos, fiction

Saturday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Renée Watson, guest reader, writing for young people

Sunday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
Stephen Haven, poetry
Kate Snodgrass, stage and screen

Monday, Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Danielle Legros Georges, poetry
Chris Lynch, writing for young people

Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
Jane Brox, nonfiction
Jason Reynolds, writing for young people

Thursday, Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m. | Graduating Student Readings
Kyle Gregory, Rhiannon Houch, Jennifer Kudelka, Abigail C.K. Lill, Rahima Rice

Friday, Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m. | Graduating Student Readings
Paul Astorino, Michelle Boland, John Doole, Kristina Fedeczko, Gabriella Irwin, Linda Kaufman, Elizabeth Rose

Saturday, Jan. 12 at 3:00 p.m. | Graduating Student Readings
Delyn Arey, Jo-Anne Hart, Livia Hermiz, Mundy McLaughlin, Liz Shick

Our MFA in Creative Writing holds two residencies per year, in January and June. Each residency offers a wide range of MFA faculty readings representing the program’s literary genres as well as other acclaimed visiting writers.
The 90-minute literary salon-style program will be educational and interactive. It will include a mini lecture on “Poets of the Old South Through the Centuries,” then readings of selected poems from 18th, 19th, and 21st centuries by a bevy of local poets, plus an open mic audience participation opportunity with a poem from the 1877 collection Poems of the Old South. Following the readings, guest poets will lead small discussion sessions on featured poets of the evening – Just listen, or bring your questions and thoughts to a box-pew discussion. The program will culminate with a poem written on the spot for the event by Allison Adair of Poetry on Demand!
Details >
AFTER EMILY Reading at the Boston Athenaeum
January 8 | 12:00-1:00pm
AFTER EMILY Reading at the Boston Athenaeum
Julie Dobrow reveals the untold story of the extraordinary mother and daughter who brought Emily Dickinson’s genius to light in After Emily: Two Remarkable Women and the Legacy of America’s Greatest Poet. Despite Emily Dickinson’s world renown, the story of the two women most responsible for her initial posthumous publication—Mabel Loomis Todd and her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham—has remained in the shadows of the archives. A rich and compelling portrait of women who refused to be confined by the social mores of their era, After Emilyexplores Mabel and Millicent’s complex bond, as well as the powerful literary legacy they shared. Mabel’s tangled relationships with the Dickinsons—including a thirteen-year extramarital relationship with Emily’s brother, Austin—roiled the small town of Amherst, Massachusetts.

As the poems grew in popularity, legal issues arose between the Dickinson and Todd families, dredging up their scandals: the affair, the ownership of Emily’s poetry, and the right to define the so-called “Belle of Amherst.”

Julie Dobrow explores the intrigue of Emily Dickinson’s literary beginnings, shedding light on the importance of the earliest editions of Emily’s work—including the controversial editorial decisions made to introduce her singular genius to the world—and reveals the surprising impact Mabel and Millicent had on the poet we know today.

Julie Dobrow is a professor with appointments in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development and the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University and serves as director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. Her writing has appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine and the Huffington Post, among other publications. She lives outside of Boston.
Details >
Belle Brett reads from GINA IN THE FLOATING WORLD at Blemont Books
January 10 | 7:00PM
Belle Brett reads from GINA IN THE FLOATING WORLD at Blemont Books
Many novelists begin with their own life experiences or familiar settings, but in the course of revising, greatly transform their stories. Belle Brett will read from, discuss, take questions about, and discuss the evolution of her novel, Gina in the Floating World (She Writes Press), which was inspired by her own experiences as a bar hostess in Tokyo in the 1970s.
Details >

News and Press

Great Press in the Boston Book Blog

Great Press in the Boston Book Blog

There’s so much rich literary history here in Boston that it’s high time to be recognizing it. The first of its kind anywhere ever, the Literary District encompasses the area surrounding the Common and Public Garden, catching all the sites from Dartmouth Street in Back Bay to Government Center, and from Beacon Hill to Kneeland Street. The Literary District website is not only highlighting locations where historical literary events have occurred, they’re pointing towards contemporary sites where writing events are happening in Boston today.

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