An extraordinary testament of a mother’s love and advocacy for her child, Elle & Coach tells the story of a remarkable young girl’s optimism in the face of true hardship and is a moving, must-read book for any person learning to live with chronic illness or overcome any kind of overwhelming adversity.
“This book is much more than a heartwarming story about a triumphant little girl and her amazing dog. It’s a book about never giving up hope.” —Michael J. Fox, actor, producer, and activist
Stefany Shaheen, an alumna of Fairfield University, has dedicated herself to making life better for people living with diabetes. She is on the Board of Trustees at Joslin Diabetes Center, served as the National Chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Congress, and currently serves on the Foundation’s Research and Advocacy Committee. Mark Dagostino is a New York Times bestselling coauthor and former senior writer for People magazine.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the MFA in Creative Writing, the Office of Alumni Relations, the School of Nursing and the Learning for a Lifetime program.
Wednesday, September 30 at 7 p.m
Baron Wormser
Unidentified Sighing Objects
Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, CT
In his tenth collection of poems, Baron Wormser continues a poetic journey begun more than three decades ago—a journey that has traversed the quotidian and the unexpected with equal measures of insight, emotion, and lyric grace. He delivers his own brand of everyday realism, shaped by the wisdom gained from a lifetime viewed through an expectant eye. Man falls, Wormser tells us. But, he also rises.
From sports to art, from childhood to death, Wormser’s poetic purview is all-embracing and ever curious about the world we inhabit. Whether writing of Diane Arbus or Andy Warhol, the Nuremberg trials or the fall of the Berlin Wall, jazz or the Dave Clark Five, he lends humor and wisdom to the quest for meaning each of us endures.
Baron Wormser is the author of eight books of poetry, a memoir and a collection of short stories. He is Director of Educational Outreach at the Frost Place in Franconia, New Hampshire and has served as poet laureate of Maine from 2000 to 2005.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by by the MFA in Creative Writing, the department of English and the Learning for a Lifetime program.
Thursday, October 15 at 7 p.m.
Toby Svoboda
Duties Regarding Nature: A Kantian Environmental Ethic
Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, CT
In his book, Toby Svoboda develops and defends a Kantian environmental virtue ethic, challenging the widely-held view that Kant's moral philosophy has little to offer environmental ethics. On the contrary, Svoboda contends that on Kantian grounds, there is good moral reason to care about non-human organisms in their own right and to value their flourishing independently of human interests, since doing so is constitutive of certain (environmental) virtues.
Toby Svoboda is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fairfield University, USA. His work on animal and environmental ethics has been published in Environmental Values, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, and Ethics, Policy & Environment, among other journals.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Philosophy and the Learning for a Lifetime program.
Thursday, October 22 at 7 p.m.
Gene Baur
Living The Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day
Aloysius P. Kelley Center Presentation Room, Fairfield University
Gene Baur, the cofounder and president of Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, knows the key to happiness lies in aligning your beliefs with your actions. In this definitive vegan and animal-friendly lifestyle guide, he and Gene Stone, author of Forks Over Knives, explore the deeply transformative experience of visiting the sanctuary and its profound effects on people’s lives. The book covers the basic tenets of Farm Sanctuary life--eating in harmony with your values, connecting with nature, and reducing stress--and offers readers simple ways to incorporate these principles into their lives.
“Living the Farm Sanctuary Life gives really good advice as to how we can make this a better world for farm animals and for ourselves as well.” - Jane Goodall
To reserve a seat, please email Elizabeth Hastings at ehastings@fairfield.edu.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the MFA in Creative Writing and Fairfield Public Library and co-sponsored by the department of Environmental Studies
Tuesday, November 3 at 7 p.m.
Chris Belden
Shriver
Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, CT
Mistaken for a famous but reclusive author of the same name, lonely Shriver attends a writers’ conference at a small Midwestern liberal arts college. Completely unfamiliar with the novel he supposedly wrote and utterly unprepared for the magnitude of the reputation that precedes him, Shriver is feted, fawned over, featured at stuffy literary panels, and barely manages to play it cool. Things quickly go awry when one of the other guest authors suddenly disappears and Shriver becomes a prime suspect in the investigation. Amidst eager fans, Shriver must contend with a persistent police detective, a pesky journalist determined to unearth his past, and a mysterious and possibly dangerous stalker who seems to know his secret. But most vexing of all, Shriver’s gone and fallen in love with the conference organizer, who believes he’s someone else.
"Chris Belden's Shriver is as hilarious and smart as Michael Malone's Foolscap, as wise and sympathetic as Stoner. Academic farces don't come any better." -- Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls
Chris Belden, author, musician and teacher, is the author of the novels Shriver and Carry-on, & the story collection The Floating Lady of Lake Tawaba, which won the Fairfield/New Rivers Book Prize. Chris is an alumnus of the Fairfield University MFA in Creative Writing.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the MFA in Creative Writing
Thursday, November 12 at 7 p.m.
Colin D. Halloran
Icarian Flux
Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, CT
Colin D. Halloran, a combat veteran of Afghanistan, is an internationally published poet, essayist, and artist. His debut collection, Shortly Thereafter, a memoir-in-verse documenting his experiences on the front lines of Afghanistan and the impact they had on him when returning to civilian life, won the 2012 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, and was declared a Massachusetts Must-Read Book of 2013. His follow-up collection, Icarian Flux, picks up where Shortly Thereafter left off, exploring his post-military life with PTSD. However, Icarian Flux leaves behind the direct narrative non-fiction style. It relies on experimental narration and form, metaphor, and, most prominently, persona to delve into the highs and lows of a changed worldview and understanding of the self.
Halloran holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Fairfield University, where he now teaches.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the MFA in Creative Writing.
Thursday, November 19 at 7 p.m.
Lynne Porter
Unmasking Theatre Design
Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, CT
Every great design has its beginnings in a great idea, whether your medium of choice is scenery, costume, lighting, sound, or projections. Unmasking Theatre Design shows you how to cultivate creative thinking skills through every step of theatre design--from the first play reading to the finished design presentation. This book reveals how creative designers think in order to create unique and appropriate works for individual productions. Revealing the inner workings of the design process, both theoretically and practically, Unmasking Theatre Design will jumpstart the creative processes of designers at all levels, from student to professionals, as you construct new production designs.
Lynne Porter, a professional scenic designer, is a Professor of Theater and the Resident Designer in the Theatre Program at Fairfield University, where she teaches, administrates and designs. She is currently the Director of the Theatre Program in the Visual and Performing Arts Department.
This event offers free inspiration for writers. It is open to the public and is presented by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Learning for a Lifetime program.