Monday, March 25, 2019

Boswell happenings: Patrick McGilligan tonight, Educator Night on Wednesday, Lisa Vihos and friends on Saturday, Rabbi Abraham Skorka on Sunday at the Lux Center, plus Silvia Acevedo next Monday

Boswell happenings for this week!

Monday, March 25, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Patrick McGilligan, author of Funny Man: Mel Brooks

Milwaukee based biographer and Marquette Instructor of Digital Media and Performing Arts Partrick McGilligan, author of definitive biographies of Orson Wells and Alfred Hitchcock, delves into the life of a true legend, comedy giant Mel Brooks. Cosponsored by UWM’s Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies.

McGilligan insightfully navigates the famous funnyman’s life story, from Brooks’s childhood in Williamsburg tenements and breakthrough in early television to Hollywood and Broadway peaks (and valleys). His book offers a meditation on the Jewish immigrant culture that influenced Brooks, snapshots of the golden age of comedy, and behind the scenes revelations about the celebrated shows and films.

Chris Foran reviewed Funny Man for the Journal Sentinel: "McGilligan, a Milwaukee-based biographer whose subjects have ranged from Orson Welles to Clint Eastwood, has put together a more-bitter-than-sweet portrait of a comedian whose art is powered by jealousy, a persecution complex and, sometimes, rage."

Patrick McGilligan is author the Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane, the New York Times Notable Book Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast and the Edgar Award-nominated Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light. He lives in Milwaukee and teaches at Marquette.

Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 pm, at Boswell:
Spring Educator Night

It’s Educator Night at Boswell! We’ve put together an informative and entertaining evening for teachers serving kids from elementary schools through high school. Boswell’s Jenny will give a short slide presentation featuring the joys of bringing in authors to your school. We’ll hear from a school librarian about how they go about putting their visits together and from a parent whose PTO does a successful and fun shopping night fundraiser. And as a special treat, our Penguin Random House reps Jill and Tim will be presenting highlights from their lists. We’ll have light refreshments and advance reading copy goodie bags for all.

Registration required for this event boswelleducatorspring19.bpt.me by Wednesday at 10 am. Let us know your school and district information in the ‘company field.’

Saturday, March 30, 4:00 pm, at Boswell: Lisa Vihos, editor of Van Gogh Dreams: Poems Inspired by the Art and Life of Vincent Van Gogh

Celebrate the birthday of one of the world’s most renowned and recognized artists (he’d be just 166 years young!) with Wisconsin poet Lisa Vihos, editor of Van Gogh Dreams, an anthology of poetry inspired by the artist who himself once said, “poetry surrounds us everywhere.”

Van Gogh Dreams is an anthology of poems by 31 poets that illuminate the life and art of Vincent van Gogh. Vihos will be joined by several anthology contributors who will read their work, including Mary Jo Balistreri, Sylvia Cavanaugh, Kathryn Gahl, Frederick Kreutz, CJ Muchala, Mara Ptacek, Paula Schulz, David Southward, and Sister Irene Zimmerman.

Lisa Vihos is author of Fan Mail from Some Flounder and three other chapbooks. Her poems have appeared in Forge, Verse Wisconsin, and Wisconsin People and Ideas and have been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Vihos is the Poetry and Arts Editor of Stoneboat Literary Journal and guest blogger for The Best American Poetry. She lives in Sheboygan and is an organizer there for 100 Thousand Poets for Change.

Sunday, March 31, 2:00 pm, at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, 7335 S Hwy 100 in Franklin:
Abraham Skorka, author of On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century

The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology presents keynote speaker Rabbi Abraham Skorka for a lecture titled ‘The Pope and the Rabbi: A Faithful Friendship.’

Admission is free of charge. Please RSVP by March 25 to Bonnie Shafrin, Director, The Lux Center, by emailing bshafrin@shsst.edu or by calling (414) 529-6966. For more information, visit luxcenter.shsst.edu.

Guided by their own religious convictions, Rabbi Skorka and Pope Francis spent years conversing about their understanding of God and of each other. For years Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Argentina, and Rabbi Abraham Skorka have promoted interreligious dialogues on faith and reason, as both sought to build bridges among Catholicism, Judaism, and the world at large. On Heaven and Earth brings together a series of conversations about various theological and worldly issues.

Abraham Skorka is an Argentine rabbi and biophysicist. He is the Rabbi of the Jewish community Benei Tikva, and a Professor of Biblical and Rabbinic Literature and Rector at the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano.

Monday, April 1, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Silvia Acevedo, writing as S Acevedo, author of God Awful Rebel

Wisconsin journalist and former reporter for Milwaukee’s WISN and WTMJ, Silvia Acevedo, writing as S Acevedo, presents the third and final installment of her mythological adventure series for YA fans, God Awful Rebel. She’ll chat with Valerie Biel, Wisconsin author of the Circle of Nine fantasy series. This event is perfect for adults and kids age 7 and up.

In God Awful Rebel, the once-banished god of love has saved the kingdom, been declared heir to Olympus, and will wed the girl of his dreams. But when three snake-haired sisters turn out to be not as dead as everyone thought, they threaten all that Cupid holds dear. Add a goddess fighting to hide the truth and ancient elementals bent on revenge, and there might not be any world left to save. The final novel in Acevedo’s God Awful trilogy deftly weaves vignettes of ancient myth into a wholly new, laugh-out-loud story for the modern age.

Silvia Acevedo is a journalist and former television news anchor covering national and international stories for CNN and local television, including Milwaukee’s WISN and WTMJ, and she’s occasionally hosted The Morning Blend. Acevedo is Assistant Regional Advisor for the Wisconsin chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

More event info on our upcoming events page.

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