Lenox Library’s next distinguished lecture features Lenox law couple
Lenox— The Lenox Library will continue its Distinguished Lecture Series on Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 4 p.m. with Attorney Janet Pumphrey and forensic scientist Dr. Albert Harper.
Attorney Pumphrey is an appellate lawyer, handling murder appeals in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Dr. Harper is a forensic science consultant specializing in death-scene investigations. Married and living in Lenox, the couple will speak about the career paths that led them to Lenox, the law of murder, and interesting cases they both have had.
Slides will be shown. This talk, while not at all gruesome, is intended for adults and is not appropriate for young children.
The lecture is free and open to the public and will take place in the main reading room of the Library, located at 18 Main Street, Lenox. Please visit https://lenoxlib.org or the Library’s Facebook page for more information.
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Great Barrington— Every March, Simon’s Rock celebrates Pride Week with a series of educational, cultural, and social events for our students and the community. This year, Anne Thalheimer ‘91 leads the Simon’s Rock community in conversation with an evening Pride Lecture. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m., in the McConnell Theater in the Daniel Arts Center.
Anne has a B.A. from Simon’s Rock in Literary Studies. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Delaware. Based in Western Massachusetts, she is an educator, artist, and activist, whose work in visual culture, autobio comix, and independent publishing spans three decades. Her work (both academic and graphic) has appeared in numerous collections, including the MLA’s Teaching The Graphic Novel. She is a long-term reviewer for Xerography Debt and a former contributor to both Fleen and PopMatters. Mostly she likes drawing monsters, cats, and cute food.
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Bestselling author of “The Lost Girls of Paris” comes to Lenox Library
Lenox— Pam Jenoff will discuss her newest book “Code Name Sapphire” on Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Lenox Library.
In “Code Name Sapphire,” A woman must rescue her cousin’s family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance.
It’s 1942 and Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany after her fiancé was killed in a pogrom. When her ship bound for America is turned away at port, she has nowhere to go but to her cousin Lily, who lives with her family in Brussels. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to escape occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind.
Seeking help, Hannah joins the Sapphire Line, a secret resistance network led by a mysterious woman named Micheline and her enigmatic brother Mateo. But when a grave mistake causes Lily’s family to be arrested and slated for deportation to Auschwitz, Hannah finds herself torn between her loyalties. How much is Hannah willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves? Inspired by incredible true stories of courage and sacrifice, “Code Name Sapphire” is a powerful novel about love, family and the unshakable resilience of women in even the hardest of times.
Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Following her work at the Pentagon, Pam moved to the State Department. Pam left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She now teaches law school at Rutgers.
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Dr. Meri Clark discusses “Exploring the Culture of Spain”
Pittsfield— The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents “Exploring the Culture of Spain” by Dr. Meri Clark on Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. online via Zoom.
For over two millennia, southern Spain has been a destination, crossroads, and embarkation point for diverse peoples and cultures. Interactions and struggles between Romans, Jews, Muslims, Roma, and Catholics have created a region rooted in deep tradition as it climbs into dizzying heights of modernity. We will take a whirlwind tour of the Andalusian region, especially Córdoba, Sevilla, and Granada. Learn about Islamic architecture, Catholic cathedrals, bullfighters, flamenco, Velásquez, Lorca, ferias, and more. These dramatic landscapes and cultures hold a special place in Spain’s national and global identity today. ¡Bienvenidos!
Meri Clark, Professor of History, has taught Latin American, Spanish, and World History at Western New England University since 2005. She specializes in the history of Colombia and she has led travel courses to Spain. After earning her bachelor’s degree in history from Reed College, Clark researched in Colombia with a Fulbright scholarship, then earned her Ph.D. in history from Princeton University.
Pre-registration is required. Admission is $10 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Museum members, and $15 for the general public. Admission is free for Berkshire Community College students, and youth 17 and under.
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Close Encounters with Music presents “Pictures at an Exhibition” — A Gallery Stroll
Great Barrington— On Sunday, March 26 at 4 p.m. Close Encounters with Music presents a performance of “Pictures at an Exhibition” at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
A work in ten movements by Modest Mussorgsky that was inspired by a visit to an art exhibition, “Pictures at an Exhibition” is a showpiece where only the most virtuosic pianists dare to tread! It is also a perfect point from which to explore the common language of music and art, which share not only terms such as “line, rhythm and color,” but also considerations of structure, narrative, counterpoint, etc. The program offers other “pictures in time”: Granados’ musical portraits from his opera Goyescas; Franz Liszt’s St. Frances walking on the waves; Debussy’s Sonate with its commedia dell’arte storyline; and the Hogarth-Stravinsky connection for the opera The Rake’s Progress. The final picture of Mussorgsky’s work is a majestic depiction of his friend Victor Hartmann’s sketch, “The Great Gate of Kiev.” Images will be projected to accompany the music.
Performers are Max Levinson, piano; Danielle Talamantes, soprano; and internationally acclaimed cellist and artistic director Yehuda Hanani.
Tickets, $52 (Orchestra and Mezzanine), $28 (Balcony) and $15 for students, are available through Close Encounters With Music. Virtual tickets are also available.
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Charles Sheeler and The Shakers
Pittsfield— Hancock Shaker Village Lunchtime Lecture series continues on Wednesday, March 29 at 12 p.m. Sit down with your favorite screen and a cup of something hot to enjoy this winter lecture series about a variety of Shaker-related topics.
For the March 29 program, Linda Johnson, Hancock Shaker Village’s curator, will share the intriguing story of artist Charles Sheeler’s fascination with the Shaker aesthetic. Shaker objects that belonged to Charles Sheeler are part of the Village’s permanent collection and are on view in the Brick Dwelling.
This event is free and will take place online via Zoom. Register here.
