Family Ties: Biographies of Ancestors (and a Dad)
MHS Event
Jeffrey Boutwell, Author; A'Lelia Bundles, Journalist and Author; and Hester Kaplan, Author; in conversation with Megan Marshall, Emerson College
The event is hybrid and free of charge. An in-person reception will begin at 4:15 PM.
This panel discussion brings together three American subjects from different eras and professions: George Boutwell, 19th century Massachusetts politician; A’Lelia Walker, Progressive Era business woman and arts patron; Justin Kaplan, prize-winning 20th century biographer of Twain and Whitman. What do their biographies have in common? Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy was written by a distant cousin; Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance by a great-granddaughter; and Twice Born: Finding My Father in the Margins of Biography by a daughter. How does the “necessary entwinement”—Hester Kaplan’s phrase for the binding of biographer to subject—alter, how does it feel, when the subject is a family member? Learn about three remarkable, impactful lives, and the writing lives of their biographer relatives.
Join the conversation at the New England Biography Series.
The New England Biography Series is a forum for writers and readers alike to engage in an ongoing discussion about the historical, literary, and methodological questions that make biography a challenging and rewarding undertaking.
The virtual seminar begins at 5:00 PM and will be hosted on the video conference platform, Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information.
If you have any questions about the program or accessibility needs, please contact Cassie Cloutier at ccloutier@masshist.org.
By registering you are agreeing to abide by the MHS Visitor Code of Conduct.
