Remembering the Alchemists: A Reading and Conversation with Richard Hoffman

Join celebrated author Richard Hoffman in conversation with J.D. Scrimgeour as he discusses his new collection, Remember the Alchemists & Other Essays. In the spirit of James Baldwin, Hoffman challenges us to face difficult truths about our society, whether it be about the sources of gun violence, the unshakeable shame of the working class, or the sad secret of sexual assault. And yet he is a seeker, too, and his essays also explore the spiritual, whether identifying commonality between viruses and angels, or exploring the rich satisfactions of painting.

Hoffman is author of the memoirs Half the House and Love & Fury; the poetry collections, Without Paradise; Gold Star Road, winner of the 2006 Barrow Street Press Poetry Prize and the 2008 Sheila Motton Award from the New England Poetry Club; Emblem; and most recently Noon until Night, which won the Massachusetts Book Award. A fiction writer as well, his Interference & Other Stories was published in 2009. A former Chair of PEN New England, he is Writer in Residence Emeritus at Emerson College.

Scrimgeour is the author of two collections of nonfiction, and several collections of poetry. He is currently Chair of English at Salem State University and a resident of Salem. An ancestor in his direct line was put to death in this city for being a witch. Another sat on the jury that found her guilty.

Free

Registration Required. In-person seating is limited to 50. This is a hybrid event.

Sign up here: https://salemathenaeum.salsalabs.org/020423_richardhoffman/index.html?page=register