By Dan Hinchen

The Society is CLOSED on Monday, 16 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Here are the events on the schedule this week:

– Wednesday, 18 January, 12:00PM : “The Fight for Women’s Equality in the Anti-Slavery Movement, 1833-1840” is a Brown Bag talk with Louis Knight, author of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action. The talk examines ow some early feminist abolitionists sought to integrate women into the American Antislavery Society beginning in 1833 and finally succeeding in 1840, illustrating how these women were inspired by a groundbreaking feminist vision for a genderblind democracy. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 18 January, 6:00PM : Loom, a new book of poetry by Kevin Gallagher, explores the difficult relations between the northern textile mills and the cotton produced by the southern slave economy. This author talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30 with light refreshments, and the program begins at 6:00PM. 

– Thursday, 19 January, 5:30PM : “Publishing Lives: How It’s Done, and Who Does It” is part of the New England Biography Seminar series. Deanne Urmy, Senior Executive Editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Jill Kneerim of the Kneerim & Williams literary agency, both of whom are actively engaged in publishing biography, will be joined by Laura Claridge, author of the just-published The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire. Their conversation will widen out from biography itself to the workings of the literary marketplace, then and now. The discussion is moderated by Megan Marshall. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Saturday, 21 January, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.