Dan Barry, writer and award-winning columnist, will be the third speaker for the 70th season of the Amos Fortune Forum. His topic is entitled: “Baseball, Bunkhouses, and Burlesque: Travels Across America.” and will be presented on Friday, July 22nd at 8pm at the historic Meetinghouse in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Dan Barry, writes the “This Land” column for The New York Times, a feature that he inaugurated in 2007 and has since brought him to all 50 states. In exploring both “obscure and well known corners” of America, Barry has—among other eye-opening experiences—met the coroner from The Wizard of Oz, learned the bump-and-grind from a mostly retired burlesque queen, and been hit in the chest by an Asian carp leaping out of the Illinois River. Outside of “This Land,” he has also reported on topics ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the New York Mets.
Author Colum McCann has said that “Dan Barry gives dignity even to the darkest corners of the American experience. He is the closest thing we have to a contemporary Steinbeck.” This is evidenced in his latest book, Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland, about a group of men with intellectual disabilities who worked in servitude for decades at a mid-western meat packing plant. Barry’s three other books illustrate his extraordinary diversity as a writer and include stories about New York City, a baseball game that lasted 33 innings and a generational memoir.
The Amos Fortune Forum is presented at the Meetinghouse, built in 1755 in historic Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire, 2.5 miles west of downtown Jaffrey and 75 miles from downtown Boston. Speakers are presented at 8pm sharp each Friday during the summer. As is the custom of the Forum, no admission is charged, however, donations are accepted. After each forum, a brief reception is held with each speaker at The First Church in Jaffrey Parish Hall, directly across from the Meetinghouse. Information for the Forum can be found at www.amosfortune.com, Facebook (facebook.com/amosfortuneforum
The next Amos Fortune Forum speaker is refugee crisis volunteer and expert based in Germany, Susanne Wentzler. Her topic is “The German refugee crisis, a threat or an opportunity? Reflections from an engaged volunteer” and it will be presented on July 29th.
