Spring 2026 Series
Storytelling Boston’s Literary Past
Today’s novelists and poets on retelling Boston’s literary history
Boston has an incredibly rich literary history: the first printing press in the Colonies, the first published authors in the Colonies, authors who helped shape the American novel, the hub of nineteenth-century publishing, and the birthplace of Transcendentalism. But Boston’s literary past continues to influence and inspire today’s novelists and poets. Let’s explore that connection.
Each event will feature:
an author conversation and Q&A • guided small group discussion
snacks, drinks, and desserts • a signature literary cocktail
conversation and connection • a curated selection of books to purchase
The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters
featuring Artress Bethany White, co-editor of Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters”:
In 1773, 20-year-old Phillis Wheatley became the first Black American published author. Enslaved in West Africa and brought to Boston as a child, Wheatley’s voice and poetry soon bloomed, blending classical verse and heightened imagery to describe Colonial and Revolutionary Boston around her.
Her work continues to inspire, influence, and challenge poets today. Artress Bethany White co-edited Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters, which shows us how Wheatley’s work continues to endure, as does the creative interaction with it.
In this conversation, we’ll explore who Phillis Wheatley Peters was as a person and a writer, how the collection Wheatley at 250 came together, and why her poetry continues to resonate with and guide us today. We’ll also talk about Artress’s new poetry collection, A Black Doe in the Anthropocene.
The evening will include a conversation with the author, followed by small-group and full-room discussion. Rather than simply listening, attendees will have the opportunity to reflect, share perspectives, and be part of the conversation.
No advance reading is required — we’ll introduce the book and ideas during the event, so you can fully participate whether you’ve read it or not.
Each event will feature an author conversation and Q&A, guided small group discussion, snacks, drinks, and desserts, a signature literary cocktail, conversation and connection, and a curated selection of books to purchase.
About Artress Bethany White:
Artress Bethany White is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. She received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a master’s degree from New York University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Her third poetry collection, A Black Doe in the Anthropocene: Poems (2025), chronicles her family’s history of enslavement in America. She is the recipient of the Trio Award for her poetry collection My Afmerica: Poems (Trio House Press, 2019), selected by poet Sun Yung Shin, and is co-editor, with Danielle Legros Georges, of the anthology Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters (Pangyrus, 2023), which writer Camille Dungy refers to as “a blessing and a balm.” This anthology received a 2025 grant from the Cambridge Arts Council. White’s recent work also appears in the anthologies Dear Yusef: Essays, Letters, and Poems for and About One Mr. Komunyakaa (Wesleyan, 2024), and Why I Wrote This Poem: 62 Poets on Creativity and Craft (McFarland, 2023). Her criticism appears in the collections Seeking Home: Marginalization and Representation in Appalachian Letters and Song (University of Tennessee Press, 2017) and Literary Expressions of African Spirituality (Lexington Books, 2013).White has received scholarships and residencies from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Tupelo Press MASS MoCA. She is associate professor of English at East Stroudsburg University in the Poconos.
Reserve your seat for May 28:
“The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters”
Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy
featuring Julie Carrick Dalton, author of The Forest Becomes Her
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy”:
Transcendentalism was born in Concord. Emerson philosophized about our connection to nature, Thoreau went to the wood to live deliberately, Fuller reimagined a new social hierarchy, and Alcott translated its individualism into four March sisters.
Their influence is still felt today. “The lure of the Transcendentalists, the famous forests surrounding Concord, and the history of dead—but lingering—writers had drawn Hazel to the sleepy town on the outskirts of Boston…” So begins The Forest Becomes Her, Julie Carrick Dalton’s new novel about three women seeking to save the land, and themselves.
In this conversation, we’ll explore the Transcendentalist influences on these fictional characters, the rich literary setting of Concord, and how fiction can raise awareness around climate crisis.
The evening will include a conversation with the author, followed by small-group and full-room discussion. Rather than simply listening, attendees will have the opportunity to reflect, share perspectives, and be part of the conversation.
No advance reading is required — we’ll introduce the book and ideas during the event, so you can fully participate whether you’ve read it or not.
Each event will feature an author conversation and Q&A, guided small group discussion, snacks, drinks, and desserts, a signature literary cocktail, conversation and connection, and a curated selection of books to purchase.
About Julie Carrick Dalton:
Julie Carrick Dalton is the author of The Forest Becomes Her, The Last Beekeeper, and Waiting for the Night Song. She is the winner of the New Hampshire Book Awards' People's Choice for Best Novel, and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award, and the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature. Her novels have been named to Most Anticipated lists from CNN, Newsweek, USA Today, Parade, and others, and were selected as an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Book of the Month. A former organic farmer, forest manager, and beekeeper, and a 2026 TEDx speaker, she is a frequent speaker on the topic of fiction in the age of climate crisis at universities, museums, and conferences, nationally and internationally. She currently serves on the teaching faculty of Drexel University's Creative Writing MFA program and is a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard. When she isn't reading or writing, you can probably find Julie kayaking, skiing, swimming, gardening, or trying to track down her four children and two dogs.
Reserve your seat for June 11:
“Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy”
