The Fordham Reads Dante 10th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, April 30, 5 – 8 p.m.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Fordham Reads Dante, an initiative that brings together authors, scholars, performers, and lovers of Dante’s poetry, demonstrating the continued influence and inspiration Dante plays in their work and lives.
The anniversary celebration will feature a reading and performance of Hell Has an Exit, written by Ron Jenkins, who has facilitated theater workshops inspired by Dante’s poetry in prisons.
The play is fueled by the mutual love and support that enables a mother-daughter drug-dealing team to build new post-prison lives as a preacher and a poet. It is a story of personal and spiritual transformation that is framed by rap poetry, gospel music, Bible quotes, and Dante’s journey from inferno to paradise. Jenkins wrote the script based on interviews with BL Shirelle and Debra Taylor, conducted during their ongoing exploration of Dante’s Divine Comedy with students at Wesleyan University and Yale Divinity School.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. A reception and celebration of Fordham Reads Dante’s 10th anniversary will follow.
