All posts by Emily Gowdey-Backus

“I Didn’t Play Chess in Soviet Russia, Newsflash!”

“This day was not so much a surprise to those of us who knew her well,” said Peter Gunn as he introduced his former student, Jennifer duBois ’02, author of, A Partial History of Lost Causes and recently named one of the National Book Foundation’s Five Under 35.

It was a night of memories as duBois, who participated as a student in the Writers’ Workshop series, became the first alumna to also return as a guest author in the program.

As a student duBois studied The Odd Sea, written by Frederick Reiken, and was greatly influenced by something he said at her Writers’ Workshop.  She was having trouble grasping the truth in writing something she hadn’t experienced firsthand and Reiken said, “You write what you know, but you know more than you think you know.” Continue reading

Archambault ’14 Receives Highest Canadian Academic Award

He repositioned his feet in front of the camera, adjusted the button in his three-piece suit, and after a couple deep breaths raised his eyes to the camera and spoke.

“Bonsoir a vous, messieurs, mesdames et diplomes…”

(Read his full speech here.)

On Saturday, October 13, 2012 Gabriel Archambault ’14 was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Medal for achieving the highest GPA in his class at Collège Saint-Paul de Varennes in Varennes, Québec.  Since Archambault was at Williston at the time the prize was awarded he recorded a video of his acceptance speech and sent it to Collège Saint-Paul de Varennes.

Continue reading

Ali Moshiri Exhibits at Grubbs Gallery

Influences from Kandinsky, Miró, and Rothko can be seen in the colorful canvases that jump off the walls of the Grubbs Gallery, which now resembles a modern art gallery of the 1930s with Ali Moshiri’s Surrealist paintings.

Born in Iran, Moshiri was educated in the United States and England.  He returned to Iran for medical school, completed his residency in Cincinnati, and then began working at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1984.  According to his website, as, “a young and untrained, but passionate, artist, Moshiri’s sketchbook was a constant companion in his spare time.”

Continue reading

Williston Theatre to Perform Neil Simon’s “Rumors: A Farce”

The audiences at Williston Northampton’s performances of Neil Simon’s Rumors: A Farce are in for a night of “hilarity and chaos,” says Director Emily B. Ditkovski.

Performances of the comedy will be held from October 18-20, 25, and 27 at 7:30 p.m. and on October 26 at 8:00 p.m. Continue reading

15th Annual Writers’ Workshop

From October 16 to November 8, The Williston Northampton School is hosting the 15th year of the Writers’ Workshop Series. This event brings some of today’s most accomplished and honored writers to campus where they give public lectures and teach private classes for Williston students.

On Tuesday, October 16, Williston hosted Jen duBois ’02, the first alumna to participate as both a student and as an author. Anita Shreve, a Williston parent and award-winning author of The Pilot’s Wife and other novels, spoke on Monday, October 22. Renowned author of the Knuffle Bunny children’s series, Mo Willems, will speak on Thursday, November 1.  Mount Holyoke Mellon Professor of English, Christopher Benfey, will conclude the program on Thursday, November 8.

All lectures are held at 7 p.m. in the Dodge Room, Reed Campus Center. The lectures are free and open to the public.

Continue reading