Host:  Nina Goss

Nina Goss earned her MFA and PhD  at the University of Washington. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Fordham University. She is the co-editor of Dylan at Play, as well as a forthcoming collection of essays from University of Mississippi Press.

Book: Strange Gods – A Secular History of Conversion

Author: Susan Jacoby

Jacoby focuses on the long, tense convergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—each claiming possession of absolute truth—She examines conversions within a social and economic framework that includes theocratic coercion (unto torture and death) and the more friendly persuasion of political advantage, economic opportunism, and interreligious marriage. Moving through time, continents, and cultures—the triumph of Christianity over paganism in late antiquity, the Spanish Inquisition, John Calvin’s dour theocracy, Southern plantations where African slaves had to accept their masters’ religion – her narrative is punctuated by portraits of individual converts embodying the sacred and profane.

The event starts at 7 p.m. but come early for Happy Hour at 6:30 pm! Discussion will follow.

The event is free, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space.