Princeton Research Forum / Mark your calendars–– there’s a lot happening!
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, at 7:00 pm. The POETRY GROUP’s Zoom meeting will continue our discussion of Kevin Young’s “Werewolf Hill,” the Purgatory section of his poem “Darkling,” loosely based on Dante. For more information, contact Winnie Hughes via poetry@princetonresearchforum.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, at 12:30 pm: The SCIENCE/SCIENCE HISTORY GROUP’s Zoom meeting to discuss To Explain the World – The Discovery of Modern Science, by Steven Weinberg. Contact for the group is Boris Katz; write him for Zoom link via science@princetonresearchforum.org.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 3 to 5 pm, The SHORT STORY GROUP will meet at the home of Ellen Gilbert in Princeton. They will be reading “French Doll” by Cynthia Ozick, which first appeared in The New Yorker on July 31, 2023. For more information and a copy of the story, to Ellen at info@princetonresearchforum.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, at 7:00 pm: the HUMANITIES GROUP Zoom meeting will discuss chapters of Joseph Ellis’s prize-winning book, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, and a related essay from The New Yorker. Selections will be distributed to the group prior to the meeting. For that and the Zoom link, contact Jeff Spear via humanities@princetonresearchforum.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 12:30 pm: PRF MONTHLY LUNCHEON Come for good food and conversation with other PRF members at the Princeton Theological Seminary’s cafeteria in Mackay Dining Hall. Fixed price, $15, pay by credit or debit card only. Nonmembers welcome! For other information, write info@princetonresearchforum.org. For how to get there, see PTS Campus Map, which is available online.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 3-4 pm. The SEPTEMBER 2026 PRF BOARD MEETING on Zoom. All PRF members are welcome, but only Board members may vote. For Zoom link and other information, write info@princetonresearchforum.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 6:00 pm. PRF member Shelley Frisch introduces her latest translation with Thomas Meyers’ biography, Hannah Arendt: A Life of the Mind. She will be in conversation with Michael Wood, Emeritus Professor at Princeton. Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau St. Princeton. Details at: https://www.labyrinthbooks.com/events/2026-frisch-wood
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 4-6 pm. The PRF FALL WINE AND CHEESE gathering will be held at the home of Winifred Hughes in Princeton. For more information, write info@princetonresearchforum.org.
NEWS AND NOTES
NEW MEMBER PRF is delighted to welcome its newest member, Lavinia Kumar. After studying chemistry, biochemistry, and biology and obtaining her doctorate in science education, Lavinia spent much of her professional life trying to show teachers and administrators the value of using data to guide educational and professional development decisions. Retirement freed her from the demands of grant applications and brought her interest in writing to the fore: first, poetry, then essays and short books on the achievements of women, from the sciences to spycraft. She is represented in four poetry anthologies, most recently in Convergence: Poetry on Environmental Impacts of War (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2026). Lavinia’s current research on women in the American Revolution builds on her 2026 Substack collection of biographies of women botanists born in the 1700s.
Donn Mitchell will offer a three-week class based on his book, Eleanor Roosevelt’s Nightly Prayer, for the Princeton Adult School on Tuesday evenings, Nov. 3, 10, and 17. He will also give Sunday morning addresses for the three New York churches: Holy Apostles, Nineth Ave., Sept. 13, St. Bartholomew’s, Park Ave., Oct. 11, and Ascension, Fifth Ave., Dec. 6. He will also teach a course at Fordham this fall: “Imagined Communities–Christian Nationalism and Its Soulmates.” In mid-January he will offer a weekend webinar on the same topic for the Associates of Holy Cross Monastery, located across the Hudson from Hyde Park.
Richard Corbett’s review of Library of Forbidden Books (Thomas Nelson, 2026), by Mario Escobar, translated by Gretchen Abernathy, was published in the August 2026 issue of Historical Novels Review, the quarterly journal of the Historical Novel Society. Read it at this link: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/library-of-forbidden-books/
PRF PRESENTATION GRANTS Giving a scholarly talk at a meeting or online? For PRF Grant guidelines, write Karen Reeds via info@princetonresearchforum.org
SHOWCASE YOUR WORK Plan now for these upcoming opportunities:
- Mercer County Library System Book Festival. Scope it out on Saturday, September 26, 2026, 10am to 3pm, Lawrence Headquarters Branch https://mcl.org/events/book-festival/ Applications for the September 2027 Festival will open in February 2027.
- Crowns of Princeton, an international experimental arts festival, Saturday, February 20th, 2027, 11am-4 pm, at the Princeton Arts Council. Deadline to apply: January 1, 2027.https://www.pointpleasantpublishing.net/princeton-arts-festival
- Help us plan a PRF public event with the Princeton Public Library. Look at https://princetonlibrary.org/events/event-proposal/ and express your interest by emailing Ellen Gilbert at info@princetonresearchforum.org.