MAY 2026
Note: All of the following events are held online via Zoom. For a link, please write to the contact person for the group at the email addresses given below.
SUNDAY, MAY 3, at 3 pm: the Short Story Group will meet at Ellen Gilbert’s home to read “Gimpel the Fool” by Isaac Bashevis Singer. For additional information and the address, please write info@princetonresearchforum.org.
MONDAY, MAY 4, at 7:00 pm: the POETRY GROUP will meet on Zoom to continue our discussion of Kevin Young’s poetry. Contact for the group is Winifred Hughes; write to her at poetry@princetonresearchforum.org.
FRIDAY, May 8, at 12:30 pm the SCIENCE/SCIENCE HISTORY group will meet via Zoom to discuss Freakonomics Twentieth Anniversary Edition: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Contact for the group is Boris Katz; write to him at science@princetonresearchforum.org.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, at 7:00 pm: the HUMANITIES GROUP will meet to discuss a selection of Native American writing that will be distributed to the group. Contact for the group is Jeff Spear; write to him at humanities@princetonresearchforum.org.
THURSDAY, May 14, from 3:30-5:30 pm, Andreas Prindl will present a Work-in-Progress about the ancient city of Poitiers in France. This will be held via Zoom. For more information, see the News and Notes section below or write info@princetonresearchforum.org.
SUNDAY, MAY 17, at 2:30 pm: the PRF BOARD will meet via Zoom. All PRF members are welcome to attend but only those on the board can vote.
MONDAY, MAY 18, at 7:00 pm: the POETRY GROUP will meet on Zoom to continue discussion of Kevin Young’s poetry. Contact for the group is Winifred Hughes; write to her at poetry@princetonresearchforum.org.
News and Notes
The PRF Annual Meeting and Potluck will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, June 7, at the home of Ellen Gilbert in Princeton. Members will receive a separate announcement about this, asking for an RSVP and contributions for the potluck We’re excited to be returning to our “potluck” roots, and we hope you will join us to renew this custom.
The deadline for inclusion inf the PRF Directory has been extended until May 15. Do recall that you select the information you want to share with colleagues: you can choose email only, or research interest only, or whatever you prefer. The goal is to create awareness and connection among members. The link for inclusion in the directory is available only to members.
Bob Craig has written to say that he has been invited to present the story of the construction in 1762-64 of the Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County. The talk will be given on June 6; further details will be forthcoming once they’ve been listed on the East Jersey Old Town website. Further, his March 26 workshop for the American Cultural Resources Association was attended by over 100 architectural historians and archaeologists from across the nation. It was so successful that he’s been asked to present another webinar, which will be held this autumn.
Connie Goddard, whose family roots are in the Dakotas, is among contributors to a valuable compilation called The Missouri: American’s Longest River, A Cultural and Environmental History (Center for Western Studies, Sioux Falls, 2026). Her article, “Stories, Mainly Untold, about the River Jim,” covers the James, which flows (sometimes backward) through both states, from near Bismarck down into the Missouri, taking 710 miles to go 400 as a crow would fly.
PRF President Deborah Greenhut reports on a busy spring. In early April, she was in Paris for a global conference on women’s mental health; there she spoke about the relationship of resilience to narrative. Later in April, she was in Oxford to attend the London Organisation for Skills Development; there she was a spotlight speaker on narrative competence and personal agency. She has also contributed a story about resilience, narrative, and caregiving to Unshakeable, an inspirational book for young adults to encourage them about the future.
Andreas Prindl, who will present a Works-in-Progress on May 14, studied languages while at Princeton. It’s an attribute he put to good use after acquiring a Ph.D. in international economics and then spending 40 years as a banker in Europe and Japan. He now divides his time between Princeton and a small city in France. From there, he has “concocted” (his word) anthologies about ancient places, mainly in countries where he has worked. The most recent one is about Poitiers, which will be the topic of his WIP on May 14.