Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

A distinctive
feature of social and
cultural life at CMC

 

Bridging the Divide through Storytelling

Thu, March 24, 2022
Dinner Program
Colum McCann

Apeirogon, Colum McCann’s 2020 novel, has been hailed as “transformative” by both Israeli and Palestinian writers. Taking as its fulcrum the real-life story of two fathers who have lost their young daughters to the conflict in the Holy Land, Apeirogon (defined in geometry as a shape with a countably infinite number of sides) ranges over vast time and geography. Using the power of storytelling, McCann strives to bridge intractable divides where decades of political negotiations and military conflicts have not been successful. In this very special program, McCann will engage with the two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, both of whom will zoom in from the Middle East.

Mr. McCann's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Open Academy at CMC.

Colum McCann is the author of seven novels and three collections of stories. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honors, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts. His work has been published in over 40 languages. He is the president and co-founder of the non-profit global story exchange organization, Narrative 4. He is the Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence in Hunter College, in New York, where he lives with his wife Allison and their family.  His most recent novel, Apeirogon, became an immediate New York Times best-seller and won several major international awards.

Mr. McCann's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Open Academy at CMC.

Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

Claremont McKenna College
385 E. Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711

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