Jennifer Finley Boylan
On Thursday, April 11, Clark University’s Office of Intercultural Affairs will host “She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders,” a lecture by Jennifer Finney Boylan, at 6:30 p.m. in Daniels Theater, Atwood Hall. It is free and open to the public.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of Jennifer Finney Boylan’s original memoir, “She’s Not There,” and the publication of a new and expanded version by Random House with a new preface and two new afterwords. Hers is a widely read story of a person changing genders; the story of a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. As James evolves into Jennifer, a marvelously human perspective emerges on issues of love, sex, and the fascinating relationship between our physical and our intuitive selves, providing a new window on the often confounding process of accepting ourselves.
Augusten Burroughs, author of “Running With Scissors,” has praised the memoir for being “beautifully crafted, fearless, painfully honest, inspiring and extremely witty…one of the most remarkable, moving and unforgettable memoirs in recent history.”
Boylan is the author of 13 books (three novels, a collection of short stories, three memoirs, and six young adult books), four of them written under a pseudonym. Her next published work, “Stuck In The Middle With You,” a memoir about the differences between fatherhood and motherhood, will be out next month. “Stuck in the Middle holds” that “having a father who became a mother has helped my sons, in turn, become better men.”
Boylan is cochair of the English department at Colby College, where she was voted Professor of the Year in 2000. She is a nationally known advocate for civil rights as well as a member of the Board of Directors of GLAAD, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
The talk is offered as part of the Higgins School of Humanities’ Spring Dialogue symposium, “What’s the Difference? Thoughts on Diversity and Inclusion.” To learn about other events in the symposium, visit http://www.clarku.edu/higgins/. The following departments/groups on campus have also provided generous support for this event: The Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise, Residential Life and Housing, the Offices of the Dean of Students and Dean of the College, the History Department, the Political Science Department, Communication and Culture and Choices. For more information about this talk, call 508-793-7479.
