Volume LXXVIII, Number 13
Fairgrown Farm, Chubby’s Project Partner to Provide Nourishing Food to Those in Need . . . . . . . 5 Princeton Author Emily Raboteau Discusses New Collection of Essays . . . 7 Herrontown Woods Celebration Features Dragons, Lanterns, Community Bonding . . . 9 Found at the Bryn MawrWellesley Book Sale: A Poet of Mountains And His Wife . . . . . 15 PU Men’s Hoops Loses To UNLV in NIT Opener, But Proud of 24-5 Campaign . . . . . . . 25 PHS Girls’ Swimmer Tangen, Tiger Star Wrestler Mele Get Nod as Town Topics’ Leading Winter Performers . . . . . . 27, 28
Madison St. Rose Stars In Losing Cause as PU Women’s Hoops Falls In NCAA Opener . . . . 24 Art . . . . . . . . . . . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 34 Welcome Spring . . .18, 19 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 23 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 32 Performing Arts . . .16, 17 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Real Estate. . . . . . . . . 34 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Kurtzer Headlines April 7 Event as Peace Coalition Pursues Multiple Initiatives Daniel Kurtzer, former United States ambassador to Israel and Egypt and currently professor of Middle East policy studies at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, will be the keynote speaker at the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) Membership Renewal Gathering on Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m. “We are pleased to present an outstanding expert on Middle East peacemaking at this time of major war and violence, and imminent starvation,” said CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore. “We need all of the insight and guidance we can muster to rapidly end this deeply troubling and divisive war, release the hostages, alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and find a way toward a lasting solution with a just peace for all.” Taking place at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton on Cherry Hill Road and preceded from 2 to 3 p.m. by a free members-only lunch, the event is just one of multiple current CFPA initiatives, including ongoing advocacy for nuclear disarmament, gun violence prevention, a “diplomacy not war” campaign, and their peace voter campaign leading up to the 2024 primaries and general elections. Kurtzer served for 29 years in the U.S. Foreign Service and also as deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs and as principal deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and research in addition to serving stints as U.S. ambassador to Egypt in the Clinton administration and to Israel during George W. Bush’s first term. Kurtzer was a member of Middle East peace teams for Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher, and he is the co-author of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East; co-author of The Peace Puzzle: America’s Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace, 1989-2011; and editor of Pathways to Peace: America and the Arab-Israeli Confl ict. Kurtzer was also a member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s Foreign Affairs Policy board and was previously an adviser to the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. As the 2024 June primary elections approach, CFPA has also been busy in Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Arts Council Honors Paul Robeson’s Legacy In honor of Paul Robeson’s 126th birthday, an eclectic, multi-media celebration will take place at the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) on April 9 at 5:30 p.m. The event will feature historical-personal commentary by neighborhood historian and Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society President Shirley Satterfield; a presentation of the Robeson Clay Project, a multi-disciplinary initiative bringing together ACP artists, Princeton High School (PHS) science students, and Paul Robeson House of Princeton curators; and a flamenco performance presented by dancer/choreographer Lisa Botalico and inspired by Robeson’s speech in support of resistance against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. The clay project, directed by Ryan Stark Lilienthal, the Anne Reeves Artistin-Residence at the ACP, “combined the study of history, science, and sustainability, while commemorating Paul Robeson’s legacy by connecting with the earth at his birthplace and creative expression,” noted Lilienthal. Using clay from the construction site at the Robeson House at 110 Witherspoon Street, which is currently undergoing renovations, Lilienthal and ACP Executive
Director Adam Welch worked with PHS science students to create artifacts and tiles bearing Robeson quotations. “The ceramic tiles are imprinted with Robeson’s powerful words and these young artists now have claim to being part of it all,” said Welch. The tiles were fired in the ACP ceramic studio and will be on display at the ACP April 9 birthday celebration. Joy Barnes-Johnson, Princeton Public
Schools science supervisor and also a board member of the Robeson House of Princeton, expressed admiration for the accomplishments of the project. “As the Paul Robeson House of Princeton strives to ‘make Robeson a household name,’ it is perfectly fitting that the ACP and Ryan Lilienthal would want to reclaim soil from the construction site to echo the important history of the Robeson family legacy of social justice work,” Continued on Page 11
Council Passes Resolution for New Ad Hoc Public Art Study Committee
At its Monday, March 25 meeting, Princeton Council voted in favor of a resolution creating an Ad Hoc Public Art Study Committee. The group, which is not permanent, is chaired by James Steward, director of the Princeton University Art Museum. Adam Welch, who heads the Arts Council of Princeton, is vice-chair. Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros is on the committee, along with Princeton’s Planning Director Justin Lesko and area residents Jody Erdman, Karey Maurice, Tom Moran, Elizabeth Allan, and Ronah Harris.
Erdman is a real estate agent for Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty, and worked for Sotheby’s Auction House in New York. Artist Maurice has worked with the Trenton Artist Workshop Association. Allan is a curator and the deputy director of Morven Museum and Garden, and Moran works as the public arts coordinator for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Harris works primarily in fiber and ceramics, and is the founder of Play Pattern LLC, a digital platform for children to learn arts and technology. Continued on Page 10
BOOK BONANZA: More than 60,000 books in about 70 categories were featured at the annual Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, held last Wednesday through Sunday in two gymnasiums at Stuart Country Day School. Book lovers share what they found at the event in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Sarah Teo)