This Spring sees the return of Princeton’s own little literary festival, the Salon on Stockton Street, now in its second year. Two neighbors on Stockton Street, Morven Museum & Garden, and the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI), are collaborating again to run a varied international program of book interviews with authors from Ireland, the USA, New Zealand, Scotland, and the Netherlands, a one-man play on Charles Darwin, and a private tour of Morven’s Bruce Springsteen photographic exhibition – something for everyone, and all in the intimate setting of a literary salon in CTI’s Luce Hall and Morven.

Ticket Options:

Friday, March 31: Recption Only Tickets - $25
Reception AND Day Pass (Good for all author events on Saturday)- $50

Saturday, April 1: Day Pass (good for all author events on Saturday) - $30
Single Author Passes (good for only one session with a particular author) - $10

Sunday April 2: Mr. Darwin's Tree performance: $15

Schedule of Events:

Friday, March 31, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Reception with the Authors at Morven Museum & Garden, as well as private tour by Morven's curator, Beth Allan of the current exhibition on display Bruce Springsteen: A Photographic Journey, curated by The Grammy Museum.

Saturday, April 1

Author Events at Luce Hall, Center of Theological Inquiry, 50 Stockton Street

Moderator – Sally Magnusson, the star interviewer of last year’s Salon, returns to talk with this year’s international cast of authors from Ireland, the USA, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Magnusson is a BBC news anchor in Scotland, UK-wide broadcaster, and writer of eleven books, including Where Memories Go, a memoir of her mother’s life before and with dementia.

Reader – Sally will be joined by British actor Andrew Harrison, who will give short readings from each of the books she will discuss with its author.

Saturday, April 1

9:30am- Philip McDonagh, Gondla
McDonagh is a former Irish ambassador to Russia and a poet. Gondla, or The Salvation of the Wolves is his translation of a play by the celebrated Russian poet Gumilyov, executed by the Bolshevik regime in 1921. It is the story of a poet-king in Irish legend who has to choose between escape and self-sacrifice. It has been read as an allegory of Europe in the 20th century.

11:00am- David Grinspoon, Earth in Human Hands
Grinspoon is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, USA, and a contributing scientist in the Center of Theological Inquiry’s current inquiry on astrobiology and society. Earth in Human Hands: Shaping our Planet’s Future shows how the human species has changed earth’s geology, and asks how we might be more graceful planetary engineers of its future.

12:00- 1:30pm: Lunch break.
Jammin' Crepes, a local Princeton cafe, will be at Morven with their beautiful new food truck with a variety of lunch options for purchase. Guests are invited into Morven's Gaden Room to enjoy their lunch. Your Salon ticket also provides free admission into the museum to view the Springsteen and permanent exhibitions.

1.30pm- Liam McIlvanney, The Conway Trilogy
McIlvanney is a crime novelist, professor of literature in New Zealand, and recipient of its Ngaio Marsh Award for the Best NZ Crime Novel in 2014. He will discuss the first two volumes in his Conway Trilogy about a Glasgow journalist who is caught in the murky world between crime and politics in Scotland and Belfast: All the Colours of the Town and Where the Dead Men Go.

3:00pm- Pia de Jong, Saving Charlotte and Sally Magnusson, Where Memories Go
Pia de Jong is a well-known Dutch writer, now living in Princeton and writing for appreciative readers here in the United States. Her acclaimed family memoir, Saving Charlotte, tells of her newborn daughter’s battle with leukemia and the startling decision that led to recovery. De Jong will be in conversation with Sally Magnusson about their shared experience of writing intimate memoirs of family life and illness, and how their stories have had a far-wider impact.

Author Book Signings-
Labyrinth Books partners to present the Salon Bookshop, where attendees can meet the authors after their events in the Luce Hall Salon. Buy their novels and have your copy signed.
The Bookshop will be open from 10:30 am- 3:30 pm

Sunday April 2nd
A Play at Luce Hall, 50 Stockton Street

2:00pm- Andrew Harrison performs, Mr. Darwin’s Tree
This one-man play from the UK explores the life and work of Charles Darwin in the context of science, belief, and family. Mr. Darwin’s Tree was written by British playwright Murray Watts. It will be performed by British Actor Andrew Harrison, whose career in theater, film, television, and radio spans over thirty years. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion with Harrison and a theologian and scientist in the Center of Theological Inquiry’s research program.

For questions about the event, please contact salon@ctinquiry.org.
For ticketing questions, please contact Development Associate Kimmy Kolvites at 609-924-8144 ext. 113 or kkolvites@morven.org