One of the nation’s oldest speakers’ forums, The Amos Fortune Forum, celebrates its 70th season this year. Some of the most interesting and talented experts from the region, New England and the globe have entered the Jaffrey Meetinghouse on a Friday summer evening and enthralled audiences with a myriad of topics. The first speaker ever was Greenville Clark, the renowned Wall Street lawyer who wrote the book, “World Peace Through World Law.” Past speakers have included: Thornton Wilder, Helen Kirkpatrick, James Johnson Sweeney, Edwin H. Land, Russell Baker, U.S.
Senator Thomas J. McIntyre, Jeff McNally, P.J. O’Rourke and Rebecca Eaton.
The lineup of speakers for the summer of 2016 continues the tradition of representing a diverse group of backgrounds and topics.
Topics this year include Amos Fortune, Syrian refugees, Islam, energy, Americana and the art of puppetry.
July 8: Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, MacArthur prize-winning sociologist “Honoring Amos Fortune’s Life and Legacy: On Witness, Justice, and Respect”
July 15: Iain Kerr, CEO, Ocean Alliance — “Why whales?”
July 22: Dan Barry, New York Times columnist “Baseball, Bunkhouses, and Burlesque: Travels Across America.”
July 29: Susanne Wentzler, humanitarian — “The German refugee crisis, a threat or an opportunity? Reflections from an engaged volunteer”
August 5: Clay Mitchell, lecturer/teacher, University of New Hampshire — “Renewable Energy”
August 12 Jamie Hamilton, Rector, All Saints’ Parish, Peterborough — “Iqra: Reading the Qur’an”
August 19: Dan Hurlin, Teacher of performance art, dance and puppetry, Sarah Lawrence College, Obie Award winner — “Futurism, puppets and me — a personal look at the Italian Futurists.”
The Amos Fortune Forum is presented at the Old Meetinghouse in historic Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire, approximately 2.5 miles west of Downtown Jaffrey. Speakers are presented at 8pm sharp each Friday during the summer.
The Forum maintains a free admission policy. After each forum, a brief reception is held with each speaker at The First Church in Jaffrey, directly across from the Old Meetinghouse.