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Prep Living Author Series presents panels on gun violence, faith

On Thursday, April 4, Fairfield Prep held two separate literary panels related to gun violence for the student body and the general public as part of the school's Living Author Series.Prep sophomores, juniors and seniors attended a panel at the Quick Center at Fairfield U. about Bullets into Bells, a collection of poems responding to gun violence in the United States.

Click above image to view Bullets into Bells photos.

The panel included several authors from the book, including Editors Brian Clements and Dean Rader, teacher Sandy Hook shooting survivor Abbey Clements and Dr. William V. Begg III, the ER doctor during the Sandy Hook shooting (full panel and bios below).

The Fairfield Prep freshman class gathered at Gonzaga Hall for a panel by Sophfronia Scott and her son, 13-year-old Tain Gregory, who wrote the book This Child of Faith about the importance of faith and the bond between the mother and son. Tain, a third-grader in 2012, also survived the Sandy Hook shooting.

In addition to speaking to the freshman class, Scott and Tain answered questions and interacted with the freshmen students.

Michael J. Daly, retired editor of the Connecticut Post editorial page, wrote about the Bullets into Bells panel in a column: "(The panel was) an appeal to a group of bright students — many headed for college and promising futures — to get involved in the fight against gun violence. And it was an exposition of the power of words, poetry in particular, to lay open the unbearable grief that gun violence has brought into people’s lives."

Author Sophfronia Scott, her son Tain along with members of the Prep freshman class.

 

Bullets Into Bells Panelists

Brian Clements is the editor of Bullets into Bells and author of A Book of Common Rituals. He is a Professor of Writing, Linguistics, and Creative Process at Western Connecticut State University.

Abbey Clements is a 4th grade teacher in the Newtown Public School system, and is a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementery School shooting.

Dean Rader is an editor of Bullets into Bells, Author of Self-Portrait as Wikipedia Entry. Dean is a professor of English at the University of San Francisco.

Matthew Olzmann is a contributor to Bullets into Bells and the author of Contradictions in the Design and Mezzanines. Matthew teaches at Dartmouth College and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

William V. Begg III, MD, FACEP, is an emergency medical physician at Danbury Hospital. Dr. Begg was the ER doctor during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.

Iran Nazario is the Founder and CEO of the Peace Center of Connecticut. He is an expert in gang prevention and mediation.

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