Events Calendar

Local author Andy Douglas will read from Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of A Community Prison Choir.

Dr André de Quadros, professor of Music and chair of the Department of Music Education at Boston University, notes, “More than an account of the choir’s work, the book is a deep insight into musical humanity under dehumanizing conditions. Douglas’s work is evocative and thoughtful, deeply compassionate and humble, and brings the reader close to the troubled lives, wounds and hopes of the incarcerated men.”

Andy Douglas is the author of The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga. He was born in Brazil to missionary parents, and travel and spiritual practice have shaped his life ever since. He has practiced yoga and meditation for 30 years and lived for seven years in various countries of Asia. After returning from Korea in 1990, he worked as a journalist and public radio announcer before receiving a bachelors’ degree in anthropology from the University of Iowa. In 2005, he received an MFA in creative writing, also from the University of Iowa, where he was the recipient of the Marcus Bach Fellowship for Writing about Religion and Culture. His essays, stories ,and translations have appeared in Mary, New Renaissance, J Journal, Fogged Clarity, Nimrod, Pisgah Review, Bayou, and The Examined Life. He received a full fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center and has also had residencies at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center and the Prairie Center of the Arts. He’s active in peace, economic justice, and prison issues and sings in a choir with prisoners. His partner, Lois, and he both live in Iowa City, Iowa.