Stonehill hosts author Melissa Febos for the Chet Raymo Literary Series.

By Paige Martin

Stonehill College will welcome award-winning Melissa Febo to campus on Oct.16  in McCarthy Auditorium in May Hall.

Febo is the author of five books, including the national bestselling essay collection “Girlhood,” which has won a collection of accolades, including the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, a Lambda Award finalist, and was named a notable book of 2021 by NPR, Time, The Washington Post, and others.

Febos’s works have been published in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The Sun, Vogue, The New York Times, and many others.

Febos is also a professor at the University of Iowa and teaches nonfiction writing.

Professor Amra Brooks, director of the creative writing program at Stonehill and organizer of the Chet Raymo Lecture event, said Febos is a perfect candidate to invite.

“I teach a lot of creative nonfiction and creative writing courses, and I wanted to have a prominent writer in that genre come,” Brooks said. “Melissa Febos is one of the most solid memoirists working right now, and her work includes a massive amount of honesty as well as deep self-reflection.”

Febo’s “Girlhood” has been praised for its exploration of girlhood, identity, and self-discovery, and has been translated into ten languages.

Brooks said  Febo’s themes are important for students to hear.

“Melissa’s work shows us how to look deep inside ourselves to make meaning and find our place in the world. That kind of investigation is essential for human connection and for a deeper understanding of self, which helps us be more understanding of others,” said Brooks.

Brooks said the Raymo Series is the main literary event at Stonehill.

 “The Raymo Series works to bring a diverse group of contemporary writers. Students get to engage in an intimate conversation, ask questions, get their book signed, and just be with an author,” Brooks said.

Febos was invited for her powerful voice in the contemporary nonfiction genre, Brooks said.

“Melissa Febos is one of the most solid memoirists working right now, her work includes a massive amount of honesty as well as deep self-reflection,” Brooks said.

Brooks said she believes this is an event that all students and majors can benefit from.

“I think of this Joan Didion quote: ‘We tell ourselves stories in order to live,’” Brooks said. “Part of being human is creating a narrative to understand the world we exist in. Melissa’s work shows us how to look deep inside ourselves to make meaning and find our place in the world.”

This event offers a rare opportunity for students to engage directly with Febos.

“It’s so different to hear someone read their own work and talk about it,” Brooks said. “Melissa is very generous, and that dialogue creates a special experience that can awaken and change students’ relationships to their own work.”