Alumni Ink

Had she been born a boy, Sarah Grimke might have been the "greatest jurist in the country," according to her own father. In early 19th-century America, though, such careers were closed to women. Nevertheless, Grimke and her sister, Angelina, abandoned their comfortable lives among the elite of Southern society to speak out against slavery and for women's rights. In the 1830s, Grimke published the first biblically based argument for women's rights in her Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, inspiring the generation that won suffrage for women. Though the Grimkes faced abuse and ridicule, their testimony on the atrocities of slavery rocked the abolitionist movement. Archival records of Grimke's diaries and letters are the source for the poems of Amy Benson Brown 95PhD in The Book of Sarah. Each poem illustrates an aspect of her life, whether a description of war-ravaged Charleston or commentary on a photo of the enslaved woman who bore three sons by Grimke's brother. Brown explains, "With these poems, I wanted to figure out what propelled Sarah Grimke out of the path that seemed her destiny, and what history required as the price for her daring."

High-Seas Hijinks

Twelve-year-old Kitto comes of age as he embarks on a cross-Atlantic lam after he was framed for the murder of his father in The Dagger Quick. But on these seventeenth-century seas, pirates abound, and Kitto must prepare for an adventure for which his apprenticeship as a cooper never trained him. His only guidance is his mysterious uncle whose sudden appearance provides more questions than answers, and Kitto must learn to stay true to his beliefs even while uncovering dark family secrets. In this well-researched novel, Brian Eames 96G, a Paideia schoolteacher for fifth and sixth graders, crafts an adventure tale with historical accuracy.