Pittston/Scranton Native Jay Parini To Sign Books at University of Scranton Saturday, September 29th

The University of Scranton’s Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library will present the 2012 Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author Award to Jay Parini, an award winning poet, biographer, fiction writer and educator. This ceremony is one of a series of events planned throughout 2012 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J., Ballroom of the Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Center. The reception begins at 5 p.m. with dinner and the award ceremony following at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required to attend the ceremony.

In addition, a book signing which is open to the public, free of charge, will take place on Sept. 29 from 4 to 5 p.m. on the fourth floor reception area of the DeNaples Center.

For further information or to reserve a ticket for the award event, contact Kym Fetsko at The University of Scranton at (570) 941-7816 or kym.fetsko@scranton.edu.

Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton. His novel The Last Station was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film with Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren.

Click here to read previous blog entries on Jay Parini.

Jay Parini, Native of Pittston and Scranton, Will Receive University of Scranton Award in September

It has recently been announced that award-winning poet and author Jay Parini will receive the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award from the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library at University of Scranton on Saturday, September 29th.  This is one of several planned events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

Novelist and poet Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton.  His 1990 novel The Last Station was adapted into a 2009 Oscar nominated film starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer.

Click here for more information. 

"The Last Station" Based On Novel By Pittston/Scranton Native Jay Parini, In Limited Release December 23rd; Expands Nationally January 15th, 2010

The film version of Pittston/Scranton native Jay Parini's novel The Last Station, will be opening in limited release Wednesday, December 23rd and will expand to theaters nationwide on January 15th, 2010.

Based on Parini's acclaimed 1990 novel of the same name, The Last Station details the final year in the life of reknowned author Leo Tolstoy. The impressive cast includes Oscar winner Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, and James McAvoy.

For our previous blog entry on The Last Station, click here.

To place a hold on the library's copy of Jay Parini's 1990 novel The Last Station, click here.

Pittston/Scranton Native Jay Parini's Novel The Last Station Adapted Into Film

Pittston/Scranton native and author Jay Parini's 1990 novel The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year is being made into a major motion picture.

The Last Station, the novel as well as the film, is a drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things and a troubled marriage.

Directed and co-written for the screen by Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration, The Emperor's Club) the film version of The Last Station includes an impressive roster of actors--Christopher Plummer as Leo Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as his wife Sofya, Paul Giamatti as Vladimir Chertkov, and James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov.

The film version of The Last Station will be released this winter.

Novelist and poet Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton.

To place a hold on Parini's novel The Last Station, click here.

To read an article from The Times-Tribune about the upcoming film, click here.

Much thanks to my colleague Martina S. for this reference.

Marion Lorne, Actress (1883-1968)

West Pittston native Marion Lorne appears as Aunt Clara opposite Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York in an episode of the classic 1960s sitcom Bewitched. Lorne won a posthumous Emmy Award for her role 10 days after her death in 1968.

She was a gifted and lovable star of the Broadway stage, the "brand new box" called television, and the silver screen. She was directed by Hitchcock in her film debut. She was the aunt of a loveable witch on one of TV's best-loved sitcoms. And to top it all off, she was a friend of that infamous cougar Mrs. Robinson in a film classic. She is Marion Lorne and she's a native of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area.

Marion Lorne MacDougall was born in West Pittston on August 12, 1883.

After studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she made her Broadway debut as Marion Lorne in 1905's Mrs. Temple's Telegram. She appeared in many other plays in the early days of Broadway.

She married playwright Walter Hackett (Captain Applejack; The White Sister) and moved to London, where they founded the Whitehall Theater. Following Hackett's death in 1944, she returned to the US and starred as Vera in the original Broadway production of Harvey.

Lorne's film debut came at the young age of 68 in 1951's Strangers On A Train, directed by legendary Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock; her character was Mrs. Anthony. Following the film's success, she turned to television in the recurring role as the lovable-but-hopelessly-confused Mrs. Gurney on the sitcom Mister Peepers from 1952 to 1953. She also appeared in the 1955 Rosiland Russell vehicle The Girl Rush, also starring Fernando Lamas.

Follwoing a number of guest appearances on various television shows, Lorne was cast as the doorknob-obsessed, lovable witch Aunt Clara on the wildly popular 1960s sitcom Bewitched, co-starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. The show was a phenomenal success and helped Lorne reach a whole new audience.

In 1967, Lorne appeared as Miss Dewitte, a friend and party guest of Mrs. Robinson's in Mike Nichols's 1967 film debut The Graduate, starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. The film was a huge hit and ushered in the "film school generation" of directors.

Sadly, during the fourth season of Bewitched, Marion Lorne suffered a heart attack and passed away in New York City on May 9, 1968 . She was 84 years old. Ten days after her death, Lorne was posthumously awarded the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role on Bewitched--her friend and colleague Elizabeth Montgomery accected the award for the late actress.

Several items featuring Marion Lorne are available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System--including the first 3 seasons of Bewitched, the VHS or DVD of The Graduate, and the VHS or DVD of Strangers on a Train. Click on any of these links to place a reserve.

Much thanks to the savvy Michele L. for this reference. And thanks to Erin from Childrens for the correction :-) I originally incorrectly identified Elizabeth Montgomery as Barbara Montgomery :-(

Poem: "The Crow-Mother Tells All" from "The Art of Subtraction: New and Selected Poems" by Jay Parini (2005)

UPDATED JUNE 3, 2008

I received an email today from Peter Metrinko, a regular contributor to our blog, about a poem written by a Pittson native that was published in the Washington Post -- the poem featured a notable reference to Scranton in the second line:

"I came across a reference to Scranton in the Washington Post today, which published a poem by noted writer Jay Parini, born in Pittston and raised in Scranton. (Parini even has a Wikipedia page.)

The poem is titled "The Crow-Mother Tells All" and was originally published in Parini's 1998 collection "House of Days." It begin:

"The empty oil drums rattled in the yard
that day in Scranton, and the ham-red hills
would shudder in the distance, thunder-chilled. "

Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton. After graduating from LaFayette College in 1970 and earing his doctorate from University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 1975, Parini taught at both Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and Middlebury College in Vermont; he has been a professor at Middlebury since 1982.

During that time, he began his professional career as a published and critically acclaimed poet. In addition to four volumes of poetry, Parini has also published six novels, two books of literary criticism, and biographies of John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Robert Frost. In 1976, he also co-founded the journal New England Review. In addtion, Parini was appointed literary executive for legendary author Gore Vidal.


"The Crow-Mother Tells All" is in two volumes of poetry that can be borrowed from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold on 1998's Best of Days, click here; to place a hold on 2005's The Art of Subtraction, click here.

To read "The Crow-Mother Tells All" in the Washington Post article published January 27, 2008, click here.

Much thanks again to Peter Metrinko for this great Scranton reference.

UPDATED JUNE 3, 2008 Peter emailed me today with an update on this entry. According to an article on CNN.com, Jay Parini (a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont) has been given a unique assignment. When more than two dozen young adults vandelized Robert Frost's former home, their sentence was to take a two-day course on the poems of Robert Frost--which Panini is teaching. To read the full article, click here.