Maine authors reflect on sight, tears, and spirituality
SEARSPORT — The Parsonage Gallery and Anodyne Book Shop will host an author talk and book-signing by Benjamin Perry and Dr. Aaron Rosen. The free event, “Seeing through Tears,” will take place at the Parsonage Gallery, 8 Elm Street, Searsport, Saturday, April 6, 4-5 p.m.
Perry will discuss his recent publication Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter (Broadleaf, 2023), and Rosen will speak about his recent book What Would Jesus See? (Broadleaf, 2023).
Perry’s book explores the relationship between crying and transformation, as well as the social forces that inhibit full emotional expression. Rosen examines Jesus as a visual thinker, considering how he encourages looking at the world with radical empathy.
Together, Perry and Rosen will explore how Jesus’ tears reveal how he saw the people around him, and how—while temporarily obscuring humanity’s own vision—weeping can give greater clarity.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Aaron Rosen, Ph.D is executive director of the Clemente Course in the Humanities, a national nonprofit delivering transformative, free college courses to underserved communities. He is also visiting professor at King’s College London, where he taught previously. He began his career as a fellow at Yale, Oxford, and Columbia universities after receiving his Ph.D from the University of Cambridge. Rosen has curated dozens of exhibitions and is founding director of the not-for-profit Parsonage Gallery in Maine. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including What Would Jesus See?, Revisiting the Rothko Chapel, Art & Religion in the 21st Century, and Journey through Art.
Benjamin Perry is the editorial Director at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, and the Consulting Minister for Public Theology at Middle Church. An award-winning writer, his work has been featured in The Atlantic, Slate, Religion News Service, Sojourners, The Huffington Post, Vice, Bustle and more. Cry, Baby won a 2023 Choice Award in non-fiction, and has been featured on NPR, Vox, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Atlantic and more.
