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Straus Library will be filled with song this Friday night as the annual Gospel Explosion unfolds with performances and praise.

Gospel Explosion started when Lami Olatunji ’10 approached Gospel Choir Director Lori Dow with the idea of celebrating gospel music in coordination with Black History Month. Over the years, the program has evolved, with some events featuring performances by outside groups, and others featuring combinations of 91̽��’s musical ensembles. Last year, 91̽��’s chamber singers and orchestra musicians collaborated on some pieces.

“Every single year, the program changes,” Lori explains. “We’ve had great parent participation and support, and we’ve had alumni come back to perform with us. It’s always been about more than just 91̽��’s Gospel Choir. It’s about taking this love of gospel music and sharing it with the whole community.”

Three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky discussed his translation of Dante’s Inferno with students taking Founding Voices: Literature from the Ancient World through the Renaissance.

In a free-flowing conversation, an affable Mr. Pinksy answered students’ questions about his translation, which they are reading in class. He explained how his full translation came about after he was invited to translate one of the Inferno cantos for an anthology. He also helped another poet with his assigned canto and realized how much he enjoyed the work.

“I’m very interested in difficulty—a worthy difficulty—not trivial or canned. I realized with this, I had a difficulty that I really loved,” said Mr. Pinsky.

In a sunny room at the top of Warren Hall, students gather around the Harkness table to discuss Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Teacher Abby Cacho reads two passages from the novel, then the students write reflections on what they’ve heard. Water for tea warms in an electric kettle, and Sade provides some background music.

Big questions emerge from the reflections, sparking thoughtful debates: “In a relationship with God, or in a relationship with another person, where do we draw the line between commitment and submission?” one student asks.

Another continues the thought, asking,“Is there ever a relationship completely devoid of a power dynamic?”

Samantha Bevins ’21 testified before the Joint Committee on Election Laws at the Massachusetts State House on H.4161, her proposed legislation to allow young people who are 17 to vote during primary elections if they will turn 18 in time for general elections.

“We are simply trying to give those of us old enough to vote in the general election the right to pick the candidate for whom we will ultimately vote,” said Sam, who spent hundreds of hours researching and gathering support for the bill. Sam is a day student who lives in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Ben Simpson ’21 and Josie Vogel ’21 also testified with Sam, surrounded by classmates, a map showing the 24 states that already allow this, and the bipartisan support of Democratic State Representative Joan Meschino and Republican State Senator Patrick O’Connor.