Baobab Room

Marilyn Nelson, a three-time finalist for the National Book Award, is one of America's most celebrated poets. She is the author or translator of more than twenty critically acclaimed books for adults and children, and the recipient of many honors and awards, including the Frost Medal, the Golden Rose Award, the NSK Neustadt Award, and the NCTE Poetry Award. She has served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, as Poet-In-Residence of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and as Poet Laureate of Connecticut. Father Jacques de Foïard-Brown of Mauritius leads retreats and conferences in France and elsewhere. He received God's call one day and entered the Benedictine monastery of Solesmes in France, where he remained for seven years. Returning to his country of origin, he was ordained a priest and a teacher of Christian meditation in Mauritius. He has lived in a hermitage for over twenty years, while serving the communities that surround it.