The Tucson Festival of books is in its 5th year.

See www.tucsonfestivalofbooks.org for complete list of authors, exhibitors, etc. for this wildly popular book festival held every March on the University of Arizona mall. Free event, free parking around the UA Campus. Two years ago our Tucsoncitizen.com news source had a booth there.

March 9 and 10, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days.

New this year, my husband UA University Distinguished Professor (and 2012 Arizona Professor of the Year) Albrecht Classen will be signing his 2012 Southwestern book, “The Letters of the Swiss Jesuit Missionary Philipp Segesser (1689-1762)” on both days of the festival. Swiss missionary Segesser followed in the footsteps of early Jesuit missionary Father Eusebio Kino into the Sonoran region of Arizona.

The Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS) in Tempe, Arizona published this book last year (click here for previous post). The ACMRS festival booth will be #141 just south of the University of Arizona Bookstore booth, directly south of the west end of the UA Memorial Student Union.

Also published in 2012 by Lexington Books is “Early History of the Southwest through the Eyes of German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries” (about Father Kino, Father Segesser, and others) by my husband.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday March 9, Professor Classen will join Professor Donald Weinstein in a talk in the UA Student Union Ventana Room upstairs (level 4):

“Savonarola and Segesser: They Changed History, for Heaven’s Sake”

When: Saturday 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Where: Student Union – Ventana Room
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Authors:
Albrecht Classen
Donald Weinstein

Weinstein is the author of the biography, “Savonarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet.” It presents an original interpretation of the 15th century friar’s prophetic career. Donald Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus in the UA Dept. of History, where he was formerly Department Head.

Moderator: Hester Oberman (daughter of the late Dr. Heiko Oberman, renowned UA Regents Professor of History). She is an Adjunct Professor in the Religious Studies Dept.at the University of AZ.

Join these three UA Professors in a fascinating discussion about early modern clerics, their religious passion, and impact on their societies.

And enjoy all the many exhibitors, authors, performances at this wonderful book festival. I’ve been attending every year and it’s always a fun-filled, intellectually stimulating, and popular event for all. It’s also very children friendly with lots of entertainment and activities for the kids.

Last year I wrote about Swiss Jesuit missionary Philip Segesser’s letters being published online:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2011/04/07/jesuit-missionary-philipp-segessers-letters-to-be-published/.

Recently this book “The Letters of the Swiss Jesuit Missionary Philip Segesser (1689-1762)”, edited by UA University Distinguished Professor Albrecht Classen (my husband) has appeared in print by the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS) in Tempe, Arizona. Here’s the description of the book from their website:

The early history of Sonora/Arizona (Pimería Alta) was profoundly influenced and determined by the Jesuit missionaries from Europe. After Padre Eusebio Kino’s death in 1711, an increasing number of German-speaking Jesuits arrived in our region and soon dominated the entire missionary district. The Swiss Philipp Segesser, one of the most effective, pragmatic, and industrious members of the Jesuit Order active here in the Southwest, has not yet been fully noticed because, until now, his large collection of letters has never been translated into English. Segesser’s reports about his daily life in our region, his insightful observations about local agriculture, fauna, flora, climate, and geology, and his numerous comments about the American Indian lifestyle, clothing, food, hunting habits, religion, and culture at large are a most intriguing and fascinating glimpse into early Arizona history.

The cover illustration was done by Jere Freeh, one of my husband’s UA undergraduate students who collaborated on the project with him.

Today radio talk show host Bill Buckmaster interviewed Professor Classen about his new book. Click here for the interview on the Buckmaster Show, KVOI 1030 AM.

The book costs $49.95 and can be purchased by clicking here.

Save the Date: My husband will be giving a talk at Himmel Park Branch Library on Monday October 29 at 6 p.m. about missionary Segesser and other German Jesuits, including Padre Kino.