Gaudium Award 2008
On Monday, November 10, 2008, The Breukelein Institute once again conferred its Gaudium Award upon a quartet of remarkable men and women. Held during its annual fund raising dinner at the Yale Club, this year’s honorees include:
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Dan Barry
A native New Yorker, Dan Barry has been a working journalist since 1983. Moving to Providence’s Bulletin-Journal, Mr. Barry covered state government, organized crime and wrote essays for the Sunday magazine. He and other members of an investigative team won a 1994 Pulitzer Prize for a series on the state’s court system. Dan joined the New York Times in 1995 serving in a variety of capacities. He wrote the About New York column till 2006. Nominated again for a 2006 Pulitzer Prize, his book City Lights was published in 2007. He is married to Mary Trinity, and they have two daughters, Nora and Grace.
Helen Prejean
Native of Louisiana, Helen Prejean joined the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1957. She began her prison ministry in 1981 when she became a spiritual companion to a convicted killer which opened her eyes to the Louisiana execution process. She turned that experience into the book, Dead Man Walking, which was nominated for a 1993 Pulitzer Prize. The 1996 film version received four Academy Award nominations. Sister’s victims’ advocacy group, Survive, counsels not only inmates but the families of murder victims as well. Her second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions was published in 2004.
Reynolds Price
Reynolds Price is currently the James B. Duke Professor of English at his alma mater, Duke University. While there, Mr. Price has published over thirty books. His first novel, A Long and Happy Life received the William Faulkner Award in 1962. His novel, Kate Vaiden, received the National Book Critics Circle in 1987. His memoir Clear Pictures was a finalist for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize. His books Letter to a Man in the Fire: Does God Exist and Does He Care? (1999), and Letter to a Godchild: Concerning Faith (2006) address his very public discussion of belief in God. He is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mary Rodgers
Author, screenwriter and composer, Mary Rodgers began her Broadway career as the composer of the musical Once Upon A Mattress with Carol Burnett (1959). Its success has included countless productions, a Tony nomination for Best Revival (1997) and a television production (2005). Ms Rodgers has enjoyed success as a writer for young people. Her multiple award winning book Freaky Friday has had two film versions, a TV version and a musical version. The daughter of Richard and Dorothy Rodgers, she is currently Chairman Emeritus of the Juilliard School and the family representative of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.