Ephraim Weber, grandson of Jacob Y. Shantz and great-grandson of Benjamin Eby, is known as the man who corresponded for forty years (1902-1941) with Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables. Hildi Froese Tiessen's lecture - which draws on research in several public archives - explores Weber's life in its associations with Mennonite leaders of the "Great Awakening" (S.F. Coffman in particular), and examines the dynamics that led to Weber's writing a soon-to-be-published novel set in the 1920s among Mennonites in Kitchener.
Hildi Froese Tiessen publishes scholarly work on the literature of the Mennonites and lectures widely on Mennonite writing. She has edited seven volumes of work by and about Mennonite/s writing in Canada, co-edited collections of photographs and paintings by Mennonite artists, and co-chaired three international conferences on Mennonite's Writing (including the forthcoming October 2006 Bluffton, Ohio conference on "Mennonite's Writing: Beyond Borders"). This winter she will deliver the Edna Staebler Research Fellow's lecture- on Ephraim Weber's unpublished novel, "Aunt Rachel's Nieces" - at the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum in Kitchener.
Marlene Epp, Academic Dean at Conrad Grebel, says:
throughout her career, Dr. Froese Tiessen has made an immense contribution to our understanding of the place of Mennonite writing in the Canadian literary canon. Her research on the life and writing of Ephraim Weber, illuminated in a 1996 publication of his letters 'home' in the early 20th century, and in the forthcoming study of his correspondence from noted author Lucy Maud Montgomery, will undoubtedly be an engaging addition to the literary history of Waterloo County.
The Benjamin Eby Lecture Series was established in 1985 and is a forum for Conrad Grebel faculty members to share their research and reflections with the larger college and university communities. The lecture series is named after Benjamin Eby (1785-1853), a leader in the Mennonite Church and in education. He was a writer and editor, and in addition to his vocation as a farmer, he was an advocate for books and scholarship.
For more information, email the Academic Dean's office or call at 519-885-0220 x265.
Phone: (519) 885-0220
Fax: (519) 519-0220-0014