Lorenzo Society UNB Saint John

10/12/2026

We’re very excited to be hosting Nicholas Herring this week at the Saint John Arts Centre, in partnership with Fog Lit Literary Festival!

10/12/2026

The term is in full swing, and we have a full schedule in our music series this October! 🎶

Join us every Wednesday at noon in the Baird Dining Hall for live performances from very talented local musicians. 🎻

Full details are available on our website; all events are free and open to everyone! ☺️

09/21/2026

The Saint John String Quartet is back and kicking off the 2026/2027 music series!

Join us in the Hans W. Klohn Commons on Wednesday at noon for an hour of fantastic music 🎶 ☺️

The Lorenzo Society Music Series is back!! 🥳

Our noon-hour concerts begin on Wednesday September 23rd at noon in the Hans W. Klohn Commons (UNBSJ Library). The Saint John String Quartet will open the series, during which they will share a new multidisciplinary project!

Admission is free and all are welcome!

09/15/2026

This year’s Indigenous Film Festival begins one week from today!

On Tuesday, September 22nd, join us for a screening of SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK: AT THE PLACE OF GHOSTS (2025). This film follows Siblings Mise’l and Antle, who were close as children, but trauma from their upbringing has caused them to drift apart as adults. When they are both haunted by a malevolent spirit of bones and rot, the siblings are forced to reunite.

The screening will begin at 7 p.m. in the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre 🎥

The film festival will continue Wednesday, September 23rd and Thursday September 24th with a documentary each evening. The following reflection, which was written by a student who attended one of last year’s screenings, underscores the power of Indigenous stories, histories, and perspectives. They write:

Before watching the film Yintah, I did not understand the conflicts surrounding pipeline construction in Canada and how it interfered with Indigenous land rights. I did not understand the depth of the cultural, historical, and spiritual connection that Indigenous Peoples have with their land . . . After watching the film, my thinking has significantly changed. I understand the importance of protecting sacred lands that have been maintained for generations. The film made it clear that colonization remains embedded in the legal and economic aspect of Canada today –through the enforcement of Canadian law on unceded territories, through the actions of the RCMP, and through the prioritization of industrial development over Indigenous governance.

The film festival is free and open to everyone! We look forward to seeing you there.

09/14/2026

The Lorenzo Society Music Series is back!! 🥳

Our noon-hour concerts begin on Wednesday September 23rd at noon in the Hans W. Klohn Commons (UNBSJ Library). The Saint John String Quartet will open the series, during which they will share a new multidisciplinary project!

Admission is free and all are welcome!

09/03/2026

Save the date! Our Indigenous Film Festival will take place September 22nd, 23rd, and 24th in the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre on the UNBSJ Campus. Each screening will begin at 7 p.m. and there will be a brief discussion after.

Each year, the Indigenous Film Festival makes space to learn, reflect on, and discuss the history of colonialism in what is now known as Canada, contemporary experiences of Indigenous people across the country, and the importance of reconciliation.

After attending last year’s film festival, one student from UNBSJ’s Indigenous Health and Healing course reflected: I got the opportunity to watch the documentary Yintah, where it shows the emotional moments when community members across Canada organize blockages of railways and highways to stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation. In the documentary, the blockages were a way to disrupt the world around them and force the public and the Canadian government to pay attention in hopes to reclaim their land. Watching those moments in the film, it reminded me that real change needs action and not just words. It made me reflect on my own role in reconciliation, and how I can choose to either stay silent or take small steps toward supporting Indigenous rights in meaningful ways.

We will share more about each of this year’s films, and reflections from years past, in the coming weeks! As always, admission to the film festival is free and all are welcome. 🤗

08/28/2026

We have three exciting book launches coming up this term! 🥳

On September 17th, Michelle Porter will launch her new novel A Glacier's Guide to Dying.

On October 14th, Nicholas Herring will launch his new novel Your Breath in Charcoal.

On November 18th, Margaret Sweatman will launch her new novel Night Birds alongside Jeremy Gilmer.

More details will be available soon 🗓️

In the meantime, which book are you most excited to read? 📚

08/25/2026

It’s been one week since our Fall 2026 Reading Series launch and we are still smiling! ☺️

A huge note of thanks to all who came out to see Wayne Johnston read from and chat about his new novel, The Novice of Holloway Hall. It was so lovely to see so many folks supporting the literary arts! 📚

Watch for more information on upcoming events in our Reading Series, as well as the Indigenous Film Festival in September, and musical performances throughout year!

08/20/2026

We are excited to announce the next event in the Fall 2026 Reading Series! 📚

Award-winning author Michelle Porter will join us to launch her new novel A Glacier's Guide to Dying.

A Glacier's Guide to Dying follows Robbie, a young man torn between trying to "rescue" his stubborn Métis mother and the quest to find his father, a white man often absent due to mental health challenges but now long missing in the mountains south of the border. After he and his American uncle find themselves following a very pregnant bison up the slopes of a huge glacier named Omega, Robbie must also navigate between fear and wonder as he starts hearing the ancient voice of Omega giving him guidance. Has Robbie accessed a deep connection to the land, one he can trust? Or is he succumbing to the same illness that had wreaked havoc on his father's life?

Michelle's debut novel, A Grandmother Begins the Story, won the 2024 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and was a finalist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Her previous books include the memoir Scratching River and Approaching Fire, a work of creative nonfiction about her great-grandfather, a fiddler from the Red River, which was shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award. Michelle is the descendent of a long line of Métis storytellers and a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Michelle lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where she teaches creative writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University.

More details about the event will be available soon! We hope to see you there ☺️

08/17/2026

Don’t forget! Wayne Johnston will be in Saint John tomorrow night to chat about his new novel, The Novice of Holloway Hall! 📖

The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Hans W. Klohn Commons. Books will be available for purchase and signing. ✍️

As always, this event is free and all are welcome! We hope to see you there. ☺️