Kerry Kennedy Charms At Marymount
On a cheery Wednesday evening at Marymount Manhattan College, Kerry Kennedy, the human rights activist and author, appeared as part of the Writing Center’s Best-Selling Author series and talked about her latest book, Being Catholic Now. Lewis Frumkes, the Director of the Center, introduced Kennedy, saying he had first met her when she was his dinner partner at a rehearsal dinner at the Gore Wedding in Washington some years back.
“At first I didn’t realize who she was and just thought to myself, ‘what a nice, bright, attractive young lady’. But when I asked her name and she told me Kerry Kennedy, slow as I am I put two and two together and said, ‘you aren’t by any chance . . .’ And Kerry cut me off politely and said unaffectedly, ‘I’m Bobbie and Ethel’s daughter.’”
This night, Kennedy, who not only established the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, but is also chair of The Amnesty International Leadership Council, talked about Catholicism and her book, Being Catholic Now, for which she interviewed a diverse group of people including Anna Quindlan, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Maher, Nancy Pelosi, and Doris Kearns Goodwin. She told stories that were at times moving and at other times hilarious. One story described Nancy Pelosi who, as a little girl, wanted to be a priest: when asked why she wanted to be a priest rather than a nun, she answered, “Because the priests have all the power.”
The crowd loved Kerry Kennedy, and Frumkes reminded them to return on April 1st when the Writing Center would present the mega-selling author Sandra Brown. For info on programs call The Writing Center at 212-774-4810. #
