When people take one of Prof. Miriam Therese Winter’s classes or workshops here, they almost invariably find themselves profoundly changed. That might be, in part, because MT has had a pretty remarkable life.
She’s a Medical Mission Sister who has written hundreds of hymns, had a gold record in the 60s (“Joy Is Like the Rain”), and sang at Carnegie Hall. She’s worked with starving children in Ethiopia, with refugees in Cambodia, and she survived a battle with breast cancer. Her legacy at Hartford Seminary includes the beloved Women’s Leadership Institute, the Prayer Shawl ministry and her well-attended courses as a professor of Liturgy, Worship, Spirituality and Feminist Studies.
All that is to say that her autobiography, published in 1999, is a great read. So great, in fact, that Audible.com decided to create a special audiobook that was released just a few weeks ago and has become an Audiofile.com Editor’s Pick. It also just received an "Earphone Award" from Audiofile magazine.
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The book is narrated by acclaimed singer-songwriter Janis Ian, who won a Grammy for her own audiobook "Society's Child." Ian -- best known for the classics "At Seventeen" and "Society's Child" -- also sings a selection of MT's songs on the audiobook recording, which makes it even more special.
The story of how Janis Ian came to narrate the book and collaborate with MT on a new song is a fascinating one.
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It starts with another project called "Sacred Folk Songs," a five CD compilation of MT’s songs. Dan Paulos, director of the St. Bernadette Institute of Sacred Art in Albuquerque, N.M., came up with the idea to ask well-known artists to sing MT's best loved songs as a tribute to her and as a way to introduce the songs to a new generation. All proceeds from the project go to the Medical Mission Sisters.
Paulos approached Janis Ian about recording one of the songs, but as MT puts it, "This gal, she wasn't biting."
Ian says she searched MT's catalogue and couldn't find a song suited to her voice. Then she listened to an early album and heard a spoken word piece that she loved. She thought the verses were from the Bible, but she couldn't find it there. She emailed MT to ask her where the verses came from. "Turned out she wrote it herself," Ian says.
Ian asked for permission to set the words to music and told MT she could veto the song, "I Am the One," if she didn't like it. In the end, Ian added two new verses and turned one of MT's verses into the refrain.
When Ian was performing at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, she had a chance to visit MT in Hartford and sing the song for her.
"She played it on my own guitar," MT said. "I absolutely loved it. ... Janis did an incredible job of catching the inner spirit of what I was doing."
The song collaboration led to the audiobook recording, on which Ian sings a number of MT's songs. In May, the two met up for a fundraiser in Nashville called "When Worlds Collide: Two Jersey Broads on Life, Love and the Holy Spirit."
Ian described their work together like this: "Take a Jewish lesbian singer-songwriter, and a world-famous Catholic feminist theologian, throw them in a pot together, and stir. The result proves that we're all the same under the skin!"
Hartford Seminary will hold a listening party for the audiobook release of "The Singer and the Song" on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. (rescheduled from Dec. 17 due to snow) in the Seminary's meeting room at 77 Sherman St., Hartford, CT. It’s a chance to meet MT and hear more about her fascinating story. Everyone is welcome.
