Day Three
Yesterday was a delight from start to finish! Highlights from one attendee, Lesley Ann Beck of Berkshire Living, here, and photos and videos to come.
At last night’s dinner, Garrison Keillor, our Henry James awardee, gave a moving speech in which he passed along these simple yet profound truths to the writers and would-be writers in attendance:
- Don’t write for the ghosts of your past. Write for your reader.
- Everyone has a secret heart and secret life. Even your mother. Write yours, and don’t be too delicate about it.
- Write with your whole heart. Your readers deserve this; you owe it to them.
Many of us listening, writers or not, felt we’d stumbled into the secret fellowship of those who live by and for words, and welcomed as friend and kin. There was magic in the air.
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Festivities continue and wrap-up today with more lively literary talk:
- Elinor Lipman (The Family Man, My Latest Grievance) reads from her work and talks, salon-style, with book lovers on The Mount’s Terrace at 8:30. Breakfast included.
- Judith Thurman, Laura Miller and Katie Roiphe talk about rule-breaking literary women they love at 10:30.
- Dani Shapiro (Devotion) is in conversation with Susan Arbetter at 11 in the bewitching sylvan setting of The Mount’s glen.
- Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief) is in conversation with Susan Arbetter at 2.
- Poetry readings on the Terrace at 12:30 and 3:30.
See you there!
Up and Running!
UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: Catch Lesley Ann Beck’s live coverage of WordFest! It’s been a wonderful day! Next up: Cocktails in the historic Stables.
We had a terrific start to WordFest 2010 last night, with Francine Prose’s provocative and stylish talk, Ten Ways of Looking at Edith Wharton. In it, Prose considers the complexities, foibles, quirks (such as Wharton’s childhood penchant for “make up,” a game that involved embellishing aloud the contents of books in rapid-fire, almost incantory fashion) and, yes, undeniable brilliance of the multi-faceted author/gardener/designer/artful liver of life. Hometown hero Louisa Gilder gave a sparkling, heartfelt introduction of Prose. Thanks to all!
Much more ahead today and tomorrow! Some tickets are available at the door—please join us for these and other highlights:
- Breakfast with Elizabeth Brundage (just a couple of hours from now!)
- In-depth interviews with foodie Ruth Reichl, virtuosic fiction writer Jim Shepard and humorist (of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! fame) Roy Blount Jr.
- Lively, thoughtful panel discussions on Old Money, New Money and Writers in Wartime
- Special booksigning with tonight’s keynote speaker, Garrison Keillor, at 1 p.m. and many other booksignings throughout the day
- Poetry on the Terrace
- Cocktails in the historic Stables with festival authors—mix and mingle with the literati in a casual, rustic setting
See you at the ’Fest!
It’s Here!
Berkshire WordFest kicks off TONIGHT!
- Join us at 6 p.m. for a fantastic opening talk with one of the most distinguished women in American letters, Francine Prose. Party on the Terrace follows. $50. Tickets still available! Call 413-551-5113 to purchase.
- Are you a fiction lover? A memoir junkie? A New Yorker zealot? Curious about what makes writers write (and tick)? Get your tickets for Jim Shepard, Dani Shapiro, Susan Orlean and others, each individually in conversation with leading area journalists. Get your tickets today: 413-551-5113. $25 or $20 for Mount members. One-hour conversation followed by booksigning.
- Speaking of books: get yours now! The Festival Bookstore is open all day and through the weekend. Or call 413-728-8155 to reserve. We recommend that you purchase books prior to attending events. Great titles for each author appearing at the festival.
- Are you an early bird? Get the (book)worm! Tickets still available for our breakfast events. Have coffee and conversation with Elizabeth Brundage (Saturday) or Elinor Lipman (Sunday) in the morning serenity of The Mount’s beautiful Terrace. You’ll have a chance to mingle with the authors, ask questions and hear readings from works-in-progress or new releases. Not to be missed for fiction fans!
- It’s going to be a literary feast-ival! Don’t just take it from us; check out this preview in Berkshire Living. See you there!
Garrison Keillor:
More Breaking News!
Special booksigning added to Saturday line-up! Read news release.
Garrison Keillor will be signing books at Berkshire WordFest from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. This special addition to the festival line-up allows daytime festival participants to meet the Prairie Home Companion creator and get their books signed by a masterful storyteller, on and off the page. Two recent Keillor titles are available for purchase in the Festival Bookstore: Pilgrims: A Wobegon Romance and 77 Love Sonnets, an anthology of original poems. The bookstore is open now through the weekend, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow; 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call to reserve your copies: 413-728-8155.
The booksigning takes place in Teddy Wharton’s Den. The signing event is free with the purchase of a $10 Grounds Pass or $16 General Admission to The Mount. Both types of admission passes give you access to The Festival’s free events, including the full array of booksignings, poetry readings on the Terrace and a host of wordgames. Bookstore access is included in both passes.
Garrison Keillor is the recipient of The Mount’s 2010 Henry James Award. He will be honored at our Festival Fundraiser dinner on Saturday, July 24, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. A few tickets are still available! Evening includes an intimate dinner at Seven Hills with Keillor and other festival authors, and a talk by Keillor as you’ve never heard him before: a voice with a face, a master broadcaster unspooling his tales from just across the room.
COUNTDOWN TO WORDFEST! First Annual Literary Festival launches tomorrow, Friday, July 23. Read about it in today’s Berkshires Week. Tickets still available but going fast! Call 413-551-5113.
New & Noteworthy:
A Round-Up
Just released: the book trailer for Elizabeth Brundage’s newest thriller, A Stranger Like You, due out next month. Watch it! Better yet, join Brundage for breakfast and hear her read from the book on Saturday, July 24 at 8:30 a.m. Details here.
“Am I crossing the line?” Thoughtful New York Times Op-Ed by Dani Shapiro on Larry Rivers and her own experiences defining the boundary between life and art, parental responsibility and artistic license. Hear Shapiro live on Sunday, July 25 at 11 a.m. in conversation with Susan Arbetter. Details here.
Keep pace with Susan Orlean on Free Range, her New Yorker blog, and count the days till July 25, when she’s in conversation with Susan Arbetter at WordFest (2 p.m.)! Details here.
Read the July issue of the Sandisfield Times! Edited by none other than Simon Winchester of bucolic Sandisfield, MA (pop. 824, or thereabouts). Hear him at WordFest on July 24 at 10:30 a.m. Details here.
Not new, but certainly noteworthy: If you missed Elinor Lipman’s Modern Love piece in the New York Times a few months ago, act now to correct the oversight! Read “Sweetest at the End.” And chat with Lipman over breakfast on July 25 at 8:30 a.m. Details here.
