I can't belive no one from the steering committee has promoted the literary festival on this site yet. Oh well.
In case the big brown banner hanging outside the River Garden isn't enough to alert you--the 6th (or something) literary festival starts up on Friday, October 6th and runs through Sunday, October 8th.
Susan Keese wrote a nice article about it in the current issue of Vermont Life and quoted my friend Reeve Gutsell. Follow this: http://www.vtlife.com/vtlife/current_issue/au06-literary.htm
The full schedule is at www.brattleboroliteraryfestival.org.
Here are my picks (and bios):
FRIDAY, OCT 5:
7:30 - 8:45 pm, The Stone Church (Grove & Main)
Martin Espada & Ilya Kaminsky -- POETRY
MARTIN ESPADA has been called “the Latino poet of his generation.” His book, ALABANZA: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS, 1982-2002, received the Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement and was named an American Library Association Notable book. Winner of many awards, including a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship, Espada teaches creative writing and the work of Pablo Neruda at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His most recentbook is THE REPUBLIC OF POETRY, just released by Norton.
ILYA KAMINSKY was born in Odessa, Ukraine (former Soviet Union) in 1977, and arrived in the United States in 1993, when his family was granted asylum by the American government. Ilya is the author of DANCING IN ODESSA, which won the Whiting Writer’s Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Metcalf Award, the Dorset Prize, the Ruth Lilly Fellowship, given annually by Poetry magazine. It was also named Best Poetry Book of the Year 2004 by ForeWord magazine.
SATURDAY, OCT 6:
1:30 - 3 pm, The Center Congregational Church
Mary Gaitskill & Jeffery Lent -- FICTION
MARY GAITSKILL's novel VERONICA was listed as one of the “10 Best Books of 2005” by The New York Times and was a finalist for this year’s National Book Award and the 2005 National Book Critic’s Circle Award. Her other books are BAD BEHAVIOR, TWO GIRLS FAT AND THIN, and BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO. Her story “Secretary” was the basis for the film of the same name. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she teaches creative writing at Syracuse University.
She's also just been anthologized in BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2006.
JEFFERY LENT published his first book, IN THE FALL, to national acclaim. Hailed as "majestic ...epic ... vital" by The New York Times Book Review and compared to the works of William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy by Newsweek, the debut landed its author squarely in the company of the best American novelists of the day. Set in Vermont, IN THE FALL is a multi-generational story that begins during the Civil War. Lent's second book, LOST NATION, is set in the New Hampshire wilderness. He is currently completing two new novels.
3:15 - 4:30 pm, The Brattleboro Museum & Arts Center
Hearts of Spain: Poetry of the Spanish Civil War -- POETRY
The Spanish Civil War aroused the passions of many Spanish writers, from FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA to Nobel Laureate VICENTE ALEIXANDRE. The war was also a magnet for writers from outside of Spain, who viewed the conflict as a battle against the rising tide of European fascism. PABLO NERUDA, LANGSTON HUGHES,GEORGE ORWELL, WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, ERNEST HEMINGWAY, and DOROTHY PARKER, among others, all spent time in Spain between 1936 - 1939, either writing and reporting about the war or as volunteers in the Republican army. This event will feature readings of poems about the Spanish Civil War by PABLO NERUDA, CESAR VALLEJO, MIGUEL HERNANDEZ, and others. Readers will include MARTIN ESPADA, NILOUFAR TALEBI, and BRAIN TURNER with an introduction by CAROL ZOREF. On display in the gallery will be reproductions of Spanish Civil War propaganda posters.
5 - 6 pm, Sanctuary: Hooker-Dunham Theater
Brain Turner -- POETRY
BRIAN TURNER is a soldier-poet who served for seven years in the U.S. Army. Beginning in November 2003, he was an infantry team leader in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. His debut collection, HERE, BULLET, is the winner of the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award. He has been featured on “All Things Considered” and “Fresh Air.”
He came into town today and browsed around the bookstore. He seemed like a nice fella. His book is AWESOME.
7:30 - 9 pm, The Stone Church
The Write Action Reading -- LOCAL AUTHORS
Featuring winners of the winners of this year's literary contest (including ibrattleboro's own ROLF, among others), and, I believe, an open mike after that.
SUNDAY, OCT 8:
11 - 12:25 pm, Brooks Memorial Library
Charles C. Mann -- NON-FICTION
CHARLES C. MANN is a three-time National Magazine Award finalist. He has received writing prizes from the American Bar Association, the American Institute of Physics, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Margaret Sanger Foundation. His most recent book is 1491: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS. A correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Science, and Wired, he has covered the intersection of science, technology, and commerce for many newspapers and magazines here and abroad.
2:15 - 3 PM, Sanctuary: Hooker-Dunham Theater
E.B. Lewis -- KIDS' BOOKS
E.B. LEWIS is the illustrator of numerous books for children including HAPPY FEET: THE SAVOY BALLROOM LINDY HOPPERS AND ME, TALKIN' ABOUT BESSIE (a 2003 Coretta Scott King Award winner), THE BAT BOY AND HIS VIOLIN (a Coretta Scott King Honor book), DOWN THE ROAD (a Notable Book for Children by the American Library Association), and THE OTHER SIDE (a Notable Book for Language Arts).
I would be remiss to mention that the author of his books HAPPY FEET and ACROSS THE ALLEY, Rich Michelson, will be appreaing at Everyones Books on November 9th.
All events are free to the public. And PLEASE fill out the reader/volunteer surveys they hand out. I do believe they actually read them.
See you there.