March 2001

Hello again!

The days are just packed, said Calvin to Hobbes, and that’s pretty much what it feels like here at Inkberry — exciting days piled one on top of the other.

If you’ve seen one of the calendars we’ve stuck all over North County, then you know we’ve pinned down a date for Donald Hall’s reading. He’ll be at the Main Street Stage on June 14th at 7:30 p.m, so mark your calendars now. Hall’s appearance will be the perfect start to our reading series — he’s one of my writing heroes.

We’ve also secured appearances for later in our season — award-winning novelist Claire Messud (The Last Life, When the World Was Steady) for next January, and singer/songwriter Bernice Lewis, (“Religion and Release,” “Open Lines and Signals”) for later next year. Bernice will be sharing her poetry and prose; I’ve been privileged to see some of her written work, and it’s as much of a treat as her songwriting.

Mainly, however, we’ve spent the past month gearing up for our workshop and book groups. I’ve already mentioned our flyering efforts, and we’ve had great ink in the Berkshire Advocate, buzz on the airwaves of Bennington’s WBTN, and pixels online at iBerkshires and Streetmail. Rachel and Emily will be spreading the word on WAMC’s “Round Table” discussion on Thursday, April 5, at 10:06 a.m. Tune in and cheer them on!

It’s really happening — our multi-genre writing workshop begins Thursday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Main Street Stage. There’s room left in the class, so if you’ve been waffling, you’ve still got the opportunity to join. If you’ve ever thought about taking your writing seriously, it’s time. We have an excellent volunteer work-study program; you can join even if you’re crunched for cash. Tell your friends, too!

Our book groups start up on Tuesday, April 10 with Rachel’s New England Voices group; I’ll be leading the Classic Science Fiction group starting April 17. Each group will meet every other week. This is a great way to meet like-minded people, get together, and talk about life — here in New England, or in an entirely different dimension. There’s some room left in both groups, and Papyri Books is offering a great deal for Inkberry readers.

Short version: go for it! Sign up! We’re at http://www.inkberry.org; there are registration forms in all of our calendars, or you can call us at (413) 664-0775.

When you love reading, you squeeze it in whenever you can — lunch hours, waiting in the dentist’s office, hanging out with laundry at the Thrifty Bundle. This month, I’ve mainly been reading short, portable fantasy (including Neil Gaiman’s brilliant Sandman), but two books by essayists are the real stars. Nancy Mairs’ Waist-High in the World is her unflinchingly honest look at multiple sclerosis and her life in a wheelchair. As with any of Mairs’ books (Voice Lessons, Ordinary Time), she looks at the harsh realities of life with a vibrant, sexy wit. Rachel also handed me Stone Work by John Jerome, who’s agreed to read for us next year. I feel as though I’ve just found a kindred spirit. Jerome’s prose is warm and charming, but moreover, I’m just struck by its clarity. Part of me hopes his style of writing is what Inkberry is about — each of us telling our stories the way we see them, gracefully, without pretention or fuss.

(Go sign up!)

See you soon, — Sandy