December 2005

Greetings from Inkberry!

We had an action-packed November. The month began with a visit from poet Jack Gilbert, who came here under the aegis of our NEA grant. He did a delightful question-and-answer session in the faculty lounge of Stetson Hall at Williams College (and he asked us almost as many questions as he answered; it really was an interactive Q and A), we had the pleasure of dining with him (and with several other literary luminaries) on Water Street, and then he gave a reading in Thompson Memorial Chapel. If you’d like to read more about his visit, and see photographs from his time here, you can do so here at inkblog.

One short week later, we convened a team of volunteers to put together our annual appeal. Each year we send out a letter to everyone on our mailing list, sharing news of what great stuff we’ve been up to and seeking donations to help us continue doing the things we do. We usually raise a good chunk of the coming year’s operating funds with the annual appeal; it’s the mainstay of our fundraising, and though it takes a lot of work to get it prepped and out the door, it’s worth it when the letters and checks start rolling in. Donations to Inkberry (and Inkberry memberships) are tax-deductible; if you’ve gotten the letter and haven’t sent back a donation yet, please do! (And if you aren’t on our mailing list, you can still support Inkberry by purchasing a membership in our online store…) Anyway, if you want to read more about the annual appeal adventure, you can do so here at inkblog.

Now our 2005 is beginning to wind down — our last reading this year will be Biographies for Young People, part of the WordPlay series presented by Inkberry at Papyri Books, in which Naomi Pasachoff will talk about her historical biographies for young readers, followed by an open-mike. That’s on the second Saturday of the month, as always, which is December 10th.

Still, our Thursday night Salon Series is going strong, and will continue straight through December; on 12/1 we’ll have Thursday Night Crit (a chance to swap and discuss work with other writers), on 12/8 Thursday Night Wax (a chance to wax poetic, or prosaic, and share favorite work by yourself or others), on 12/15 Thursday Night Pub (a chance to share publication strategies), and on 12/22 our Thursday Night Screening (of a lit-related movie). Don’t come on the 29th, though — we’re taking the fifth Thursday of the month off for the holidays.

Meanwhle, we’re busily gearing up for 2006, our Fifth Anniversary Year, with all kinds of neat plans for the spring season. We’ll be printing the spring calendar at the end of December, and mailing it just after the first of the year, so keep an eye out for that. (You can also check our website, www.inkberry.org; we’ll be updating it with our spring offerings over the next few weeks.)

As far as reading goes, I was fortunate enough recently to read a truly fabulous chapbook of poems, Tisha Turk’s Getting Out Alive from Parallel Press. In this collection, Turk chronicles her wrestle with cancer, and her recovery into a new life. The poems are spare and resonant, each detail carefully chosen, and the arc draws the reader in; once I picked up the book I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it, and I closed the cover with tears on my face. Not for the agonies Turk suffered, though those were clear — but for the hope with which she ends her journey, and with which we all carry on our days.

And before I go, I’d like to offer a brief word in support of something our neighbor MASS MoCA is doing soon: “Animal Farm,” the classic George Orwell novel, reinvented as a puppet musical. It’s a rare piece that can both entertain and inform on many levels at once, but “Animal Farm: The Puppet Musical” does just that. For young children it’s Lion King with barnyard animals and a simple moral lesson: power corrupts. For adults, it contains all the eerie nuances and poignant metaphors that Orwell, who also wrote 1984, is known for. Friday, 12/9, 8pm. $19 for orchestra seats, $16 mezzanine, or $12 for kids or students.

And that’s the news from Inkberry! Please remember us as you do your holiday giving — we offer gift certificates in any denomination, and your donations and membership dollars go a long way. We wish you a joyful December, and hope to see you here in the new year!

— Rachel