September 2007

Greetings from Inkberry!

Starting this month, Inkmail will bring some new voices to your inbox. You’ll still hear from me occasionally, but you’ll also get to know some of the other folk who work to make Inkberry a vital, exciting enterprise. First up is Linda White, Inkberry’s board president.

Hope to see you soon, Jill

I’m happy to have this opportunity to address members and friends of Inkberry. Email can be so anonymous sometimes, but I hope to get to know more of you in person and for you all to feel that Inkberry holds a valued place in your crowded inbox and in your minds and hearts.

I took an Inkberry class about five years ago and have been hooked on Inkberry ever since. For nearly two years, I’ve served as President of the Board of Directors, and I continue to be an eager student of Inkberry’s fine teachers and an enthusiastic audience for writers who share their work at readings and Wordplay.

I’m sorry to say I missed Naomi Novik when she read at MCLA last year, but this summer I delved into her Temeraire trilogy. It’s not my usual fare, but I thoroughly enjoyed being in the company of her intriguing dragons and will definitely seek out the next installment.

I moved on to another trilogy, Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown opus, source for the movie “The Commitments.” I don’t expect that Inkberry will ever host Doyle – airfare from Ireland is somewhat beyond our means – but I can still introduce him to those of you who haven’t had the pleasure. I’ve read many Irish novelists and playwrights, been to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and toured the exhibit of illuminated manuscripts at Trinity College, but Doyle prepared me to go back to Ireland and hang out in the working class pubs that my relatives were most likely to frequent. Writing mostly in dialogue, Doyle brings chaos and comedy to vibrant life, and made me want to raise a pint of stout with his engaging, annoying, and hilarious characters.

The latest book on my summer reading list is The Missing Worldby Margot Livesey, who will be one of Inkberry’s featured readers on September 29th at 7:00 PM at the Eclipse Mill in North Adams. One of the great things Inkberry provides is the impetus and opportunity to get more intimately acquainted with incredible writers. I’m so taken with the complex characters that Livesey creates that I plan to read many more of her books. But first, I’ll spend some time with Julia Glass’s latest novel, The Whole World Over. Glass received the National Book Award for Three Junes in 2002, and she is the other featured reader on September 29th. I hope I’ll see you there. We’re all in for a treat when these talented writers come to town.

And, by the way, when you see Jill, congratulate her on having a story published in the latest edition of Ploughshares, edited by Advisory Board member Andrea Barrett.

Finally, please let us know if there is a way that Inkberry can serve you better in ways that are meaningful and useful. All suggestions are most welcome.

Best regards, Linda

Happening this month

Wordplay, Saturday, September 8 at 7:00 PM featuring writers from upstreet, volume 3, at Papyri Books 45 Eagle Street, North Adams. Free. This second-Saturday series, co-presented by Inkberry and Papyri Books, features regional writers, followed by an open-mike. Hosted by Gail Burns. Vivian Dorsel and selected authors will present selections from the successful local literary magazine now in its third edition. Read more about this event at http://inkberry.org/events/

One-shot Workshop: The Artist Statement taught by Lauren O’Neal will focus on writing and editing your statement taking into consideration issues such as tone, length and purpose. Meets on Saturday, September 29th from 10 AM to 12 PM. Fee: $55. As always, Inkberry members receive a 10% discount. Please note, this event was rescheduled from Saturday, September 15th in consideration of Joseph Conway’s memorial service at Mass MoCA on Saturday, September 15th.

Thursday Night Critique, facilitated by Bill Belcher — 1st and 3rd Thursday at 7:30pm at Inkberry, 61 Main Street #223. Free. You got yourself in the chair and wrote the draft. Print the draft and bring it to Inkberry. Writers need feedback. Get it here: http://inkberry.org/workshops/atinkberry/.

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News from Bill Belcher

Thursday Night Critique is designed to provide a fun and engaging atmosphere for writers of all levels and styles. Some of our TNC participants are working on novels, memoirs, and poetry collections; others submit new, unconnected poems, stories, and creative nonfiction pieces for the group to workshop. We regularly discuss writing resources, the revision process, the art of submitting to literary magazines, and whatever other topics come to mind. The goal is to keep writing and keep engaging with the process in order to improve our work. In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose notes “what writers know is that, ultimately, we learn to write by practice, hard work, by repeated trial and error, success and failure, and from the books we admire.” In my experience, the regular Thursday Night Critique session has helped members sharpen their writing skills by providing a productive outlet for their works-in-progress. As a facilitator and participant, it is a rewarding experience to work with such a creative, dedicated, and talented group. We are always looking for new members—feel free to drop in on a session or email me at bill@inkberry.org.

Inkberry’s impressive reading series has featured awarding-winning writers such as Andrea Barrett, Mark Doty, Donald Hall, Rick Moody, and many, many others. This month, two more remarkable writers will join Inkberry’s extended family: Julia Glass and Margot Livesey. These two fine authors will read on September 29th at 7:00 in Eclipse Mill; it is bound to be another amazing evening. As the new Reading Series Coordinator, I’ll be working hard to continue Inkberry’s successful reading series. Over the next few months, I will begin to schedule writers for the spring and summer sessions. My goals are simple: to pair established writers with emerging writers, to continue our partnerships with reading venues through the Northern Berkshires, and to offer readings in a variety of genres—from poetry in April to creative non-fiction and/or cross-genre work in the summer. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at bill@inkberry.org. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming readings.

Opportunities

Call for volunteers: Inkberry is looking for someone with office skills to help out in the office a few hours each week. If you are interested, please contact Jill Gilbreth, Inkberry’s executive director, at jill@inkberry.org.

Call for readers: The David & Joyce Milne Public Library is looking for readers to perform classic and contemporary plays at the library. Read more about this opportunity at http://inkberry.org/opportunities/index.html.

Inkberry is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

As always, if you are receiving this inkmail in error or would like us to send news by snail mail instead, please contact us at info@inkberry.org.