SCENE AROUND: Words from the Wise

 

Berkshire WordFest, a three-day festival of the written word, assembles acclaimed authors and dedicated readers in an idyllic setting replete with literary significance: The Mount in Lenox, Mass., former home of author Edith Wharton.

 

“Bringing together renowned contemporary authors in The Mount’s beautiful classical setting
seemed like a perfect way to honor and extend Wharton’s legacy,” says Mount executive director Susan Wissler. “Now that The Mount is expanding its mission to become a center for the written word, we felt this was the right year to make the idea of a literary festival a reality.”

 

Discussions, interviews, readings, and book signings begin Friday evening with a keynote talk by novelist Francine Prose, the Edith Wharton Achievement Award honoree. A series of panel discussions titled “Channeling Edith Wharton” begins on Saturday with the topic, “Old Money, New Money,” continues with “Writers in Wartime,” and concludes on Sunday with the ironic theme of “Well-Behaved Women.” Participants include author Simon Winchester, poet Katy Lederer, novelists Martha McPhee and Kurt Anderson, journalist John Hockenberry, biographer Judith Thurman, writer Katie Roiphe, memoirist Dani Shapiro, and journalist Laura Miller.

 

“Books for Breakfast” features literary conversations with two novelists, Elizabeth Brundage on Saturday and Elinor Lipman on Sunday. WAMC’s Joe Donahue and media personality Susan Arbetter will host one-on-one interviews with writers Jim Shepard, Ruth Reichl, Roy Blount Jr., and Susan Orlean. Book signings, a Saturday evening fundraiser, and readings by Berkshire-based authors round out this weekend worthy of any wordsmith. [JULY 2010]

 

THE GOODS

Berkshire WordFest
Jul 23-25
The Mount
2 Plunkett St.
Lenox, Mass.