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Book fest features famous authors
By Andrew Amelinckx
For two weekends in September Spencertown will play host to a number of well-known writers, including Francine Prose and Mary Gaitskill, during the Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s annual Festival of Books.
According to Mary Ann Lee, the Academy’s executive director, the festival began four years ago as a book sale to help with funding the center and has grown extensively since that time.
The book festival, she said, has developed into an event that brings writers, editors and others in the publishing business to Spencertown along with “lots and lots of people.”
This year, said Lee, there will be more than 20 authors participating.
“We have some of the top writers in contemporary literature and non-fiction coming,” she said.
This year’s theme is on books and writing in the digital age.
Lee said the idea for the theme came from a discussion that took place in 2006 at the festival concerning electronic media in the publishing world.
“This was before the Kindle was released,” she said.
Amazon released the Kindle, a software and hardware platform for reading e-books and other digital media, in late 2007. And with its release, the face of publishing has changed.
“It’s no longer ‘what if,’” said Lee, “it’s ‘now what.’ It’s part of the terrain.”
Prose and Gaitskill both spoke to the Register-Star on the subject.
“I would rather not have my books available for free,” commented Prose.
Prose, who has more than 20 books to her credit, from novels to non-fiction, will be speaking at the event Saturday, Sept.12 at noon.
She said that while reading via the Kindle or on a computer isn’t the same experience as reading a book, “anything that gets people to read is a good thing.”
While in Japan recently, a journey chronicled in the September issue of Smithsonian Magazine, Prose said that she bought a Kindle out of fear.
“I was terrified I wouldn’t have enough reading material,” she said with a laugh.
She said she liked it well enough, but that it didn’t provide the same experience as reading a physical book.
“Librarians are heroes,” she exclaimed.
Gaitskill, who will be speaking this Saturday at 2 p.m., seems more ambivalent about the new technology.
“I’m not really bothered by the Kindle,” she said, calling it a win-win situation.
The author of the short story collections “Bad Behavior,” “Because They Wanted To” and “Don't Cry” and the novels “Two Girls, Fat and Thin” and “Veronica,” believes there will always be place for books.
Gaitskill seems more concerned with the effect of the Internet on the nervous system.
She said even more than television, with its ever escalating pace of camera edits, doesn’t seem as harmful as viewing the Internet, with its pop-up adds at the periphery of one’s vision.
Besides Gaitskill and Prose, a number of other writers will be in attendance, including the poet Sharon Olds, authors Lynne Sharon Schwartz and Hillary Jordan, and many others.
Along with the many authors there is also an exhibition titled “The Intersection of Words and Images” in the gallery. The collage show includes the work of famed artist Ellswoth Kelly and that of Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Ashbury.
On Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. an encore presentation of Ashbury’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror, a reading in six voices, will be presented. The staged reading is produced and directed by Jim Paul of the Ancram Opera House.
There is also a number of activities for the younger set as well, including a “show and tell” of how picture books are made presented by local author Kyra Teis.
“Of course Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog will be there,” said Lee.
Although many come for the authors they apparently stay for the books.
According to Lee the festival, which she co-chairs with Karen Jahn and Allen Davidson, is anchored by the book sale, featuring more than 10,000 “gently used volumes.”
She said the book sale wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hours of time put in by volunteers who do it “because they love books.”
The entire two-weekend event is free, except for tonight’s kick-off party and early buying opportunity.
It’s from 6 to 8 p. m. and costs $25.
Lee said that the continuing interest shown in the event has made her realize something.
“We have a community of readers,” she said. “The level of engagement of the audience is so high.”
***
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com. To comment directly on this story, go to www.registerstar.com.
According to Mary Ann Lee, the Academy’s executive director, the festival began four years ago as a book sale to help with funding the center and has grown extensively since that time.
The book festival, she said, has developed into an event that brings writers, editors and others in the publishing business to Spencertown along with “lots and lots of people.”
This year, said Lee, there will be more than 20 authors participating.
“We have some of the top writers in contemporary literature and non-fiction coming,” she said.
This year’s theme is on books and writing in the digital age.
Lee said the idea for the theme came from a discussion that took place in 2006 at the festival concerning electronic media in the publishing world.
“This was before the Kindle was released,” she said.
Amazon released the Kindle, a software and hardware platform for reading e-books and other digital media, in late 2007. And with its release, the face of publishing has changed.
“It’s no longer ‘what if,’” said Lee, “it’s ‘now what.’ It’s part of the terrain.”
Prose and Gaitskill both spoke to the Register-Star on the subject.
“I would rather not have my books available for free,” commented Prose.
Prose, who has more than 20 books to her credit, from novels to non-fiction, will be speaking at the event Saturday, Sept.12 at noon.
She said that while reading via the Kindle or on a computer isn’t the same experience as reading a book, “anything that gets people to read is a good thing.”
While in Japan recently, a journey chronicled in the September issue of Smithsonian Magazine, Prose said that she bought a Kindle out of fear.
“I was terrified I wouldn’t have enough reading material,” she said with a laugh.
She said she liked it well enough, but that it didn’t provide the same experience as reading a physical book.
“Librarians are heroes,” she exclaimed.
Gaitskill, who will be speaking this Saturday at 2 p.m., seems more ambivalent about the new technology.
“I’m not really bothered by the Kindle,” she said, calling it a win-win situation.
The author of the short story collections “Bad Behavior,” “Because They Wanted To” and “Don't Cry” and the novels “Two Girls, Fat and Thin” and “Veronica,” believes there will always be place for books.
Gaitskill seems more concerned with the effect of the Internet on the nervous system.
She said even more than television, with its ever escalating pace of camera edits, doesn’t seem as harmful as viewing the Internet, with its pop-up adds at the periphery of one’s vision.
Besides Gaitskill and Prose, a number of other writers will be in attendance, including the poet Sharon Olds, authors Lynne Sharon Schwartz and Hillary Jordan, and many others.
Along with the many authors there is also an exhibition titled “The Intersection of Words and Images” in the gallery. The collage show includes the work of famed artist Ellswoth Kelly and that of Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Ashbury.
On Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. an encore presentation of Ashbury’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror, a reading in six voices, will be presented. The staged reading is produced and directed by Jim Paul of the Ancram Opera House.
There is also a number of activities for the younger set as well, including a “show and tell” of how picture books are made presented by local author Kyra Teis.
“Of course Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog will be there,” said Lee.
Although many come for the authors they apparently stay for the books.
According to Lee the festival, which she co-chairs with Karen Jahn and Allen Davidson, is anchored by the book sale, featuring more than 10,000 “gently used volumes.”
She said the book sale wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hours of time put in by volunteers who do it “because they love books.”
The entire two-weekend event is free, except for tonight’s kick-off party and early buying opportunity.
It’s from 6 to 8 p. m. and costs $25.
Lee said that the continuing interest shown in the event has made her realize something.
“We have a community of readers,” she said. “The level of engagement of the audience is so high.”
***
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com. To comment directly on this story, go to www.registerstar.com.
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