Berkshire Festival of Women Writers 2015 Program by Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

Fifth Anniversary Season!

Berk shire Fest ival of e n m W o r iter s W March 2015

Nourishing and strengthening womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voices and visions with writing workshops, readings, panels & performances throughout Berkshire County during March (Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Month) and all year round.

See inside for schedule and check our website for complete listings:

Berkshirewomenwriters.org

2 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Welcome to the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

Our aim with the Festival is to inspire, nourish and strengthen women’s creative voices by offering an intensive series of stimulating events that encourage women and girls to engage with one another and develop as writers. As you’ll see from perusing the pages of this Program, our Festival is chock-full of the voices and visions of women writers of all ages, from teens to seniors, with more than 50 workshops, readings, performances and screenings—at least one event every day of the month of March, taking place at more than 30 venues throughout Berkshire County. This year’s Festival includes the First Annual Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Book Expo on March 29. This new book fair for regional writers, publishers and other vendors features special guest Mary Pope Osborne, who will discuss her incredibly successful career as a best-selling children’s book author. Acclaimed author Dani Shapiro offers a March 1 keynote lecture entitled “The Permission to Write,” and throughout the month performances and screenings featuring well-known creative women such as Jayne Atkinson, Karen Allen, Pamela Yates and Cathryn Michon are interspersed with writing workshops and readings by dozens of professional authors as well as students from various local schools and colleges. All events are open to the public and the majority are free, thanks to the generosity of our donors and sponsors. The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers began as a grassroots effort in 2011, under the fiscal sponsorship of Bard College at Simon’s Rock. In response to growing interest and momentum, the non-profit organization has evolved into a hub for women writers in the Berkshire region and beyond, now offering year-round events, workshops, retreats, and publishing opportunities. For complete biographies of Festival presenters, information about our year-round programming and options for becoming a sponsor, donor or advertiser, visit us online at Berkshirewomenwriters.org, where you can also sign up for our monthly informational newsletter. We look forward to seeing you at many of the outstanding Festival events this year, and thank you for your support of our work in opening up new spaces and occasions to celebrate women’s creative expression in the Berkshires. Jennifer Browdy, Ph.D., Founding Festival Director The Festival is made possible through the hard work of a dedicated team of women: Lorrin Krouss, Director of Business Development; Robin Zeamer, Program Coordinator; Lynnette Lucy Najimy, photography, video and publicity; Anna Myers, webmaster and graphic design; Judith Nardacci, publicity and grant-writing; Pooja Ru Prema, advertising sales; Iris Bass, copy-editing; and committee members Sahra Brubeck, Melinda Burns, Sharon Coleman, Joanne Cooney, Pauline Dongala, Jan Hutchinson, Johanna Janssen, Jana Laiz and Giselle Rose-Burroughs; and student interns Fiona Keane and Jaycee Yao (Miss Hall’s School), Hanna Brandt and Grace Rossman (Simon’s Rock), Emma Flowers (Bennington College).

3 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Festival organizing team is excited and proud to present the Fifth Anniversary Season of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, knowing that together with our presenters and supporters we’ve created something truly unique here in the Berkshires. Nowhere else in the United States is Women’s History Month celebrated with a month-long calendar of events dedicated entirely to recognizing the creative force of women writers, which benefits our communities in so many ways.

4 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

High School. Reimagined. Introducing the nation’s first two-year high school for boarding and day students. Imagine a high school with classmates as intellectually curious as you are, teachers who are also college professors, and an academic program that prepares you to enter college two years early. Opening in the fall of 2015 and waiting for you.

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Special Thanks Sincere thanks and appreciation to all the Festival presenters, venues, sponsors, advertisers and contributors, without whom this great community event would not be possible.

2015 Fifth Anniversary Season Festival Donors (Donors as of January 15, 2015; see up-to-date listing on Festival website.) $10,000 and above The Brabson Family Foundation The John A. Sellon Charitable Trust $5,000 and above Sally-Jane Heit $1,000 - $4,999 Sherry DeCelle, Ameriprise Inc. Felicia and John Hendrix Eleanor Lord Mary Pope Osborne $500 - $999 Baypath University Joseph and Sue Browdy Mary Campbell Christine Hobbie Alicia Partnoy & Antonio Leiva

$100 - $499 Katherine E. Bouton Shirley Bresler Laura Chekow Ellen Croibier-Fischman Susan Crofut Hilary Deely Carolyn Fabricant Hope Fitzgerald / The Schwab Charitable Fund Marion Jansen Johanna Janssen Dona S. Kahn Lorrin Krouss Diane F. Lob Local Cultural Council of AlfordEgremont Local Cultural Council of Lenox Local Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire Local Cultural Council of West Stockbridge Judith Nardacci Bob and Mary Ann Norris Fund Onyx Specialty Paper Inc. Emily J. Rechnitz and John G. Paladino Giselle Rose-Burroughs The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving Lee Schwartz Lorna Miller Strassler Timpane Construction Inc. Hannelore Voness Harriet S. Wetstone

under $100 Timi Bates Catherine Brazelton Linda Brenner Melinda Burns Aileen Chester and Suzane Northrup Allyson Dinneen Jane Falcone Jenny Fenig Audrey and David Kalman Rachel Kanz Susie and Frank Kaufman Sheila Keator Rosanna Crocitto Kenny Mary Lou Kersten Emily Kirshen Todd Lewis Deirdre McKenna Ellen Meeropol Marilyn Oser Local Cultural Council of Otis Christine Polizzo Sandy Reisman Karen Richards Signe Schaefer Maria Sirois Mary E. Smith Janice Smythe Francine Weinberg Jacqueline Wilder Laurie Winfrey Barbara Zheutlin

5 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Special thanks to John DiSantis at Quality Printing and our media sponsors: Berkshire Magazine, The Berkshire Edge, The Shoppers Guide and The Artful Mind; and thanks to our fiscal sponsor, Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

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6 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Thanks to our 2015 Festival venues: (Dates of the events held at each venue listed in bold) Arrowhead Museum, Pittsfield (3/27) Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington (3/1, 3/2, 3/3, 3/8, 3/9, 3/21, 3/31) Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield (3/12, 3/25) Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield (3/20) Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, Stockbridge (3/13, 3/14, 3/22, 3/24, 3/27, 3/28) Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Lenox (3/7) Boulderwood Farm, Stockbridge (3/15) Bushnell Sage Library, Sheffield (3/21) Congregation Beth Israel, North Adams (3/10) Community Access to the Arts (CATA) Great Barrington (3/19) Crowne Plaza Hotel, Pittsfield (3/29) Deb Koffman’s Artspace, Housatonic (3/8, 3/24) Dewey Memorial Hall, Sheffield (3/7) First Congregational Church, Stockbridge (3/16, 3/18) Good Purpose Gallery, Lee (3/26) Lenox Library, Lenox (3/7) Magic Fluke, Sheffield (3/6) Mason Library, Great Barrington (3/18, 3/28) MCLA Gallery 51, North Adams (3/12) Miss Hall’s School, Pittsfield (3/1, 3/5) Mission Bar & Tapas, Pittsfield (3/4) New Lebanon Library, New Lebanon, NY (3/5) No. Six Depot, West Stockbridge (3/12, 3/21) The Mount, Lenox (3/14, 3/15, 3/26) The Triplex Cinema, Great Barrington (3/22) Otis Library, Otis (3/15) Stanmeyer Gallery and Shaker Dam Coffeehouse, West Stockbridge (3/16, 3/23, 3/30) South Berkshire Friends Meeting, Great Barrington (3/24) Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire, Housatonic (3/20) West Stockbridge Historical Society, West Stockbridge (3/17) Whitney Center for The Arts, Pittsfield (3/11) Zaanti Yoga Studio, Lenox (3/10)

7 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Berkshire Humane Society, Pittsfield (3/23)

8 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Events

Please check the website regularly for late-breaking changes or cancellations due to weather or illness. Unless otherwise noted, events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Events marked with an asterisk (*) require tickets. Date

Page From Zero to One: First Books and What We Wish We’d Known — Karen Skolfield

2015 Festival Keynote: The Permission to Write — Dani Shapiro *

3/2

Writing for Social Justice — Brenda Oppermann

3/3

The Education of the Virgin from the Madonna Comix series — Dianne Kornberg and poet Celia Bland

3/4

Berkshire Dating 101 — Nell McCabe

19 19

3/5

Anatomy of an Indie Novel: Moving from Concept to Publication — Jeanne Bogino Miss Hall’s School Student Reading — Fiona Keane and Jaycee Yao

Piping and Penning — Nancy Tunnicliffe and Jana Laiz

The Extraordinary Women of Windsor Mountain School — Roselle Kline Chartock

Going Back — Lara Tupper

Out of the Mouths of Babes An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others — Suzi Banks Baum and friends

Fourteenth Annual International Women’s Day Observance Disruption: A New Film By Pamela Yates *

Risky Business — Susie Kaufman and Joan Embree

Learning to Speak Our Capital-T Truth: Women of Color on SelfDiscovery — Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe

3/1

3/6

3/7

3/8

3/9

9 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Complete bios and additional information about the presenters available on the Festival website, Berkshirewomenwriters.org.

10 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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3/10

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3/12

3/13

3/14

3/15

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3/17

3/18

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3/20

Page Writing Your Own Psalms — Rachel Barenblat

Words Aloud — Bhavani Lorraine Nelson

The Heroine’s Journey: Creating Your Brave New Story — Amber Chand

Artist and Educator: Balancing Our Academic and Creative Lives — Maura Delaney

Nanny: A Memoir of Love and Secrets — Nancy Salz

Desire, Power, and Poetry — Hannah Fries and Diana Whitney

When the Sky Falls — Yvette “Jamuna” Sirker and Tony Simotes *

Women of a Certain Age — Sonia Pilcer *

The Cowgirl’s Call: Writing and Riding — Amy Hale-Auker and Barbara Newman *

Rightful Place: A Question of Dragonflies — Amy Hale-Auker and Carole Murko *

The Journey to Find Balance Within Yourself and the World Around You — Anastasia Stanmeyer

For A Woman Her Age! Performance and Memoir Writing Workshop — Sally-Jane Heit *

Maidens’ Initiation: Menstruation / The Wise Wound — Pooja Ru Prema

In the Beginning Was the Word — Rachel Barenblat, Hannah Fries, Liz Goodman, and Sokunthary Svay

A Celebration of Young Women Writers from Monument Mountain Regional High School — Lisken Van Pelt Dus

Border Crossings: Writing About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity — Lee Schwartz

Spacious, Gracious, Elderflowering — Jan Hutchinson and Signe Schaefer

How We Look: Self/Reflection — Janet Reich Elsbach, Anamyn Turowski, and Emily Rechnitz

Think Like an Editor: How to Make a Good Manuscript Great — Robin Catalano

Rachel Carson: Life in Balance — Magpie *

11 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Date

12 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Founded by a woman, Teddi C. Laurin, in 1964. Fostering the growth of the global photonics industry, focused on light-based technologies. Nurturing generations of science and technical writers and editors.

Laurin Publishing is a proud supporter of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. www.Photonics.com

Page Writing Our Lives as Fiction and Memoir— Carol Ascher

Latin Americana — Jan Conn and Jessica Treat

Gutsy Gals Inspire Me® Film Awards Ceremony and Screening — Cathryn Michon, Karen Allen, and Deborah Hutchison *

Screening and Discussion: Breaking Through the Clouds — Heather Taylor, Deborah Hutchison, and Kelley Vickery *

Made in the Berkshires Presents Through the Looking Glass — Amber Chand, Hilary Somers Deely, Kate Maguire, Corinna May, and Barbara Sims *

Mothers’ Initiation: The Birth Story — Camille Roos

Keeping the Balance: Poetry About our Relationship with Animals — Michelle Gillett, Joan Murray, and Hilde Weisert

Write with Your Whole Voice: Maiden, Mother, Crone — Mary Kate Jordan

IWOWWOW (In Words Out Words Women’s Own Words) — Deb Koffman

The Positive Influence of Music on Childbirth — Lisa Rafel

“Real Women” Essay Contest Award Ceremony and Celebration

Mysteries & Characters: Two Emerging Berkshire Fiction Writers Read — Frances Roth and Joyce Lautens O’Brien

Hear the Stories We Hear: An Evening with the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women

Inspired By Melville — Jana Laiz

Can You Hear Me, Baby? Stories of Sex, Love and OMG Birth! — Lisa Rafel and Jayne Atkinson *

Poetry from the Ground Up — Lisken Van Pelt Dus

A Writer’s Life: An Interview with Mary Pope Osborne — Jenny Laird *

2015 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Book Expo

3/30

Wise Women’s Initiation: Menopause — Sarah Nicholson and Cindy Parrish

3/31

My Life in Comics — Barbara Slate

3/21

3/22

3/23

3/24

3/25

3/26

3/27 3/27 & 3/28 3/28 3/29

13 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Date

14 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Events

From Zero to One: First Books and What We Wish We’d Known Lecture and panel discussion moderated by Karen Skolfield with Amy Dryansky, Susan Kan, Sarah Sousa, and Michelle Valois Miss Hall’s School, Centennial Hall, 492 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, 11 a.m. This event will be of special interest to writers submitting a manuscript or about to publish a first book. We’ll discuss the happy but often bewildering aftermath of acceptance: book design, publicity, the vulnerability of being newly published, postpublication contests, second and beyond books, and the importance of continuing to write after a manuscript has been assembled or even published. We’ll also talk about prepublication editing, researching presses, and contests, realistic publishing expectations, and dealing with a difficult publisher. Although the panel Karen Skolfield will focus on life after an acceptance, we will have handouts that address the business side of preparing a manuscript. Panelists include a publisher/editor, poets, and a prose writer in various stages of their career. Discussion will be audience-driven—bring your questions! Afterwards, the panelists and Perugia Press will have books for sale and will be available for some follow-up questions.

Special Event 2015 Festival Keynote: Dani Shapiro The Permission to Write Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, 7 p.m. Tickets $15, free for students; see the Festival website for ticket information.

Dani Shapiro

Isabelle Allende wrote multiple novels before she felt she could list “writer” as her occupation on her tax returns. Sylvia Plath once wrote that she was “a wife and mother of two small children” when asked by a publisher to describe herself. It should come as no surprise that women find it difficult to give themselves permission to find a voice, and to sing it. Novelist, essayist, memoirist, and beloved teacher Dani Shapiro has struggled with this question of permission herself, and will share the story of her own writing life, as well as offer inspiration and advice to all of us who are longing for the right to write.

15 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Sunday March 1

16 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Monday, March 2 Writing for Social Justice Workshop led by Brenda Oppermann This workshop is for writers and aspiring writers who care about issues concerning social justice and who want to use writing as a means to promote social justice or criticize the lack thereof. We will focus on knowing your audience and writing with purpose in order to let your writing be the catalyst for change in thought, behavior, belief, and action. Brenda Oppermann, an international development adviser, has worked on social justice issues for 20+ years, focusing primarily on minority and women’s rights in areas of conflict and fragile Brenda Oppermann states. She has worked in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among other regions, and will share her insights and experiences on promoting social justice through writing to culturally, politically, and organizationally diverse audiences.

Tuesday, March 3 The Education of the Virgin from the Madonna Comix series Poetry reading and gallery talk about a collaborative exhibition in image and word by artist Dianne Kornberg and poet Celia Bland; reception to follow Hillman-Jackson Gallery, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock 84 Alford Road Great Barrington Talk at 5 p.m. on March 3 Exhibition runs February 25–March 26 Gallery hours while college is in session: weekdays 10 a.m.–8 p.m. / weekends 2–8 p.m. Spring break from 3/13–3/29: weekdays only 9 a.m.–5 p.m. In 2009 Dianne Kornberg, an artist living on an island in Puget Sound in Washington state, and Celia Bland, a poet on the faculty at Bard College, began working together on poems and art that imagined the Virgin Mary in a variety of real-world guises. Kornberg’s images interplay with Bland’s poems by usurping her words and phrases and juxtaposing them with underlying, proto-feminist exclamations from “Little Lulu” comics. Their collaboration speaks provocatively to the infinite iconography of woman as a physical, sexual, maternal, sacrificial, and spiritual being.

from Education of the Virgin

17 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Blodgett House, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, 4 p.m.

18 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Miss Hall’s School 492 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 499-1300 • (800) 233-5614 misshalls.org • info@misshalls.org ALL-GIRLS • BOARDING AND DAY • GRADES 9-12

Wednesday, March 4 Berkshire Dating 101 Reading and open mic hosted by Nell McCabe Welcoming women of all backgrounds and ages, this event seeks to give voice to women writers reflecting on the experience of being single and dating in the Berkshires. While being single and dating in any region provides ample material for creative work, dating in the Berkshires presents unique challenges and rewards that will no doubt be highlighted this evening. In addition to invited poets and prose writers, participation from all women writers is welcomed; please bring your short creative work focused on dating in the Berkshires. Each writer will have about five minutes to read.

Thursday, March 5 Anatomy of an Indie Novel: Moving from Concept to Publication Reading and panel discussion hosted by Jeanne Bogino New Lebanon Library, 550 State Route 20, Columbia Pike, New Lebanon, NY, 6:30 p.m. Publishing a book is a highly collaborative effort. This event will discuss the challenges of bringing all the pieces together to create the novel Rock Angel: writing, editing, publishing, marketing and art design. The panel will consist of author Jeanne Bogino; publisher Wendy Lipp; freelance editor Marlene Adelstein; cover designer Julie Metz Prashanti; and marketer Gina Coleman, who will serve as moderator of the panel.

Miss Hall’s School Student Reading Hosted by Miss Hall’s School seniors Fiona Keane and Jaycee Yao Miss Hall’s School, Centennial Hall, 492 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, (Living Room), 6:30 p.m. This event will feature young women writers sharing their personal stories through creative non-fiction and poetry inspired by lived experience. It will be hosted by Miss Hall’s School seniors Fiona Keane and Jaycee Yao with the support of English and Creative Writing teacher Emily Pulfer-Terino.

Emily Pulfer-Terino and student. Photo by L. Najimy.

19 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, check our website at berkshirewomenwriters.org

Mission Bar & Tapas, 438 North Street, Pittsfield, 7 p.m.

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20 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Friday, March 6 Piping and Penning Interactive writing workshop with Nancy Tunnicliffe and Jana Laiz Renowned Scottish bagpiper Nancy Tunnicliffe and award-winning author Jana Laiz will take participants on a musical and mystical tour of Scotland. Using traditional pipe music and slides of their recent trip to the Scottish Highlands, Lowlands, and Islands, Nancy and Jana will lead writers on a journey brimming with fantasy, faerie faith, and folklore. Using excerpts from Jana’s Celtic fantasy The Twelfth Stone and writing prompts combined with Nancy’s pipes as a jumping-off point, Jana and Nancy will invite attendees to put pen to paper in responding to both words and music.

Saturday, March 7 The Extraordinary Women of Windsor Mountain School Reading and lecture by Roselle Kline Chartock Boston University Tanglewood Institute, 45 West Street., Lenox, 10:30 a.m. In a reading and lecture related to her recently published book Windsor Mountain School: The History of a Beloved Berkshire Boarding School, Roselle Kline Chartock will introduce some of the extraordinary women who were connected in some way to this private progressive boarding school, situated in Lenox from 1944 to 1975. In addition to the school’s founder, Gertrud Bondy, who was one of the first female doctors and psychoanalysts in the world, there were the women faculty and the many young women who graduated from this coeducational, integrated school, ahead of its time in terms of diversity and honoring the individuality of its students. For example, there were women from prominent families like the Belafontes and Poitiers; women who became prominent themselves like Matuschka; and so many others, each with her own unique story.

Going Back Workshop led by Lara Tupper Lenox Library, 18 Main Street, Lenox, 3 p.m. Childhood tends to remain a vivid time, no matter where we find ourselves now. In this unpretentious writing class, we’ll recall memories from early days and hear recollections from others. Using Joe Brainard’s whimsical memoir I Remember as a model, we’ll tap into tales from our youth and consider how these recollections have shaped us. The class will consist of discussion, brief free-writing exercises, and sharing of work by participants. No writing experience necessary. Lara Tupper

21 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Magic Fluke, 292 S. Main Street, Sheffield, 7 p.m.

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Special Event Laundry Line Divine presents

Hosted by Suzi Banks Baum, featuring readings by Amy Dryansky, Sarah Hains DiFazio, Janet Elsbach, Lorrin Krouss, Linda Jackson, Nichole Dupont, Leigh Strimbeck, Serene Mastrianni, Rachel Siegel, and Suzi Banks Baum Dewey Memorial Hall, 91 Main Street, Sheffield, 7 p.m. Suggested donation at the door $10.

First row, left to right: Suzi Banks Baum, Amy Dryansky, Sarah Hains DiFazio, Janet Elsbach, and Lorrin Krouss. Second row: Linda Jackson, Nichole Dupont, Leigh Strimbeck, Serene Mastrianni, and Rachel Siegel.

“Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others” illuminates the Village and what it takes to nurture mothers in the Berkshires and beyond. Like writing, mothering can be immensely isolating, even in the sweetest of communities. Ten women writers from across Berkshire County will read original writing that rises out of the yearning to connect with others while raising children. The evening opens with a musical guest and will also include a film tribute to the Festival and to women who have found their voices through “Out of the Mouths of Babes.” Visual art will be on display and socializing over bedtime snacks will close the event.

23 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Out of the Mouths of Babes An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others

Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series & The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

24 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

proudly present a screening of the documentary

A new documentary by Pamela Yates - Skylight Productions

Sunday, March 8, 2015 2-4pm Honoring International Women's Day 2015 A group of Latin American activist economists set out to confront what they call the scandal of inequality on their continent with a model that places poor women at the center of the drive for social change. Guided by the idea that what the poor lack is access to financial services and information, they bring together governments, big banks and women marginalized by poverty in Peru, Columbia and Brazil. Their innovative programs spread financial literacy using digital education tools that reach three million women from across the region. Could this new, unorthodox model offer a profound DISRUPTION ? A new approach for social transformation to eradicate poverty. Yates is a Guggenheim Fellow, and the Director of the Sundance Award winning films, When the Mountains Tremble and Granito; the Producer of the Emmy Award winning Loss of Innocence, and the Executive Producer of the Academy Award winning Witness to War.

Made possible in part by a grant from the MA Cultural Council

At the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon's Rock, Great Barrington, MA 413-644-4400 For more information about this and other talks in our series www.uumsb.org Contact: Ricky Bernstein rickypenrose@gmail.com 413-229-7993

Sunday, March 8 Special Event Fourteenth Annual International Women’s Day Observance Disruption: A New Film By Pamela Yates Tickets $10, free to students; see the Festival website for ticket information. A reception will follow the screening, sponsored by Ameriprise Financial. Co-presented by Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series. In Pamela Yates’s new film, a group of Latin American activist economists set out to confront what they call the scandal of inequality on their continent with a model that places poor women at the center of the drive for social change. Guided by the idea that what the poor lack is access to financial services and information, they bring together governments, big banks, and women marginalized by poverty in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. Their innovative programs spread financial literacy via digital education tools that reach 3 million women from across the region. Could this new, unorthodox model offer a disruption, a new approach for social transformation and the eradication of poverty? Yates, a Guggenheim Fellow and director of the awardwinning films When the Mountains Tremble and Granito, will discuss the process of making the film and its impact.

Risky Business Reading and discussion presented by Susie Kaufman and Joan Embree Deb Koffman’s Artspace, 137 Front Street, Housatonic, 4:30 p.m. Confronting one’s own truth as a writer, there is a fine line between honest self-reflection and confessional purging. Similarly, in bearing witness to the truth of the darkness in the world, there is a delicate balance between writing in the prophetic voice and assuming a preachy, hectoring tone. In this reading and discussion, Joan Embree and Susie Kaufman will read from their work and discuss the perils of taking on difficult, sometimes forbidden, material. They will ask such questions as: How can we find a middle way between withholding secrets and using our writing as an opportunity for self-indulgent catharsis? What is our obligation, if any, to other people who may be hurt or offended by what we write? What is the story that we’re most reluctant to tell? Joan Embree

25 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, 2 p.m.

Amber Chand The Heroine's Journey: Creating Your Brave New Story Visionary Coaching for Women in Deep Transition in their Lives & Businesses

26 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Monday, March 9 Learning to Speak Our Capital-T Truth: Women of Color on Self-Discovery Student reading hosted by Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe

This will be a presentation showcasing readings by women students of color at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a culmination of a two-month journey of using writing as a means of self-discovery.

Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe

Tuesday, March 10 Writing Your Own Psalms Workshop led by Rachel Barenblat Congregation Beth Israel, 53 North Lois Street, North Adams, 3 p.m.

Rachel Barenblat

The psalms are a deep repository of praise, thanksgiving, grief, and exaltation, an ancient collection of poetry that also functions as prayer. In this class, each of us will become a psalmist. We’ll explore what makes a psalm, read psalms both classical and contemporary, talk about the emotional tenor of the psalms and how they work both as poetry and as prayer, warm up our intellectual muscles with generative writing exercises, and enter into a safe space for creativity as we each write our own psalms. After sharing our psalms aloud and sharing our responses to one another’s work, we’ll close with a psalm of thanksgiving for our time together.

Words Aloud Workshop led by Bhavani Lorraine Nelson Zaanti Yoga Studio, 449 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, 7 p.m. You’ve written your major opus and now people are asking you to share it orally. Do your knees begin to quake at the thought? And when you do get up to read, can you be heard in the back of a room without a microphone? This workshop will go a long way in overcoming these and other obstacles to public presentations of your work. You’ll learn to use your voice safely and effectively so you can project to the back of a large room without strain, and you’ll get simple tips that can transform your comfort level when you present your work. Bring a brief selection of your work to share.

Bhavani Lorraine Nelson

27 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Blodgett House, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, 7 p.m.

Marigolds, Mystics & Mountains

A guided journey for women to the foothills of the Himalayas,

28 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Wednesday, March 11 The Heroine’s Journey: Creating Your Brave New Story Workshop led by Amber Chand

In this workshop, participants will explore ways in which they can design their new story using the transformative power of fearless imagination and dialogue with their future self. They become time travelers, stepping across the threshold of their current lives and story, and exploring the realm of the possible. To do this, they must also meet the Guardians at the Threshold—allies and adversaries who either support or sabotage their heroine’s journey. This workshop will be an opportunity for deep inquiry and reflection—one that will support participants in stepping into their future from an inspired and enlivened place.

Amber Chand

Coming in Summer 2015! One-week Leadership Institute for Girls, led by founding Festival Director Jennifer Browdy, Ph.D. A special opportunity for girls to develop leadership skills in communication, collaboration and creative visioning, under the guidance of a warm, knowledgeable educator with more than 25 years’ experience working on social and environmental justice issues with teens. Check the Festival website for more details and registration information, available soon! Jennifer Browdy

Berkshirewomenwriters.org

29 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Whitney Center for the Arts 42 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, 7 p.m.

Photo: WILLIAM WALDRON

30 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Thursday, March 12 Artist and Educator: Balancing Our Academic and Creative Lives Panel discussion led by Maura Delaney, with Nell McCabe, Jessica Passetto, Emily Pulfer-Terino, Peggy Rivers and Julianna Spallholz

First row: Maura Delaney, Nell McCabe, Jessica Passetto. Second row: Emily Pulfer-Terino, Peggy Rivers and Julianna Spallholz

This panel discussion is devoted to exploring the variety of ways that five women educators who are also artists make time for work, family, and craft. Being both an artist and an educator presents a unique challenge: How does one devote the time and energy to nurturing creativity in others and still have the energy left over to devote time to one’s own creative self in addition to all the other demands that life and work place on each of us? The five panelists will each read a short piece reflecting on the trials and triumphs of balancing teaching and creative work with family and friends and all the other obligations and passions that we fill our lives with. Following the readings, our moderator will accept questions from the audience and lead everyone in a discussion of this important topic.

Nanny: A Memoir of Love and Secrets Reading and discussion by Nancy Salz No. Six Depot, 6 Depot Street, West Stockbridge, 7 p.m. In her book Nanny: A Memoir of Love and Secrets, called “powerful” and “wrenching” by New York Arts, Nancy Salz writes of the conflicted love she felt for her beautiful but distant mother and the loving nanny who raised her until her teens. Searching for her late nanny’s life story, Salz was able to recover an intense bond that survived derision and death and unearth secrets kept for nearly fifty years. In this reading and discussion, Salz will read from and tell the story of her memoir, which Kirkus Reviews praised for its “insight into the issues of class that often separate domestic caretakers from their charges.”

31 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Berkshire Community College, Susan B Anthony (SBA) Lounge, 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, 12:15 p.m.

32 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Thursday 3/12 continued

Desire, Power, and Poetry Reading and discussion with Hannah Fries and Diana Whitney Desire and power, power and voice—these red-hot themes have shot through poetry perhaps since its inception (just ask Sappho), and they are as rich and complex as ever for women poets today. Join us for a delicious evening of poetry with two women writers who explore themes of desire in their work. With lush language and startling confessions, Diana Whitney’s first book, Wanting It, tells a story of selfHannah Fries Diana Whitney discovery through love and desire. A blogger for the Huffington Post, Whitney is known for her frank, unapologetic personal essays as well as her poetry. Hannah Fries’s poems often play with the power dynamics embedded in gender and sexuality, sometimes speaking through the voiceless women characters of the Bible and mythology.

Friday, March 13 When the Sky Falls Staged reading of a new play by Yvette “Jamuna” Sirker directed by Tony Simotes Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, 6 East Street, Stockbridge, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15; a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Festival. See the Festival website for ticket information. Playwright Yvette “Jamuna” Sirker collaborates with renowned director Tony Simotes, former artistic director of Shakespeare and Company, on a staged reading of Ms. Sirker’s play based on her own experience of living through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. When the Sky Falls was developed Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway and is the winner of MultiStages Theater’s New Works Contest, Epic Theater Center’s Sunshine Series, and was a Lark Play Development Center Playwrights’ Week Finalist. Tony Simotes will direct a diverse cast of actors from Shakespeare and Company and New York City. Yvette Jamuna Sirker

33 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

MCLA Gallery 51, 51 Main Street, North Adams, 7 p.m.

34 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Saturday, March 14 Women of a Certain Age Reading hosted by Sonia Pilcer with Agi Clark, Enid Futterman, Debby Mayer, and Norah Walsh Tickets $20, benefits the Festival and includes signed copy of The Last Hotel by Sonia Pilcer; see the Festival website for ticket information. Sponsored by Ameriprise Financial

Sonia Pilcer, Agi Clark, Enid Futterman, Debby Mayer (photo by Sabine Vollmer von Falken Photography), and Norah Walsh

We are women writers of a certain age, who grew up in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. If our mothers lived this long, they were retired, if they had ever worked. Not only do we continue to write our lives, but we are navigating through the turbulent waters of the Internet, not to mention facing the challenge of publishing old-fashioned books and marketing them. A dialogue will follow the readings.

There’s always so much going on at the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers! Check our website regularly and subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you hear about: • our year-round writing workshops • writing retreats • readings • publishing opportunities • and more!

Berkshire women writers sharing their writing . . . some published, some unpublished and some in the process of being published. At Shaker Dam Coffeehouse & Stanmeyer Gallery. Berkshirewomenwriters.org

35 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, 2 p.m.

36 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

o u rself w Y ll o Be A Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultations Traditional Ayurvedic Bodywork

Ayurveda, a 5,000 year-old science from India offers a balanced, nourishing approach to health & well being. Berkshire native, Laura Spucches has been practicing Ayurveda for over 6 years. She is a graduate of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda & Kerala Ayurveda Academy, and is currently working on a Masters in Maharishi Ayurveda & Integrative Medicine.

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(413) 528-VEDA

Saturday, March 14 continued

Special Event The Cowgirl’s Call: Writing and Riding Multimedia western experience with Amy Hale-Auker produced and hosted by Barbara Newman Tickets $30; see the Festival website for ticket information. Proceeds of this event benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Sponsored by Cowgirls Are Forever, a film in development on the American cowgirl, and T.P. Saddleblanket.

Barbara Newman and Amy Hale-Auker filming for Cowgirls Are Forever. Maggie Creek Ranch. Elko, Nevada

Amy Hale-Auker, WILLA Award–winning writer, ranch woman and treasured speaker, takes us on a journey where the wind, the rain, the sun, and the grass are never taken for granted. Inspired by the land, the work, and her bold cowgirl spirit, “The Cowgirl’s Call: Writing and Riding” shares the raw depth and breadth of ranch life, including storytelling, readings and cowgirl slam poetry, interwoven with film, photography, and music. Amy says, “Sleeping wrapped in wool and canvas and the ink-black night, directly on the ground, for several nights at a time, bathing in wood smoke and sweat and work, creates an appreciation for this planet and its delicate balance.” The beauty is that this deep awareness lends itself to showing up on the page.

37 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, check our website at berkshirewomenwriters.org

Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, 6 East Street, Stockbridge, 7 p.m.

Fresh • Local • Organic

38 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Community Matters. Shop Co-op www.berkshire.coop

42 Bridge Street • Great Barrington, MA • 413.528.9697

Stanmeyer Gallery &

Shaker Dam Coffeehouse 2 Main Street, West Stockbridge, MA

Where the power of photography and the brilliance of human rightsbased coffee unite for the advancement of social change, education, outreach and liquid illumination. ~ The Shaker Dam House is home to the art and archive of National Geographic photographer John Stanmeyer 413.232.7707 | Open 7 days a week 8am-4pm Mon through Thurs | 8am-6pm Fri, Sat & Sun

Sunday, March 15 Rightful Place: A Question of Dragonflies Writing workshop presented by Amy Hale-Auker, followed by western-themed luncheon hosted by Carole Murko of Heirloom Meals. Tickets $25; limited to 20 participants. See the Festival website for ticket information. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Sponsored by Heirloom Meals and Cowgirls Are Forever. A rare opportunity to join acclaimed teacher Amy Hale-Auker in an informal, fun, and intimate workshop. True to her love for the natural world, the focus will be on becoming an observer and bringing the powerful metaphors of nature into your written work. These priceless wonders are flying overhead, hatching at your feet, flowing in the stream, and parching in the sun. They are here, all around us. Bring your appetite for adventure, along with your own writing materials. We will discuss the process and distillation of everyday life into prose and poetry.

The Journey to Find Balance Within Yourself and the World Around You Writing workshop led by Anastasia Stanmeyer Otis Library, 48 North Main Street, Otis, 11 a.m. Space is limited; e-mail astanmeyer@berkshiremag.com to register. As women, we find ourselves often times seeking balance in our daily lives, on many levels—internally, socially, politically, environmentally. Writing is a means of expressing that struggle to find balance. Anastasia Stanmeyer asks participants to share writings of no more than 700 words that exemplify that quest, and how that balance has been resolved— or unresolved. We do some focused freewriting about the whole concept of balance, and why it is even sought. The workshop will conclude with a discussion of the challenges of finding balance, and constructive feedback on the writing shared. Anastasia Stanmeyer

39 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Boulderwood Farm, Stockbridge, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

40 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Sunday, March 15 continued

Special Event For a Woman Her Age! Performance and Memoir Writing Workshop with Sally-Jane Heit With musical director Uel Wade Tickets $15; all proceeds benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. See the Festival website for ticket information. Once again, Sally-Jane Heit breaks the rules! Taught by the best… “Speak only when spoken to.” “Don’t bite your nails.” “Cross your legs.” “Always wear clean underwear.” FUGGETABOUT IT!!!

Sally-Jane Heit, photo by Annie Leibovitz

In Technicolor, irreverence, and music Sally-Jane writes, acts, and sings about the absurdities of life. After the show and a spot of tea with sweets (after all, it is The Mount!), you are invited to share your own rule-breaking experiences. In a dynamic writing workshop, dig deep to uncover the bad girl that made you the good girl that you are today.

Are you looking to get your writing further out into the world? The Berkshire Edge EDGE WISE column, curated weekly by founding Festival Director Jennifer Browdy, welcomes submissions by women writers from the Berkshire region. Any topic of interest to you, as a local woman, will be of interest to the readers of EDGE WISE. A personal voice preferred; 500-1,000 words. View EDGE WISE columns at TheBerkshireEdge.com (enter Edge Wise in the Search field to locate all the columns to date). Send queries or submissions to Jennifer@berkshirewomenwriters.org.

41 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, 2 p.m.

Moon Rites an 8 week series begining in April exploring the Wisdom of Menstruation

42 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Tools for: Easing painful periods Healing our inheritance Reclaiming menstruation as a spritual practice

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Monday, March 16 Maidens’ Initiation: Menstruation / The Wise Wound Workshop led by Pooja Ru Prema

A writing workshop delving deeper into the openings created by Pooja Ru Prema’s 2013 interactive installation “Rites of Passage,” this session will focus on menstruation as a spiritual initiation and as a woman’s tool for self- knowledge. Menstruation is a girl’s entry into womanhood and into her “maiden” years, heralding her fertility and sexual ripening. It also initiates her into being a complex and cyclical creature whose inner rhythms wax and wane up until menopause. To validate menstruation is an act of reclamation and resistance in a culture that shames women for this most basic and ubiquitous female function and source of power. Pooja Ru Prema

This workshop is part one of a three-part series based on the Rites of Passage Project. The other two events in the series will take place on March 23 and March 30.

In the Beginning Was the Word Reading and panel discussion by women writers of faith: Rachel Barenblat, Hannah Fries, Liz Goodman, and Sokunthary Svay First Congregational Church, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge, 7 p.m. In her book The Nakedness of the Fathers, poet Alicia Ostriker writes, “By the time the spiritual imagination of women has expressed itself as fully and variously as that of men, to be sure, whatever humanity means by God, religion, holiness, and truth will be completely transformed.” This multigenre reading and panel discussion will feature four Berkshire women writers—with backgrounds in Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism—whose work is influenced by their faith, either overtly or just beneath the surface. The participants will each give a short reading and speak about the intertwining of their life in writing and their life in faith.

day’s work might turn out to have been a mess. So what? “ Your Vonnegut said, ‘When I write I feel like an armless legless man

with a crayon in his mouth.’ So go ahead and make big scrawls and mistakes. Use lots of paper. Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friends. —Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

”

43 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Stanmeyer Gallery and Shaker Dam Coffeehouse, 2 Main Street, West Stockbridge, 4 p.m.

44 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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Tuesday, March 17 A Celebration of Young Women Writers from Monument Mountain Regional High School Hosted by Lisken Van Pelt Dus and other MMRHS faculty This celebratory reading will feature a mixed-genre selection of work by young women writers. The young writers will each read a short selection (no more than five minutes) of poetry, fiction, drama, journalism, or creative nonfiction. Participants will be selected by Monument Mountain English faculty members, who will also moderate the event.

Wednesday, March 18 Border Crossings: Writing About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Workshop led by Lee Schwartz Mason Library, 231 Main Street, Great Barrington, 3 p.m.

Lee Schwartz

Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

If you do not fit into society’s rigid gender boxes—if you or someone you know and love is gay, queer, or questioning society’s idea of male and female, this is a workshop where you can hear those voices and write out your own truth. If you feel the mainstream of literature is not echoing your voice, this is a workshop for you. We will create a supportive, confidential space to write about the doubts, fears, and fierceness of living authentically. As a participant you will be given gentle prompts to write and celebrate your LGBTQ child, relative, friend, or yourself.

Become a Friend of the Festival! For more information on supporting the Festival, visit us online at berkshirewomenwriters.org, or e-mail Festival Director Jennifer Browdy at info@berkshirewomenwriters.org.

45 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

West Stockbridge Historical Society, 9 Main Street, West Stockbridge, 7 p.m.

going for a flower

46 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

an inspired collection of poems culled from years of CATA writing workshops…

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Spacious, Gracious, Elderflowering

Wednesday, March 18 continued

Workshop led by Jan Hutchinson and Signe Schaefer First Congregational Church, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge, 7 p.m. Aren’t we each many different people in one lifetime— changing, evolving, and transforming through the decades? If we do not want to keep trying to act young in an everaging body, what imaginations can help us step toward an unknown future with interest and inner strength? Are there essential human qualities that can only come alive in us Jan Hutchinson and Signe Schaefer through the process of aging? In the last third of our lives we may want to grow quieter, differently creative, more inwardly expansive, even more spiritual. As twenty-first-century life becomes ever faster and more pressured, is it our elder possibility to create pockets of calm in which true humanness and wisdom can thrive? We will use writing exercises to reflect on and honor the inner spaciousness and generosity that can flower in our later years to become a true source of healing in the world.

Thursday, March 19 How We Look: Self/Reflection Reading and discussion with CATA writing faculty Janet Reich Elsbach, Anamyn Turowski, and Emily Rechnitz Community Access to the Arts (CATA) Studio, 70 Railroad Street (behind Triplex building), Great Barrington, 6:30 p.m. Community Access to the Arts (CATA) nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities through shared experiences in the visual and performing arts. In this event, faculty and artists from the CATA writing program consider looking at ourselves, looking at one another, and being looked at. Drawing from conversations and written exchanges, CATA writing faculty Janet Reich Elsbach, Emily Rechnitz and Anamyn Turowski will read and reflect on the collected thoughts of the women writers in the program on the topics of personal appearance and perception.

Friday, March 20 Think Like an Editor: How to Make a Good Manuscript Great Lecture by Robin Catalano Berkshire Museum, 39 South Street, Pittsfield, 3 p.m. Space is limited; please call 413.443.7171 ext. 10 to register. Ever heard the adage that great writing is more about revision than about the act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)? Whether your goal is to submit a fiction or nonfiction manuscript for publication or simply to be the best writer you can be, this seminar will optimize your chances by teaching you to become your own first editor. We’ll cover what professional editors look for in a story or manuscript, the best and worst times to self-edit, how to highlight your strengths and identify and improve on your weaknesses, when to stop editing, and much more.

47 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Program begins after the Women of Spirit in the Berkshires Potluck at 5:45 p.m.

48 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

“Rachel Carson: Life In Balance” is co-sponsored by Graham Dean, Lori Levinson, Dennis Downing and Crystal Essence.

Friday, March 20 continued

Rachel Carson: Life in Balance Musical performance by Magpie, including readings and discussion, hosted by Barbara and Graham Dean

Admission at the door $10. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Rachel Carson was most famous for her 1962 book Silent Spring, a warning about the devastating environmental ramifications of the unbridled use of toxic pesticides in our world. Her writings were all magnificent explorations in prose of the beauty and complexity of the natural world, much of it focused on aquatic life and the oceans. Magpie

Internationally renowned singer-songwriters Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner, known as the folk duo Magpie, have compiled a beautiful and moving collection of Rachel Carson’s writings, interwoven with songs that extend and expound upon the themes and concerns about which she wrote. Terry and Greg spent three years researching Carson’s writing to come up with a portrait in performance of the great author, showing the far-reaching complexity of her work, and its prescience in setting forth the ecological struggles we have yet to overcome.

Rachel Carson

49 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1089 Main Street, Housatonic, 7 p.m.

Robin’s Nest Press Creating your voice for today’s world

Brochures, Flyers, Newsletters Business Cards Email Marketing Website Management & Design 50 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Robin Zeamer

home/office 413-528-7995 / cell 917-796-5047 Robinsnestpress@gmail.com | www.Robinsnestpress.com

Clowning as An Inner Journey Workshops & Events "The clown is a poet in action... she teaches us to laugh at ourselves." -H. Miller

Laura Geilen

laura@nosetonose.info nosetonose.info 518.929.5392

Saturday, March 21 Writing Our Lives as Fiction and Memoir Writing workshop led by Carol Ascher

Carol Ascher

Aimed at women who are beginning to write as well as those who have written either fiction or memoir and would like to transition to the other genre, this threehour workshop will explore why each of us tends to think in terms of memoir or fiction when we consider writing about our experiences, how we can shift to a different genre, and the benefits and limitations of each. The workshop will include two work sessions, divided by a lunch break, in which we write the same material as fiction and memoir. Using these fairly short pieces, we will end by discussing such issues as narrative voice, pacing, character, and dramatic arc in both memoir and fiction. Bring your own writing implements (laptop or notebook) as well as a bag lunch.

Latin Americana Reading and discussion led by Jan Conn and Jessica Treat No. Six Depot, 6 Depot Street, West Stockbridge, 2 p.m. Jan Conn and Jessica Treat will each read from their published and new works dealing with their travels in Latin America. Ms. Conn writes and publishes in lyrical, narrative and Japanese poetic forms. She has been working and traveling in Latin America since her early twenties, and many of her poems reflect the landscape/environment, politics, people, and flora and fauna that flourish there. Ms. Treat lived in Spain for a year as a child, and in Mexico City for four years, retaining a strong connection with that mysterious and marvelous city. Her poems and short stories explore relationships among people, including family and pets, in Mexico City and elsewhere. A discussion of travel writing in general, and Latin American travel writing in particular, will follow the readings. Jan Conn

Jessica Treat

51 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Bushnell-Sage Library, 48 Main Street, Sheffield, 11 a.m.

Karen Allen Fiber Arts 52 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Featuring textile & clothing designers from around the world!

The Mayan Store Guatemala Handbags Belts

Komarov

Wallace Sewell

Los Angeles Dresses/Blouses Skirts

London Scarves/Shawls Blankets

Marika Charles/ Match Schenectady, NY Sweaters/ Shawls T-Shirts

8 Railroad Street Great Barrington, MA 413.528.8555 karenallen-fiberarts.com ■

■

“Yoga begins with listening.” R. Freeman

Workshops, Courses, Events, Daily Classes, and a lot of heart. SrutiYogaCenter.com 33 Railroad Street Great Barrington MAY 28 - 31, 2015

BIFFMA.ORG

Saturday March 21 continued

Special Event Gutsy Gals Inspire Me® Film Awards Ceremony and Screening Hosted by Karen Allen and Deborah Hutchison

Tickets $20. See the Festival website for ticket information. The Gutsy Gal Award is presented to authentic women who have taken risks, understanding the odds, undaunted by challenge and setback. Women who are determined and passionate – but know how to laugh! Join renowned actress Karen Allen and filmmaker and Gutsy Gals Inspire Me® founder Deborah Hutchison as they present the Gutsy Gal Grand Prize Film Award to filmmaker Cathryn Michon, writer and director of Muffin Top: A Love Story, along with other award-winning women filmmakers. Then we’ll settle in for a good laugh (and maybe a few tears?) as we screen Muffin Top: A Love Story, a feature film comedy that challenges Hollywood’s notions of women and body image.

Left: Cathryn Michon in Muffin Top: A Love Story. Top right : Karen Allen, bottom right: Deborah Hutchison

53 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, check our website at berkshirewomenwriters.org

Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, 7 p.m.

54 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

For the third year in a row, Fairview Hospital has achieved

It takes a team!

Sunday, March 22 Breaking Through the Clouds Screening and discussion hosted by Gutsy Gals Inspire Me® and the Berkshire International Film Festival The Triplex Cinema, 70 Railroad Street, Great Barrington 11 a.m. Breaking through the Clouds, winner of the Gutsy Gals Film Award for Best Feature Length Documentary, is the remarkable story of 20 courageous women pilots and the first women’s national air derby, which took place in August of 1929. Screenwriter and director Heather Taylor will join in conversation with Deborah Hutchison, founder of Gutsy Gals Inspire Me® and Kelley Vickery, founding director of the Berkshire International Film Festival, about the challenges faced by women writers and directors of films.

Special Event Made in the Berkshires Presents: Through the Looking Glass Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, 6 East Street, Stockbridge, 3 p.m. Tickets $30. See the Festival website for ticket information. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers.

Amber Chand, Hilary Somers Deely, Kate Maguire, Corinna May, and Barbara Sims

Through The Looking Glass: Musings from the Pens of Berkshire Women Writers honors Berkshire women who exemplify the diversity of women’s writing in the 19th and 20th centuries; we are also honoring the thread that joins these women together: desire versus duty, the dilemma of self-realization versus the socially accepted self-sacrifice of the times in which they lived. With the Berkshires as their palette, these women filled their journals, letters, and stories with their concern for broad cultural and social issues, as well as the issues of particular interest to women. Their individual voices resonate with recognition as we see ourselves in the looking glass of their experience. Selected readings—from writers including Francis Anne Kemble, Harriet Martineau, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Sheila Weller and Edith Wharton—will be performed by Karen Allen, Amber Chand, Hilary Somers Deely, Kate Maguire, Corinna May, Barbara Sims and guests. There will be a talkback with the cast following the performance.

55 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Tickets $10 at the door.

KEEPING THE BALANCE: Poetry about our relationship with animals Poets Michelle Gillett, Joan Murray, Hilde Weisert read poems celebrating our mysterious and vital animal connections, followed by audience Q&A

Monday March 23, 7–8:30 PM 56 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Free! Contributions of unopened food for the Community Pet Food Bank are welcome

Berkshire Humane Society 214 Barker Road Pittsfield, MA 01201

born gently. born safely. born at home.

Shivani Lash, Midwife, CPM

413.441.3466

Shivani.Lash@gmail.com

Monday, March 23 Mothers’ Initiation: The Birth Story Workshop led by Camille Roos

Camille Roos

Giving birth is one of the greatest initiations a woman experiences, on the threshold of life and death as she delivers a new being into the world. The birth story locates the mother in a constellation of confrontation, surrender, and negotiation with the unexpected. It carries all prior experience toward the moment of crowned release, where one’s individuality is rewritten. The births of our children set the stage for motherhood in a guttural telling of the mother’s capacity to extend herself beyond imaginable limits. In this workshop, we will trace and unpack the relevancy of our birth stories, including miscarriages, subsequent children, and the complex mix of emotions, hormones, history, and power (or lack thereof) that comprise our initiations, before and long after birth.

This workshop is part two of a three-part series based on the Rites of Passage Project; the third part takes place on March 30.

Keeping the Balance: Poetry About our Relationship with Animals Poetry reading with Michelle Gillett, Joan Murray, and Hilde Weisert Berkshire Humane Society, 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield, 7 p.m. Contributions of unopened food for the Community Pet Food Bank are welcome.

Michelle Gillett, Joan Murray, and Hilde Weisert

In the presence of literary-minded cats, dogs, and other animals at the Berkshire Humane Society, three poets will read poems celebrating our mysterious and vital animal connections, followed by a discussion with the audience. The evening opens with an introduction to the Humane Society from poet and Berkshire Humane educator Mary Koncel, and after the reading Mary will offer a tour of the facility.

57 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Stanmeyer Gallery and Shaker Dam Coffeehouse, 2 Main Street, West Stockbridge, 4 p.m.

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58 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

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17 R A I L R O A D S T. G T B A R R I N G TO N M A . 4 13 5 2 8 4 3 4 3

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Tuesday, March 24 Write with Your Whole Voice: Maiden, Mother, Crone Workshop led by Mary Kate Jordan You’re your mother’s daughter, back generation after generation. So, you already carry your own internalized version of maiden, mother, and crone (Persephone, Demeter, and the Gorgon in western European mythology). But these archetypal tales are incomplete without including Gaia, the Earth, as an active participant in the drama. That changes everything. This workshop will explore the ways She, as maiden, mother, and crone, plays with fire, earth, air and water to create our world. As we balance shamanic storytelling and time for writing, Gaia will prompt you to discover and use your whole voice in, and beyond, this workshop.

IWOWWOW (In Words Out Words Women’s Own Words) Deb Koffman’s Artspace, 137 Front Street, Housatonic, 7 p.m. Suggested donation $6 at the door. A Festival favorite returns! This special women’s edition of In Words Out Words (IWOW), a monthly open mic for storytellers, poets, musicians, and performers, provides a vibrant, supportive platform for women writers to perform or read their own work: poetry, stories, songs. Reserve your five-minute-maximum slot by e-mailing Deb Koffman at deb@debkoffman.com or calling 413-274-1212.

Left: photos from past years’ IWOWWOW events. Right: Deb Koffman

59 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

South Berkshire Friends Meeting, 280 State Road, Great Barrington, 2 p.m.

60 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

ARTI ROSS KELSO, LMT Optimal Wellness Lifestyle Strategies

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413.441.2997 arti@owlswitharti.com

Multidimensional Healing Bodywork Sustainable Wellness Consulting Ayurveda and Yoga

Compassionate Communication Life Transition Ceremonies for individuals and groups

FEEL GOOD ABOUT

ART

40 MAIN ST • LEE, MA

Supporting & Showcasing Artists with AUTISM & LD

Tuesday, March 24 continued

The Positive Influence of Music on Childbirth Interactive lecture with author Lisa Rafel

This interactive lecture will explore the potent and profound influence that music can have in the birthing process from pregnancy to the first months of life. Lisa Rafel’s play Can You Hear Me, Baby? directed by Jayne Atkinson, will be presented on March 27 and 28 at the Unicorn Theatre as a fund-raiser for the Berkshire Festival for Women Writers and WAM Theatre. Lisa Rafel

Wednesday, March 25 “Real Women” Essay Contest Award Ceremony and Celebration Boland Theater, Berkshire Community College, 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by BCC and the Gladys Allen Brigham Center Keynote speaker Jana Laiz. The 29th annual “Real Women” Essay Contest encourages Berkshire County students to use narrative, poetic, or interview formats to write about the (mostly) ordinary women who have had an extraordinary influence on their young lives. “She always tells me life is about appreciating what you have and finding the courage to be happy. She’s worth more than a million bucks to me!” At the heartwarming award ceremony, student winners and their special women are recognized and applauded by their peers, family and friends. A booklet of prizewinning writings is distributed, and several pieces are read aloud.

Thursday, March 26 Mysteries & Characters: Two Emerging Berkshire Fiction Writers Read Reading and discussion hosted by Jessica Treat, with Frances Roth and Joyce Lautens O’Brien Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street, Lee, 5:30 p.m. A reading by two emerging Berkshire women writers of new work in short fiction and poetry, centering on mystery and character, followed by a discussion on the writing process. Frances Roth and Joyce Lautens O’Brien are mature women writers who have worked in various fields (website content management and theater work in one case; editing in the other) but who are now coming into their own as writers of poetry and fiction. Their voices are fresh, exciting, and distinctive. Their stories and poems center on mystery, character and the friction sometimes found in relationships.

61 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, 6 East Street, Stockbridge, 7 p.m.

62 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

CELEBRATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF BERKSHIRE WRITERS!

sponsored by

The 16th Annual Edith Wharton Writing Competition Awards Ceremony and Reception April 26, 2015 2:00 p.m.

EdithWharton.org 413-551-5100

Thursday, March 26 continued

Hear the Stories We Hear: An Evening with the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women The Berkshire County representatives to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW) advocate, organize, and work to cultivate and promote access to education, health, wellness, economic independence, and safety from violence for all Berkshire County women and girls. Come meet the commissioners and hear them share the women’s stories that have informed their reports. Those stories led to their collective belief that providing children and youth with Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant lessons on self-esteem, happiness, consent, values, engagement, civics, cultural literacy, and resilience will be the foundation needed to create sustainability, equity, and freedom for healthy women leading to healthy communities. A reception will follow the discussion.

Friday, March 27 Inspired By Melville Writing workshop led by Arrowhead writer-in-residence Jana Laiz Arrowhead Museum, 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, 1:30 p.m. Space is limited to 15; newcomers to this workshop will receive priority. To register, e-mail jana@janalaiz.com.

Jana Laiz

At the 2013 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, Herman Melville’s study was packed to overflowing with writers hoping to be inspired by working in the study of one of America’s greatest writers. The enthusiastic response and the poetry and prose that emerged that day were testament to the power of place and the spirit of Melville. Due to very limited space, many writers were turned away. This workshop will be limited to fifteen people with preregistration required. We ask that those who already participated give others a chance. The workshop will include a tour of Arrowhead, a brief history of Herman Melville’s life there, readings from Melville and Jana’s work, and writing prompts and exercises. Jana will facilitate, holding the container for writers to safely write and share in this sacred space.

63 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, 5:30 p.m.

64 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Da ic t ta cs

Thank you, BFWW for FIVE years of helping words sing and dance New CD available at: joannespies.bandcamp.com cdbaby.com and at local music and bookstores

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Friday, March 27 continued

Special Event: Friday 3/27 and Saturday 3/28 Can You Hear Me, Baby? Stories of Sex, Love and OMG Birth! A performance piece written by Lisa Rafel, directed by Jayne Atkinson Three performances: Friday March 27 at 7 p.m., Saturday March 28 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets $35–$50; see the Festival website for ticket information. A benefit for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers and WAM Theatre.

Left: Lisa Rafel. Right: Jayne Atkinson

A theatrical presentation of monologues interweaving stories and original songs by Lisa Rafel, dramatizing the beauty, challenges, humor, personal courage, losses, miracles, and profundity of birth. How someone is born has potentially lifelong implications. Hearing the stories of others can be inspiring, funny, heart-wrenching, empowering, and also healing. Based on true stories, Can You Hear Me Baby? is as funny as it is touching and it inspires connection to the miracle of life. A panel discussion follows the Saturday matinee. The Saturday evening gala performance will culminate with a party celebrating the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers and WAM Theatre.

Saturday, March 28 Poetry from the Ground Up Poetry workshop led by Lisken Van Pelt Dus Mason Library, 231 Main Street, Great Barrington, 10 a.m. A poetry-writing workshop incorporating both physical and verbal centering exercises, interweaving approaches from martial arts and writing practices. Participants will be guided through a series of physical grounding exercises and low-stakes writing prompts, with opportunities to interact and build on one another’s creative and physical energy.

65 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater, 6 East Street, Stockbridge.

66 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Special Events Weddings ● Rehearsal Dinners ● Special Occasion Parties ● Bar/Bat Mitzvah's ● Corporate Functions ● Private Meeting Rooms ● Quinceanera’s ● Expo’s Sales & Catering Office: 413.553.2180

Crowne Plaza Hotel Pittsfield – Berkshires 179 Rooms ● Indoor Pool, Jacuzzi & Sauna ● Fitness Room Complimentary Wi-Fi ● Business Center ● IHG Rewards Points Featuring full on-site restaurant, One West Restaurant & Lounge ● 12,000 square feet of meeting/special event space

One West Restaurant & Lounge American Contemporary Cuisine by Chef Mike Mongeon Open 7 Days a week Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner Daily Specials Open to General Public Reservations: 413.553.2251 1 West Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 ● www.berkshirecrowne.com Custom event lighting provided by: MusiChris DJ & Lighting Services www.djckrisplankey.com

Sunday, March 29 Special Event A Writer’s Life: An Interview with Mary Pope Osborne Hosted by Jenny Laird Tickets $15, proceeds benefit the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers; see the Festival website for ticket information. A special event to kick off the first annual Festival Book Expo! Mary Pope Osborne has been writing books for young readers since 1982, including more than fifty young adult novels, picture books, retellings of myths and folklore, biographies, and mysteries. She is best known for her #1 New York Times best-selling Magic Tree House series, which has sold more than 120 million books worldwide. In this in-depth interview, Mary will share with grown-ups the joys of writing for all ages. How did she first get published? What are the secrets of nurturing a long-lasting writing life? Mary is the former president of the Authors Guild and a strong advocate for childhood literacy. She has spoken at the United Nations and made many media appearances, including on Rock Center with Brian Williams and NPR’s All Things Considered. At the Festival she will offer a behind-the-scenes window into her life and writing career in a frank and thoughtful discussion with Berkshire writer Jenny Laird.

67 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1 West Street, Pittsfield, 11 a.m.

68 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

THE ATR E FOR EV ER YO NE THAT BEN EFI TS WO ME N AN D GIR LS givebacks in the Berkshires it was “Until WAM began doing these charity embrace local social programs as a rare for a theatre company to actually created a new paradigm.” matter of their core mission... WAM has  Berkshire on Stage and Screen

In our first five years, WAM Theatre... ...DONATED OVER $15,000 to 7 BEN (4 local and 3 international)...

EFICIARIES

ART ...provided work to over 100 THEATRE

ISTS,

75% OF WHOM ARE WOMEN

m ... launched an education outreach progra that served MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE.

Women Writers We congratulate the Berkshire Festival of to creating on their first five years and look forward future! more positive change together into the

JOIN US FOR WAM’S 2015 EVENTS! For tickets and info visit WAMtheatre.com

Book Expo Special Event 2015 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Book Expo Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1 West Street, Pittsfield, 1–5 p.m. Calling book lovers of all ages! The Festival Book Expo offers a special opportunity to mingle and talk with outstanding authors, publishing companies, writing programs, and booksellers in the Berkshire region, along with other related businesses and vendors.

Book sales at the Festival closing party, 2014

Join us for what is sure to be one of the most memorable events of the 2015 Fifth Anniversary Festival Season, complete with readings, children’s activities, raffles, and lots of great books! Check the Festival website for a complete schedule of readings by Berkshire women writers.

69 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Sunday, March 29 continued

Invaluable tools for easing stress, anxiety, or sleeplessness at any age...

Mary Campbell

70 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Spiritual Counseling Sensual Coaching Retreats & Workshops

Your Optimal Nature

A Path to... Deeper, Restorative Sleep & a Calm, Clear Mind

Ed O’Malley, PhD

Master Certification in Neurofeedback Board-Certified in Sleep Medicine Certified Nature Awareness Guide

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Mary is an ordained inter-spiritual minister working with individuals & couples to cultivate deeper intimacy with self, others & the world.

DiviningBeauty.com

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Great Barrington MA eddom7@gmail.com (203) 216-3323

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Monday, March 30 Wise Women’s Initiation: Menopause Stanmeyer Gallery and Shaker Dam Coffeehouse, 2 Main Street, West Stockbridge, 4 p.m. Menopause, along with menstruation and childbirth, is being reclaimed as one of the most profound and powerful initiations of a woman’s life. Having traveled through maidenhood and motherhood, whether literally or Sarah Nicholson and Cindy Parrish figuratively, a woman enters into her wisdom or crone years through the threshold of menopause. Many women speak of claiming their truth, their voice, their body, and their relationships at this time in ways they never could until then. We will talk and write about the liberation that is possible at this time, as we confront a culture that would have us suppress our deepest knowing.

Tuesday, March 31 Barbara Slate: My Life in Comics Exhibition and gallery talk by Barbara Slate Hillman-Jackson Gallery, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington Talk at 5pm on March 31st Exhibit on view from March 31–April 16 Gallery hours: weekdays 10 a.m.–8 p.m. / weekends 2 p.m.–8 p.m. Barbara Slate is a pioneer among women in the comics industry. My Life in Comics displays original pages, synopses and rough sketches demonstrating the process of illustrating a comic book or graphic novel. Slate has created, written, and drawn for Marvel, DC, Archie, and Disney Comics as well as created several graphic novels. She teaches sequential art using her critically acclaimed textbook You Can Do a Graphic Novel and is a Comic Con keynote speaker.

Barbara Slate self-portrait

71 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Workshop led by Sarah Nicholson and Cindy Parrish

72 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

our donors have great clothes; our shoppers have great taste. recycling year ‘round to benefit PS21 32 main street chatham 518.392.7333 chathamrewraps.com

Now that you’re revved up, come join us June 4-7 in Saratoga Springs, NY That is, if you’re ready to rock the world... Women’s Voices, Women’s Visions:

Creativity, Leadership, Cultural Change sponsored by Livingkindness Foundation

http://womensvoiceswomensvisions.com/ art immersions • EVE talks • workshops • activism awards

Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Spring Reading Series

What Matters Great Barrington Train Station, 659 Main Street, Great Barrington, 5 p.m. E. E. Cummings said “Well write, for God’s sake, it’s the only thing that matters.” A reading by Four Way Books authors Sara London, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and Cammy Thomas, hosted by Michelle Gillett. A reception will follow the reading.

Michelle Gillett, Sara London, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and Cammy Thomas

Saturday, May 2 Women Write on Labor Sandisfield Arts Center, Sandisfield, 5 Hammertown Road, 4 p.m. Hosted by Jennifer Browdy A May Day reading by women writers on the topic of “labor,” in any sense of the word. Please send your submissions (750 words max) to Jennifer Browdy for consideration, at PO Box 377, Housatonic MA 01236. Be sure to include your name and e-mail address. Deadline April 10. Jennifer Browdy at the Sadisfield Arts Center

73 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Saturday, April 25

Pamela Read Hardcastle 74 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

fresh and innovative design

outrageous combinations natural beauty

workshops, interior installations and special events

landscape and garden

www.pamelareadhardcastle.com 413.229.8812 pamelareadhardcastle@gmail.com

Lorrin Krouss

Join the conversation! www.VibrantLife.ning.com www.AnalesaBerg.com

Heartfelt Congratulations from the Myers family! Alice, John, and Lisa, & Frank and Anna Sabatini

Congratulations on the First Five Years of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

Illustration & Graphics anna-myers.com

Phil Timpane Construction

Special thanks to our 2015 Festival community venues: Lenox Library, Lenox MA Otis Library, Otis, MA Mason Library, Great Barrington, MA Bushnell-Sage Library, Sheffield, MA New Lebanon Library, New Lebanon, NY Congregation Beth Israel, North Adams, MA First Congregational Church, Stockbridge, MA Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire, Housatonic, MA South Berkshire Friends Meeting, Great Barrinton, MA Berkshire Humane Society, Pittsfield. MA West Stockbridge Historical Society, W. Stockbridge, MA

75 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Congratulations to Jennifer Browdy for FIVE amazing years. There is so much more yet to come.

Congratulations on Five Vibrant Years! Analesa Berg Expansive Leadership: Creativity. Spiritual Psychology. Multicultural Wisdom.

76 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Rosemary Starace

M.A., The creative process in the arts

Creative process consultations with poets and visual artists

Since 1988

Manuscript reviews studio visits conversations groups

❍

Go deeper into your work

star@rosemarystarace.com • 413-242-2660 www.rosemarystarace.com

Why on Earth? Signe Eklund Schaefer

Biography and the Practice of Human Becoming Why on Earth? invites us to explore our own meaning-filled life journey, to bring conscious attention to how we go our path, so that we may more freely perceive our possibilities and our responsibilities along the way of our personal and shared becoming. ISBN 978-1-62148-040-2 | 254 pages | $25

SteinerBooks

610 Main St., Gt. Barrington, MA 01230 703.661.1594 | www.steinerbooks.org

The truth is, the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers has an ambitious agenda. It’s not just about inspiring women and girls to put their ideas on paper, or about getting the voices of more women and girls into the public sphere in our local region, although these are certainly among our goals.

rk Be

s shire Fest ival of W iter r om e n W

What the Festival really aims to do, quite simply, is to change the world, one woman at a time. Help us make it happen. Find out about becoming a business sponsor or making your taxdeductible donation to the Festival at Berkshirewomenwriters.org For more information contact contact Festival Director Jennifer Browdy at info@berkshirewomenwriters.org / 413-528-7224 Thanks for your support! We can’t do it without you!

77 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Become a Friend of the Festival and Change the World!

h s a l p S Make a 78 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

with s& usines h Fres B sentials! Es Social

Posters Catalogs • Banners Flyers • Post Cards Business Cards • Announcements Invitations • Save the Date Brochures • Rack Cards

Call today for a free quote

Neighbors Helping Neighbors Become Successful

35 Bridge Street • Great Barrington, MA 01230 t: 413.528.2885 • f: 413.528.9220 • typesetting@kwikprintinc.com

www.kwikprintinc.com

Promoting earth-friendly production methods. Partial or 100% Recycled Paper Stocks Available FSC Certified Paper Stocks Soy Inks Family

ocal! 73 ShopOLperated Since 19

Owned

New & Vintage Clothing Consignment Accepted By Appointments

BOHO EXCHANGE 252 Main Street Great Barrington, MA 01230

413.528.4500 Bohoexchange@gmail.com

Located on the 2nd Floor of the Yellow House

Over 20 years Trial Experience  Certified Mediator Criminal Defense Family Disputes Drug Related Arrests Employment Law Drunk Driving  Community Needs  White Collar Crimes  

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christinalanephoto.com

79 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

  

 

80 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

81 â&#x20AC;˘ BFWW â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

82 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

SERIOUS HOT OR ICED CHOCOLATE GOURMET GELATO AND TREATS HAND CRAFTED IN THE BERKSHIRES OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

Escape into Chocolate

™

55 PITTSFIELD/LENOX ROAD ROUTE 7, LENOX MA 413-637-9820

chocolatesprings.com

menu changes daily

413 528 5050 178 Main Street, Great Barrington

STONECOAST MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING Creative Nonfiction • Fiction • Multimedia • Poetry Popular Fiction • Scriptwriting • Writing for Social Change

“The friends and mentors whom I encountered at Stonecoast continue to define my essential writing community.” — Melanie Drane, poet, Stonecoast alumna and recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award

APPLY TODAY Since 2010 Stonecoast has been ranked by Poets & Writers as one of the nation’s top ten low-residency M.F.A. programs, and has become known for providing a superb, open-minded, and progressive education in the art of writing. For more information, please visit:

usm.maine.edu/stonecoastmfa (207) 780-4386 or e-mail gradstudies@usm.maine.edu 2015-006A-7

83 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Prairie Whale

84 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

RACE MOUNTAIN TREE SERVICES, INC.

SHEFFIELD, MASSASCHUSETTS Tree & Shrub Healthcare Maintenance & Removals Structural Support Fertilizing & Pest Control Snowplowing & Sanding P.O. Box 603, 750 Berkshire School Road Sheffield, MA 01257 P: (413) 229.2728 E: Support.Racemtn@verizon.net

• • • • •

Weddings, Bar / Bat Mitzvahs, Sweet 16s Baby Showers, Birthday Parties, Dances Workshops, Conferences, Meetings, Lectures Performances, Recitals Lectures, Film Screenings

Office, rehearsal, and performance space available 91 Main St. Sheffield, MA info@deweyhall.com / 413-229-2357

85 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

RENT DEWEY HALL FOR YOUR EVENT:

Shop by while your at it. 86 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

A beautiful collection of distinctive Designer clothing for women... in sizes XS thru 2X. Emphasizing personal attention from owner Sandra Hotchkiss. Also: jewelry, bags, accessories. 8 Center Street, West Stockbridge, MA (413)-232-0200 - OPEN DAILY 11-4

•Open Daily: 1

Poetry in motion... A wide range of art mobiles in all colors and shapes for indoors and out. “Made in the Berkshires” and performing worldwide!

HotchkissMOBILES Gallery

8 Center Street, West Stockbridge, MA • 413-232-0200 Open Daily: 10-5 www.artmobiles.com

Mention or bring this ad... get 10% Oﬀ on any Mobile thru 6/’15

Shop

Fresh & Local in North County

Cooperatively Owned Williamstown • 413-458-8060 • wildoats.coop

a voiced community, we all flourish. ” “ In—Terry Tempest Williams

For a dream garden, full of inspiration...

Ward’s

Where Gardeners Grow

10% off your purchase with this ad. Good through 3/31/15 on full price items.

Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center 600 S. Main St. - Gt. Barrington Open Daily Year Round www.wardsnursery.com

writing astonishes its writer first. Be bold. Be honest. “ Good ” —Mary Pipher

87 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

817 Main Street - 413.591.8702 www.gbhistory.org

88 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

FIND YOURSELF HERE! Personal Training • Aquatics Center • Early Childhood Education Fitness & Aquatics Classes • Youth Enrichment • Free Community Suppers Health & Wellness Workshops • And so much more!

15 Crissey Road | Great Barrington, MA | www.berkshiresouth.org | 413.528.2810

You Can Love More

Heart Tools for Couples: 8 Ways to a Loving Relationship by Bill Grosser and Ani Nadler Grosser

Available at: The Bookloft, Great Barrington・The Bookstore, Lenox Amazon www.compassionaterelationships.com

Serious Injury Representation Family and Divorce Law 1330 MASS MoCA Way North Adams, MA 01247

(413) 663-3200

Asset Protection and Estate Planning Business Representation

2 South Street, Suite 115 Pittsfield, MA 01201

(413) 442-0049

169 North Street Bennington, VT 05201

(802) 442-3233

www.docatty.com Over 100 Years of Service to Our Community

69 Church Street, Lenox, MA . 413 637 0340 . M-S 10-5, Sun 11-4

89 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

DONOVAN & O’CONNOR, LLP Attorneys and Counselors at Law

90 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

entrées available

casual french dining

dinner only • 150 Main St., Lee 413.243.6397 cheznousbistro.com

We offer a wide selection of ceramic, carpet, hardwood, glass, bamboo, marble, and much more! We’ve been ﬂooring people since 1983! www.the-floorstore.com 12 Main Street West Stockbridge, MA

232-7175

91 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Floor Store

92 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

2015

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT

July 19 – 29 Bard College at Simon’s Rock info@musicincommon.org * 413-229-9939

ROSANNE CASH May 17 at 7pm grammy-winning artist

14 Castle St, Gt Barrington, MA • www.mahaiwe.org • 413.528.0100

10 CASTLE STREET • GREAT BARRINGTON • MASS 01230 TEL: 413-528-5244 • LIVE JAZZ FRI & SAT WWW.CASTLESTREETCAFE.COM • INFO@CASTLESTREETCAFE.COM

MICHAEL BALLON, CHEF PROPRIETOR

93 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

CIRQUE ZIVA Mar 15 at 7pm award-winning chinese acrobats

94 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

The Old Inn on The Green

fine dining ♦ lodging ♦ catering

Dining by Candlelight, Fireside Ambiance Nightly A La Carte except Saturday Prix Fixe ~Tasting Menu~ Serving from 5:30pm to 9:30pm Wednesday – Sunday

$30 Welcome Menu $30 3 courses with Choices Appetizer, Entrée, Dessert Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday ZAGAT: “The best bargain in the Berkshires”

Best Restaurant with an Inn Yankee Magazine Best of Boston, Berkshires Restaurant, General Excellence Boston Magazine 134 Hartsville New Marlboro Road New Marlboro, MA 01230 www.oldinn.com

Served from 11:30am

Martin Lewis Chef - Owner AT NIGH T 49 Railroad St., Great Barrington, MA 413-528-5455

49 RAilRoAD St. • GReAt BARRinGton, MA • 413-528-5455

FLYER DISTRIBUTION We’ll hand-post your 8.5x11 event flyers, in the Berkshires, for a FLAT FEE!

visit mvsoffice.com for details Your Local and Virtual Office Support Mary Vasquez-Slack, Virtual Assistant

mary@mvsoffice.com 413-446-1988

95 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Breakfast

Served All DayAll Day Breakfast Served Lunch Lunch from 11:30 a.m.

96 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

DR. J ay W i s e , D D S D r . Cas e y J o n es , D M D 3 1 P a r k l e e , m a ( 4 1 3 )

p l a z A 0 1 2 3 8

2 4 3 - 1 2 2 2

D r j ay w i s e d d s . c o m

T h i s i s wh e r e h e alt h , b e au t y a n d we l l b e i n g b eg i n . T hat ’ s O Ur B u s i n es s .

U N I TA R I A N U N I V E R S A L IS T M E E T I NG OF SOU T H BE R K SH I R E We meet on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. in Our New Church at 1089 Main Street Housatonic, Great Barrington, MA 01236 413-358-3877 email: info@uumsb.org www.uumsb.org

UUMSB – A voice of liberal religion in the heart of beautiful Berkshire County, Massachusetts W E W E L C OM E E V E RYON E

We make the world a more beautiful place.

{

Change your Habits Change your Life. Expert Medical Hypnotist & Transformational Life Coach SUSAN SPIEGEL SOLOVAY 917.881.0072 Great Barrington, MA & Hudson, NY healingwithhypno@fairpoint.net ❖ hypnocoachny.com

}

98 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Be in the know “The Edge is a breath of fresh Berkshire air. Crisp, clear, refreshing, and nurturing. I read it every day!” Subscriber Michael Wolkowitz, West Stockbridge

Read the Berkshires’ fastest growing publication

www.theberkshireedge.com

News Environment Arts & Entertainment Farm and Table Trade and Commerce Life in the Berkshires Real Estate Obituaries Education And the region’s most complete calendar. Searchable by date, organization and category, covering the full range of Berkshire events from Tanglewood to Tai Chi.

griff griffin Congratulations Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

179 main street great barrington 528 5000

life should surprise

Your anywhere, anytime community link to life in the Southern Berkshires Southern Berkshire

141 West Avenue, Great Barrington, MA 413-528-0095 • Fax 413-528-4805 • www.shoppersguideinc.com

99 • BFWW • March 2015 For full listings and biographies, visit our website at Berkshirewomenwriters.org

Celebrating the writer in all of us!