Remember when March used to be all about maple syrup and mud, and you didn’t even notice Women’s History Month going by?
Well, here in the Berkshires, those days are over! Now March is the month to celebrate the creative expression of women of all ages and from many walks of life, whose talents will be on display every single day of March in the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers.
This homegrown Festival, founded in 2011 by yours truly after a decade of organizing one-day conferences in observance of International Women’s Day, brings the creativity of women into sharp focus through more than 50 readings, workshops, performances, screenings and networking events at more than 30 venues throughout Berkshire County — most of them free.
This year’s Festival will be kicked off by a special Keynote on March 1 by the novelist and memoirist Dani Shapiro, who, even after writing many successful books, still needs to be reminded to give herself “The Permission to Write.” Especially in these times of the two-career family, women are often pulled in too many directions, and it can be hard for us to insist that our writing time is sacred and important. Dani will share with us her own strategies for not only giving herself permission to take that all-important writing time, but also for getting projects done.
After that, the beat won’t stop, with at least one outstanding Festival event every day of March. There are far too many wonderful events to list them all out here, but I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of our beautiful Festival Program, or go to the online calendar and start planning your busy month!
What I can tell you is that by the end of the month-long Festival, presenters and audiences alike are all so stimulated and excited by the collective out-pouring of creative energy that we are ready and eager to welcome the springtime with more joyful bursts of writing and sharing, learning and growing in good company.
It was this good energy that led to the creation of first Festival Anthology, Writing Fire: A Celebration of Women’s Words, edited by Jana Laiz, Sahra Bateson Brubeck and myself, featuring contributions by more than 70 women writers. The anthology, published by Green Fire Press, will be soon available “wherever fine books are sold” and will be featured at the first annual Festival Book Expo on March 29, where several contributors will read from their anthology pieces.
In fact, there’s so much interest in programs nurturing the creative expression of women of all ages that we Festival organizers have been expanding our offerings beyond the confines of the month of March.
In June 2015 we’ll hold our first weekend Rookwood Writing Retreat at the Rookwood Inn in Lenox, gathering an intimate group of women together to focus on the art and craft of memoir. In July we’ll be holding our first Leadership Intensive for Teen Girls, a week-long immersion using writing as a vehicle for channeling the passions of girls ages 13 – 18, strengthening their sense of commitment to their own growth and building confidence in their ability to contribute as leaders in their communities.
And throughout the year we offer regular events in support of women writers. Our monthly Lean In with the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers is a free, drop-in writers’ circle hosted by Anastasia Stanmeyer, editor of Berkshire Magazine, at the Shaker Dam Coffeehouse and Stanmeyer Gallery in West Stockbridge. The April 12 Lean In will feature the participation of food writer Jennifer Trainor Thompson, and the theme for those wishing to share their writing (500 words max) will be, of course, food.
We also have two Spring Readings coming up: on April 25, Michelle Gillett will host a reading of Four Ways Books poets at the Great Barrington Train Station Gallery; and on May 2 I’ll be hosting a reading at the Sandisfield Arts Center on the theme of LABOR, in honor of May Day — Berkshire region women writers are invited to submit writing on this theme (guidelines here) for inclusion in the reading and a possible anthology to come.
In this, my fifth year of organizing this grand collaboration in celebration of women’s creative expression, I can say with certainty that our entire Berkshire community benefits when the voices of more women and girls enter the public sphere.
While all people are equal, that does not mean that we are all the same. Women and girls sharing their unique perspectives in public expands the way we see ourselves and each other, allowing deeper insight into each other’s experiences and enriching the great tapestry of community life here in the Berkshires and beyond.
See you at the Festival!
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The weekly EDGE WISE column is curated by Jennifer Browdy, Ph.D., associate professor of comparative literature, gender studies and media studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Founding Director of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Women writers interested in publishing in EDGE WISE can find writers’ guidelines on the Festival website, or may submit queries or columns to Jennifer@berkshirewomenwriters.org.
