Pittsfield — In keeping with the rich literary traditions of the region, The Mastheads are preparing to breathe new life into the five sculptural-architectural studios dotting the property of Herman Melville’s Arrowhead in honor of the nonprofit’s seventh annual summer residency, slated for July 1 through 22.
Chosen from more than 350 applicants nationwide, this year’s cohort of writers-turned-talented-performers (including a singer-songwriter, a banjo aficionado, and an acclaimed experimental playwright and actor) will set up shop in the very environs where—in the long ago summer of 1851—Melville spied the hump of a great white whale in the swell of Mount Greylock (visible due north from his study on Holmes Road) and set to work penning what would become an enduring masterpiece. Here are this year’s residents:
Kristina R. Gaddy is a Baltimore-based writer, fiddler, and author of a pair of books (“Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History” and “Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis“). Gaddy has received the Parsons Award from the Library of Congress, the Logan Nonfiction Fellowship, and a Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Rubys artist award.
Elisa Gonzalez is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Paris Review, New York Times Magazine, and The Drift among other publications. In 2020, she received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award. Her debut collection of poetry, “Grand Tour,” will be published in September 2023.
Daniel Lavery is the co-founder of The Toast and the former “Dear Prudence” at Slate. His books include “Something That May Shock and Discredit You,” “Texts From Jane Eyre,” and the forthcoming “Women’s Hotel.”
Julia Mounsey is a director and writer whose work has been presented at Under the Radar at the Public Theater, Soho Rep, JACK, Dixon Place, the Radikal Jung Festival at the München Volkstheater in Munich, and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. Along with her creative partner, Peter Mills Weiss, she was a member of the 2017-2018 Devised Theater Working Group at the Public Theater, the 2017-2019 Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and was a Baryshnikov Arts Center Resident Artist in 2019.
Auyon Mukharji is a writer and musician based in Massachusetts. The son of Indian immigrants, he was born in Virginia and grew up in Kansas City. He received a BA in Biology from Williams College in 2007 and has spent the majority of his time since then touring and writing with his bandmates in the indie-folk outfit Darlingside.
The Mastheads is a public arts and humanities project aimed at connecting residents to the literary history of the region, creating a forum for thinking about place and supporting the production of new creative work. Since its founding in 2016 (as an urban architectural experiment, a literary research initiative, a writers’ residency, and an educational program), the nonprofit has sought to develop its programming around both the genres of the residents and different artistic traditions of the Berkshires.
“[To date], 2023 has been a year of music, from community events to our programming in Pittsfield Public Schools,” Literary Director Sarah Trudgeon told The Edge, as evidenced by a trio of public events to occur throughout the month of July. The summer season will kick off on Sunday, July 2 at 6 p.m. at The Foundry in West Stockbridge with Words and Words and Music, a cross-genre performance by the writers-in-residence punctuating short sets by celebrated singer-songwriter Ben Jaffe (whose songs have garnered in excess of 10 million streams). The evening will conclude with a performance by Vandal Flag, the side project of South County native Asher Putnam, whose band, Bella’s Bartok, has become a staple of the northeast festival and touring scene. The event is sponsored by Berkshire Music Project; tickets here.
The writers-in-residence will take to the stage once again—this time at the Lion’s Den in Stockbridge—on Friday, July 14 at 6 p.m. for a Meet and Greet and Concert. Duck underground for a burger and beer to complement this brief performance followed by a Q&A with the residents whose work spans myriad genres, including novels, poetry, historical fiction, and nonfiction to singing, songwriting, playwriting, and acting. The performance, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a concert by Eliot Lewis of Hall & Oates, curated by the Berkshires’ own Johnny Irion.
Prepare to pack a picnic and BYOB to none other than Melville’s sprawling yard (where his family’s discovery of Native American arrowheads gave rise to the farm’s moniker) for the Season Finale on Thursday, July 20 at 6 p.m. Touted as the most beautiful evening of The Mastheads’ year, get ready for a treat as the 2023 writers-in-residence stand in Melville’s Barn and perform what they’ve created in the studios since the beginning of the month. Free and open to the public.
“These are going to be really unique, provocative events,” said cofounder and design director Tessa Kelly.
NOTE: Every July, The Mastheads host a month-long residency that brings five emerging writers from across the country to live and work in Pittsfield. Residents receive exclusive use of one of the Mastheads studios, a $900 prize, travel reimbursement, and a private room (within walking distance to Arrowhead) in a space shared with the other residents. Beyond July, The Mastheads studios are open seasonally for folks interested in experiencing a day residency on the historic grounds of Herman Melville’s Arrowhead.
