A conversation between writer and reader; Literary festival comes to Milford

Posted 8/21/12

MILFORD, PA — At most writers’ festivals, there is no interaction between the writer and the people who read their words—the reader. No dialogue, just lecture. The first Milford Readers and …

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A conversation between writer and reader; Literary festival comes to Milford

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MILFORD, PA — At most writers’ festivals, there is no interaction between the writer and the people who read their words—the reader. No dialogue, just lecture. The first Milford Readers and Writers Festival wants to do it differently, to break the mold of the literary festival. When Milford mayor and owner of the Hotel Fauchere, Sean Strub, got together with friends for dinner one evening, they fantasized about creating a literary festival in Milford. Less than six months later, a group of 10 to 15 volunteers set out to make that dream a reality.

The Milford Readers and Writers Festival will be held the weekend of September 30 to October 2 at the historic Milford Theatre and at several landmark sites around town, including Grey Towers National Historic Site, the Pike County Historical Society’s Columns Museum and the Pike County Public Library. The headlining writers are Gloria Steinem, John Berendt and MK Asante, who will have individual sessions as well as come together for a panel discussion.

These events are ticketed, as is a dance and spoken-word performance by Humans Collective, an ensemble of performers. Their performance of “Alone-Ology” is inspired by Maya Angelou’s iconic poem, “Alone.” It will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at the Milford Theatre and costs $20. The 10-person cast will feature powerful music, live poetry, singing and choreography from jazz legend Sheila Barker as well as hip-hop professionals Joanna Numata and Carlos Neto.

Perhaps the biggest draw to the event is literary and feminist icon Gloria Steinem. She has written several books, been published in The New York Times Magazine and Esquire Magazine, and co-founded Ms. Magazine in 1972. She helped found numerous feminist organizations, including The National Women’s Political Caucus, Voters for Choice and the Ms. Foundation for Women. She is currently working with the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, her alma mater, documenting the grassroots origins of the U.S. women’s movement and on creating a Center for Organizers. Among her many awards is the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, which President Barack Obama awarded her in 2013.

Suzanne Braun Levine, one of the organizers of the festival and a friend to Steinem, wrote an essay about her personal relationship with Steinem and the setbacks women faced. She writes, “In those days, women wearing pants were not admitted to New York restaurants; employment ads were segregated ‘Help Wanted – male” and “Help Wanted – female;’ I couldn’t get a loan without my husband’s signature; little girls who wanted to play baseball, as I did, could only dream about the Little League. And there were no women in orchestras (which only changed once applicants auditioned behind a curtain). In fact, there were virtually no women in government, in corporate leadership, in science—or in any positions of power.”

Steinem has done a lot to further women’s equality and be a force for change. But, as Braun Levine notes, there is still a lot to be done, like eliminating the current wage gap, with women making 79 cents for every dollar a man makes.

As it turns out, Milford is no stranger to literary festivals. In the ‘50s and ‘60s the Milford Science Fiction writing workshops were held there, and from that was born the so-called Milford Method of Criticism. The workshop was founded by Damon Knight and was attended by many prominent writers, including Kurt Vonnegut. It moved to the UK in 1972 and has run successfully ever since on an annual basis.

Edson Whitney, a festival organizer, said, “The idea was to revive some of that.” He stressed that the Milford Readers and Writers Festival will be interactive and place importance on the dialogue between readers and writers, “like a book club.” In terms of how they chose which writers to invite, most have a personal connection, but, “We wanted some big names and some diversity in what they write about.”

MK Asante is a best-selling author, award-winning filmmaker, rapper and professor, whom CNN calls “a master storyteller and major creative force.” John Berendt is the author of the best-selling book and major motion picture, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack) and “The City of Falling Angels.” Berendt, a former editor at the Harvard Lampoon, Esquire Magazine and New York Magazine, will discuss the real-life events that surrounded a grisly murder trial in Savannah, GA, the basis for his first book.

There will be other events going on that weekend, including a women’s panel chaired by author and journalist Nina Burleigh, a cookbook and food-writing workshop led by Laura Silverman (TRR food columnist now on hiatus), a panel on science fiction writing and a pop-up bookstore with local writers who will sign and sell their books and do readings.

The festival pass ($150) includes admission to all of the ticketed events and also the author’s cocktail reception at the Hotel Fauchere on Saturday evening. Tickets to individual events are also available. For more information and tickets visit www.milfordreadersandwriters.com.

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