I ran into one of my favorite creative people in the supermarket yesterday and, as often happens, we couldn't get on with our shopping without first having a 20-minute chat about arts-related things.
Wyn Cooper, poet and occasional rock 'n' roll star, had much news to tell. He has a new book of sonnets due out and has been in the recording studio with long-time co-conspirator Madison Smartt Bell working on an album of his poems and other writing set to rock music. Due out possible in the fall, there will be more on it soon.
What Cooper was most enthusiastic about was the upcoming Brattleboro Literary Festival, the sixth, which will be Sept. 28-30. Since its founding in 2002, the literary festival has retained a kind of ideological purity — great authors come to town to give free readings in an event refreshingly devoid of commercialism. It's just a weekend for readers, writers and the written word. Nuf' said.
This year's lineup includes Pulitzer Prize-winners (Galway Kinnel, Debby Applegate), a Newbery Award-winner (Lois Lowry), acclaimed fiction writer Ann Beattie, nonfiction writer Augesten Burroughs and composer and memoirist Allen Shawn. It also features a special food panel — a great addition.
The complete list of participating authors also includes: Jon Clinch, John Crowley, Joshua Harmon, Randall Kenan, Haven Kimmel, Colum McCann, Deidre Blair, Sven Birkerts, Michael Lesy, Zak Smith, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Kurt Brown, Ellen Dudley, Martha Rhodes, Ibtisam Barakat, Leda Schubert, Matt Tavares and food panelists Marian Burros, Deborah Madison, Jeffrey Roberts and Keith Stewart.
I should add the obligatory plug for sponsors — if you want to sign up, e-mail bookfest@brattleboroliteraryfestival.org.