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Waltham Author Reports Back On The 2017 Boston Book Festival
For the first time in its nine-year history, the Boston Book Festival dedicated a whole venue exclusively to sessions for writers.
Boston Book Festival
The 9th annual event of literally city-sized proportion was celebrated this weekend in Copley Square with the abounding theme of “Where We Find Ourselves.” Exploring the hub with “Lit Crawl Boston” on Thursday night, and traversing through and around Copley Square Saturday, words and worlds entwined. Artists, writers, poets, dancers, and readers created what Sarah Howard Parker, Director of Operations, calls “the most ambitious and complex festival we have had.”
Boston was in full fall glory, with variant leaves of trees and books falling into awed fingers. Historic architecture and modern themes melded together in distinctly homegrown avenues. Participating in author signings, music and dance workshops, science experiments, hands-on art explorations, inter-personal games, and unique writer workshops forged a path for an “only in Boston” tour.
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Little literary lovers found Waldo at the Boston Public Library after a lengthy search. Colourful characters Nutbrown Hare, Olivia, Maisy, and the duo Elephant and Piggie charmed children with photo-ops.
Lemony Snicket provided an unforgettable kids’ keynote featuring the new picture book, “The Bad Mood and the Stick.” Adults were equally delighted to participate in a mysterious session following. Waltham raised author Joanna Schaffhausen presented her case for crime solving with a detective worthy session in the “Gumshoes to Cyber Sleuths” session at the Old South Church.
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Beatles fans were treated to a tour through words of the Fab Four’s literary masterpieces at the Church of the Covenant, with Adam Gopnik, Alan Light, Rob Sheffield, and Toure providing bridges between lyrics and music interpretation.
Trinity Church aptly provided the scene for “This is the Place: Women Writing about Home.” Another version of home was discussed in the exalted conversation, “Voices of America: The Immigrant Experience Through a Writer’s Eyes,” featuring award-winning Grace Talusan.
The theme of women exploring life adventures continued at Emmanuel Church with “Memoir: Strange Journeys,” moderated by WBUR ARTery reporter Maria Garcia. Virginia Prescott, lending a modern flair to literature, then dramatically featured popular podcast “Welcome to Nightvale.”
Old South Church lent its historic grandeur to paleontological stories in “Natural and Unnatural History: Earthquakes and Woolly Mammoths.” Switching gears, Somerville author Daphne Kalotay filled the church’s halls with a memoir of human history and with the “One City One Story” feature.
For the first time in its nine-year history, the BBF dedicated a whole venue exclusively to sessions for writers. The Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center was inundated with aspiring and talented writers of all genres. An uproarious game of “Literary Never Have I Ever” hosted by Stephanie Gayle provoked attendees to titillating laughter.
“Reading Like a Writer: Debuts, Perspective, and Setting,” provided a wildly popular trilogy of sessions connecting professionals of the craft. “Reading Like a Writer: Poetry,” featuring Stephanie Burt, Myron Hardy, and Erika L. Sanchez serenaded the audience with sample exploration and detailed conversation.
The full-capacity “BBF Unbound: Writing from Privilege,” lead to a lobby of devotees tenaciously waiting for a chance to engage with authors Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Shuchi Saraswat, Laura van den Berg, Hasanthika Sirisena, and Kaitlin Solimine. Prompted by this delightful demand, plans are underway to expand this and other writing events into larger venues next year.
The celebration of books twirled away in twilight as Mass Poetry sponsored “Poems and Pints” at XHALE. The chill trio of Rebecca Morgan Frank, Krysten Hill, and Natalie Shapero served individual plates for poetic palates.
Sharing the city with this immersive festival initiates a sense of prideful community. Next year’s decade mark is already inked for next year. In case you missed it. Audio for all 2017 BBF sessions will be posted online within the next few weeks.
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