Podcasts about massachusetts cultural council

Milo Todd discusses the research process for his debut, The Lilac People. This sweeping historical fiction novel shares a devastating chapter in trans history. Debut novelist Milo Todd joins me to discuss his book, The Lilac People, in honor of Pride Month. This heartbreaking historical fiction novel uncovers a devastating chapter in queer and trans history.Milo's novel centers on a group of trans and intersex patients at Berlin's Institute for Sexual Science as Hitler's regime begins its rise to power. Through stunning research and unforgettable characters, readers uncover a nearly erased history to life—while drawing chilling parallels to today's political climate.In our conversation, Milo shares how real historical figures and overlooked archives shaped the characters in his novel—and why it was crucial to honor the lives of those whose stories were almost erased from history.In this moving conversation, Milo and I discuss:How Milo discovered the history of the Institute for Sexual Science and the work of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld—and the biggest surprises when researching their legacy.The challenges with research for this novel in the face of the pandemic and the creative avenues he took to build his storyHow Milo sees trans people as being the canaries in the coal mine as we discuss one of his story's most impactful scenesHow Milo's teaching work with trans youth informs his writing and what actions he believes are most impactful in allyship today.BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing a companion book list of 26 LGBTQ History Books to read, including new releases and backlist titles, that offer illuminating details on the joys and triumphs throughout queer history. Meet Milo ToddMilo Todd is a Massachusetts Cultural Council grantee and a Lambda Literary Fellow. His work has appeared in Slice Magazine and elsewhere. He is the co-editor-in-chief of Foglifter and teaches creative writing to queer and trans adults. The Lilac People is his debut novel.Mentioned in this episode:Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide  ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits—thank you for supporting my small business!   Download Today's Show TranscriptJoin the June Book Club Chat (The Reckless Oath We Made)BONUS BOOK LIST: 26 LGBTQ Books to Read for Pride MonthRed Clay Suzie by Jeffrey Dale LoftonLarry Hoffer (@getbookedwithlarry)The Lilac People by Milo ToddThe Book of Harlan by Bernice L. McFaddenYou Can't Ask ThatInstitute for Sexual ScienceIn Memoriam by Alice WinnMilo's EventsThe Queer WriterA sample of Max Meyers's narrationMilo's InstagramWe Are Bookish (NetGalley's blog)milotodd.comHow to Jazz Up Your Book Club While Reading The Lilac PeopleConnect With Us:Join the Book Gang PatreonConnect with Milo on Instagram or his WebsiteConnect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdviceGet My Happy List NewsletterGet the Daily Kindle Deals NewsletterBuy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

In this episode, Dave and Andrew talk about a curious winner for the year 2000 since it was originally composed 25 years earlier! What will they think about this blast from the past? It's also the first opera to win the Pulitzer Prize in many decades.   If you'd like more information about Lewis Spratlan, we recommend: This video of Spratlan talking about the origins of the opera before the full premiere by the Santa Fe Opera. This video of Spratlan detailing the opera's history with the Massachusetts Cultural Council. A. Robert Lauer's article "The Santa Fe Opera's Life Is a Dream" Bulletin of the Comediantes, Volume 63, Number 2 (2011): 155-60.

SummaryIn this powerful and personal conversation, MASS Cultural Council Executive Director, Michael Bobbitt explores the life-saving role of the arts, how creative work is inherently political, and the deep importance of joy, community, and innovation in building a better future. Drawing on his personal story, leadership journey, and groundbreaking initiatives, Bobbitt challenges arts organizations to think boldly and cross-sectorally in their work for social change.

Lana Z Caplan works across various media – including single-channel films or videos in essay form, interactive installations, video art, and photography. Her recent photographic monograph, Oceano (for seven generations) published by Kehrer Verlag in 2023, contrasts the historic inhabitants of California's Oceano Dunes – the Indigenous Chumash and a colony of depression-era artist and mystic squatters – with the current ATV riding community which is the source of a public health crisis in neighboring communities. Oceano (for seven generations) is in the collection of museums including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Getty Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and The Cleveland Museum of Art. Her work has been reviewed and featured in publications such as ARTnews, LA Times, , and The Boston Globe and she has received several grants including from Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Film/Video Studio Program Fellowship at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH. Caplan earned her BA and BS from Boston University, her MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and is currently an Associate Professor of Photography and Video at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Resources Lana Z. Caplan Websites Photo Workshops Tokyo Exploration Workshop with Ibarionex Perello Sponsors Playpodcast Podcast App Charcoal Book Club Chico Review Photobook Retreat Frames Magazine Education Resources: Momenta Photographic Workshops Candid Frame Resources Download the free Candid Frame app for your favorite smart device. Click here to download it for . Click here to download Contribute a one-time donation to the show thru Buy Me a Coffee Support the work at The Candid Frame by contributing to our Patreon effort.  You can do this by visiting or the website and clicking on the Patreon button. You can also provide a one-time donation via . You can follow Ibarionex on and .

Dreamy Writers Cruise Presenters #1 Hey writers, dreamers, and authors, come Sail With Us on the Dreamy Writers Conference Cruise to Alaska the last week of August 2025, which is the first week of the Northern Lights! Tune into the show to "Meet Your Instructors." Bios: Rose Marie Kern, President- Rose attended Butler University where she began her studies in Arts Administration, though she received her Bachelor's degree in Non-Profit management from the University of New Mexico. In addition to working for the FAA and Lockheed Martin, Rose has owned and managed her own business since 2003. As an author, Rose has had over a thousand articles published in national and regional magazines on solar energy, sustainable living, solar cooking, aviation, and organic gardening, and has written five books. Currently she works with authors who want to learn how to self-publish, and has given a number of classes and workshops for SWW. Rose has been a member of SouthWest Writers since January of 2006, a board member since 2008, and is a past president and past treasurer of the organization. https://www.southwestwriters.com/meet-the-candidates/ Jacqueline Murray Loring, Southwest Writers Membership/Volunteer - Jacqueline Murray Loring writes stage plays and narrative, feature-length movie scripts. Since 2013, she has written or co-written nine short scripts that were filmed. Loring is the past executive director of the Cape Cod Writers Center and past president of the Cape Cod Chapter of the National League of American Pen Women. She received professional development grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, artist residencies at the Ragdale Foundation in Forest Lake, IL, and at the Heinrich Böll Foundation Cottage, Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland. http://jacquelinemurrayloring.com/ Peter Canova- Businessman Peter Canova is a multi-award winning author, speaker, and inspirational visionary. His first Novel, Pope Annalisa, of The First Souls Trilogy has won ten national and international book awards. His latest non-fiction award-winning book Quantum Spirituality has won 14 awards.  https://www.petercanova.com/ Video Version: https://youtu.be/fyvk8SeW6dg?si=Dz-_OPPPkqXLa6Me Call in and Chat with Kat during Live Show with Video Stream: Call 646-558-8656 ID: 8836953587 press #.  To Ask a Question press *9 to raise your hand or write a question on YouTube during Show Have a Question for the Show? Go to Facebook– Dreams that Can Save Your Life Facebook Professional–Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos http://kathleenokeefekanavos.com/

The Winchendon Music Festival is a non-profit concert series held in Winchendon, Massachusetts. The Festival showcases performances by international artists from a variety of genres including classical, folk, jazz, historical performance, and world music. Concerts are free to the public, thanks to support from several local cultural councils, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Robinson Broadhurst Foundation, the Winchendon History & Cultural Center, and the First Congregational Church of Winchendon. The Winchendon Music Festival presents solo, small ensemble, and chamber orchestral programs.  The festival was founded in 2016 by multi-instrumentalist, scholar, and composer Andrew Arceci who was our guest on Episode 106, and who now joins us with guitarist Colin Davin, a performer in this season's (2024) program. As you will hear, performances for the Winchendon Music Festival take place at several venues around Winchendon.

Today we get to hear from Pagan Kennedy, whose newest book, The Secret History of the Rape Kit, will be released in January. Pagan and I will be talking about the ways in which contemporary events and your own past can disrupt what you thought your book was about.Watch a recording of our live webinar here. The audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.To find Kennedy's book and many books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. Pagan Kennedy is a journalist and author of eleven books, most recently Inventology: How We Dream Up Things That Change the World, which was optioned for adaption into a TV show and podcast, and The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story, which will be released by Vintage in January. She has also been awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT, an NEA fellowship, a Smithsonian fellowship, and two Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowships. She is a longtime contributor to the New York Times.  Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Steve Almond is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His essays and reviews have been published in venues ranging from the New York Times Magazine to Ploughshares to Poets & Writers, and his short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and Best American Erotica. Almond is the recipient of grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Steve cohosted the Dear Sugars podcast with his pal Cheryl Strayed for four years, and teaches Creative Writing at the Neiman Fellowship at Harvard and Wesleyan. He lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with his family and his anxiety.

Bill welcomes bestselling author Steve Almond to the show. Steve Almond is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His essays and reviews have been published in venues ranging from the New York Times Magazine to Ploughshares to Poets & Writers, and his short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and Best American Erotica. Almond is the recipient of grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. He cohosted the Dear Sugars podcast with his pal Cheryl Strayed for four years, and teaches Creative Writing at the Neiman Fellowship at Harvard and Wesleyan. He lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with his family and his anxiety.

The arts' contribution to the state's GDP is significant, says Michael Bobbitt, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The sector in Massachusetts is a $27.2 billion industry, Bobbitt says on this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast. That's based on a 2021 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report. “We know that arts are great for supporting people's health needs and their education needs, but also great for business,” says Bobbitt. “The more we can build those relationships with our sector and those sectors, the more everyone will benefit from having this deep infusion of arts and culture.”The council's statewide initiatives range from providing grants for individuals, organizations and groups statewide to building relationships with industries and sectors to help support its activities. Listen to the episode to hear more from Bobbitt about:His entry into the arts. [3:07]Past and current musicals he's written. [4:47]The council's Culture Rx arts “prescription.” [8:31]Why public support for the arts is important. [14:04]Powered by PNC Bank.Download a transcript of the podcast.

Return guest, Michael Joseph, talks about his new book, Lost & Found, published by Kehrer Verlag. You may already know the work from the Travelers series on his Instagram account. This is a beautifully laid out and printed book and we get into many of the details and decisions that went into making this book. First, the decision to publish this series, connecting with an editor, the fundraising, what kinds of text would be used, all the design elements, and finally having it in hand. Michael generously shares each step along the way. We also catch up on how Michael's next series, The Wild West of the East is coming along. https://www.michaeljosephphotographics.com https://www.michaeljosephphotographics.com/book-purchase/p/lost-and-found-book https://www.kehrerverlag.com/en/michael-joseph-lost-found This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Michael Joseph is a street portrait and documentary photographer.  Raised just outside of New York City, his inspirations are drawn from interactions with strangers on city streets and aims to afford his audience the same experience through his photographs.  His portraits are made on the street, often unplanned and up close to allow the viewer to explore the immediate and unseen. Themes throughout his portraiture and projects include identity formation, found family, wanderlust, the human journey, the search for equality and human authenticity. His first monograph, "Lost and Found: A Portrait of American Wanderlust" will be published in Fall, 2023 (Europe) and Spring, 2024 (USA) by Kehrer Verlag. Michael's work has been featured on CNN, Vice, The Guardian, Dazed, AnotherMan, Paper Magazine, HUCK, the Advocate, and published in magazines internationally including Elle, Inked, 1814 and SHOTS. He has been exhibited nationally, with solo shows at Daniel Cooney Fine Art (New York, NY) and the Soho Photo Gallery (New York, NY) and the FP3 Gallery (Boston, MA). Group exhibitions include the notable Aperture Gallery (New York, NY), the Getty Images Gallery (London, UK) and the Griffin Museum of Photography (Massachusetts). He has lectured at the International Center of Photography (New York, NY), the Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA), in portraiture classes at the New England School of Photography (Boston, MA) and taught at the Light Factory (Charlotte, NC).  His portraits are held in the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, TX) Fort Wayne Museum of Art (Fort Wayne, Indiana), the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts (Rochester, NH), the Jack Sheer Collection, Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery (Saratoga Springs, NY)and private collections. He is a 2023 and 2016 Photolucida Top 50 Photographer, 2020 Photolucida Finalist, and LensCulture Portrait Award Finalist. He is a recipient of the fellowship in photography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and a grant from the Peter S. Reed Foundation.  Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Bill welcomes author Carla Panciera back to the show. Carla's collection of short stories, Bewildered, received the 2013 Grace Paley Short Fiction Award from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs and was published by the University of Massachusetts Press. Her short stories have appeared in the New England Review, the Clackamas Review, Slice, and other magazines. Her short story, “The Kind of People Who Look at Art” was chosen by Junot Diaz as a distinguished story in Best American Short Stories 2017. She was the James E. Kilgore scholar in Nonfiction at Bread Loaf Writers Conference and is the recipient of an Individual Artist Grant in Creative Nonfiction from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her newest book, Barnflower: A Rhode Island Farm Memoir, was released in 2023 by Loom Press. She has also published two collections of poetry: Cider Press Award Winner, One of the Cimalores and Bordighera Press Poetry Award Winning, No Day, No Dusk, No Love.  Her poetry has appeared in numerous magazines including Poetry, Painted Bride Quarterly, and the Los Angeles Review. 

Dreaming of Being Published: Southwest Writer's Conference Panel About: SECRETS to getting published! Have you dreamed of organizing your writing for publication? Are you an aspiring (or established) writer who wants to be an award-winning author? You are in luck! Jackie Loring and Brenda Cole of The Southwest Writer's Conference (SWWC) Panel are here to answer your questions and dreams. The SWW Community can be accessed in person or Online. SouthWest Writers was established in 1983 to allow successful established authors to pass on their knowledge and insights to aspiring writers. https://www.southwestwriters.com/ In- Person Location: Our location is at UNM Continuing Education (UNM-CE) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Go to SWW Meeting Location for more information about UNM-CE. ZOOM MEETING/CLASS/WORKSHOP Procedure: https://www.southwestwriters.com/new-zoom-meeting-procedure/ Guest BIOS: Past President/Collegium- Brenda Cole. Brenda has been an educator for children from preschool through high school. Her multiple life sciences degrees led to her teaching Biology and Western Medicine at three different institutions. She splits her time between writing, art projects, and genealogy. Over the years, she has become an award-winning author of nonfiction short stories. Brenda was SWW's 2021-2022 vice president and chair of the Collegium Committee. https://www.southwestwriters.com/meet-the-candidates/ SWW Director/Membership -Jacqueline (Jackie) Murray Loring is a filmmaker, poet, produced playwright, screenwriter, and the 2020 recipient of the Parris Award, SouthWest Writers' most prestigious honor. In 2012, she won the Doire Press Irish International Poetry Prize for her poetry collection The History of Bearing Children , published in Galway. She is the author of the nonfiction books Vietnam Veterans Unbroken: Conversations on Trauma and Resilience by McFarland & Company Publishers. https://mcfarlandbooks.com/ and KiMo Theatre: Fact and Folklore , published by SouthWest Writers. Her move from Cape Cod, MA, to Albuquerque, NM in 2012 allowed her to join the New Mexico film community, where she has written or co-written and/or crewed for several short films. Jackie writes stage plays, screenplays, and poetry, as well as writing and editing nonfiction and memoirs. Since her move to New Mexico in 2012, she co-edited the 2013 The Storyteller's Anthology for the SouthWest Writers Group (anthology: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, book excerpts). Jackie received professional development grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, artist residencies at the Ragdale Foundation in Forest Lake, IL, and at the Heinrich Böll Foundation Cottage, Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland. She has written/co-written eight short scripts that have been filmed. Trains, Tracks & Aliens, produced by Karen Cunningham, premiered at the 2017 Indie Q Film Festival in Albuquerque. The House on Normal Street, produced by Antonio Weiss, premiered at the Santa Fe Film Festival in 2017. She was a finalist in the 2017 New Mexico Film Foundation's Let's Make a Western contest for her movie treatment titled Croquet Rules , a story about Billy the Kid. In 2023, she crewed for Wisdom Tribe Films as script supervisor/continuity supervisor for Symphony in a C-Note directed by Antonio Weiss. She participated as a writer on two short movies that were filmed in Albuquerque for the New Mexico 48-Hour Film Project. Jackie Loring is currently an NM Women in Film member and a SouthWest Writers board member. www.jacquelinemurrayloring.com . Video Version: https://youtu.be/FCr8HtbZYbE?si=op_l_Men0-0VrBnI Call in and Chat with Kat during Live Show with Video Stream: Call 646-558-8656 ID: 8836953587 press #.  To Ask a Question press *9 to raise your hand or write a question on YouTube during Show Have a Question for the Show? Go to Facebook– Dreams that Can Save Your Life Facebook Professional–Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos http://kathleenokeefekanavos.com/

SANTA DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE: Mom and Dad have never gotten around to telling Jeffrey that there's no Santa. He's 30, and he still believes. This Christmas the truth comes out about Santa, as well as a few other family secrets. Written by Patrick Gabridge Directed by Jonathan Cook Performed by Marian Thibodeau as "Mom", Krys Bailey as "Dad", and Michael Silvio Fortino as "Jeffrey". Intro/Outro music: JK/47 About the writer: Patrick Gabridge has been a Playwriting Fellow with the Huntington Theatre Company and with New Rep and have received fellowships from the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. His short plays are published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers, Heuer, Smith & Kraus, Stage Rights, and YouthPlays, and have received more than 1,000 productions from theatres and schools around the world. He helped start Boston's Rhombus Playwrights writers' group, the Chameleon Stage theatre company in Denver, the Bare Bones Theatre company in New York, the publication Market InSight… for Playwrights, the on-line Playwrights' Submission Binge, and the New England New Play Alliance. He's currently the Eastern New England Regional Rep for the Dramatists Guild, a member of StageSource, and a past board member of the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund. He's the producing artistic director of Plays in Place, a company focused on creating new site-specific plays in partnership with cultural institutions and historic sites. Gather by the Ghost Light merch available at Home | Gather by the Ghost Light (bigcartel.com) If you would like to further support this podcast, please visit Gather by the Ghost Light is increasing public knowledge of emerging writers and actors (buymeacoffee.com) If you are associated with a theatre and would like to perform this play, please send an email to licensing@gatherbytheghostlight.com to get connected with the playwright. If you enjoy this podcast, please please please leave a rating on your preferred podcast app! Gather by the Ghost Light  

Hey well read baddies, welcome to another #Black365 minisode! Today we are talking with Tatiana Johnson-Boria (she/her) and she is the author of the newly released book called Nocturne in Joy (2023). She's an educator, artist, and facilitator who uses her writing practice to dismantle racism, reckon with trauma, and to cultivate healing. She's an award-winning writer who's received distinguished fellowships from Tin House, The Massachusetts Cultural Council, The MacDowell Residency, and others. Tatiana completed her MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College and teaches at Emerson College, GrubStreet, and others. We discuss the journey of writing her book, the themes discussed, being an artist and how you can always "yes and" just about anything. Be sure to share this episode with a friend! To learn more about Tatianna follow her everywhere @tatianajboria and find her work in or forthcoming at Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Pleiades, among others. She's represented by Lauren Scovel at Laura Gross Literary. Tatiana's book- https://www.amazon.com/shop/shewellread Books mentioned in episode- https://amzn.to/3Qrno9Y Jesmyn Ward article- https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/jesmyn-ward-on-husbands-death-and-grief-during-covid We can't wait to hear from you! :) Please send any questions or comments about this episode to shewellread@gmail.com or use the form at the bottom of the SWR Podcast page: https://shewellread.com/podcast/ Follow SHE WELL READ! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shewellread/ TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeDCLdTX/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shewellread Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6-RqriJLTi6G0Munzr1ig More links including discount codes: https://msha.ke/shewellread

We are capping off our season of conversations with Ben Berman, the author of three books of poems and the new collection of humorous and literary essays, Writing While Parenting. Ben ​has ​won ​the ​Peace ​Corps ​Award ​for ​the ​Best ​Book ​of ​Poetry, ​has ​twice ​been ​shortlisted ​for ​the ​Massachusetts ​Book ​Awards, ​and ​has ​received ​awards ​from ​the ​Massachusetts ​Cultural ​Council, ​New ​England ​Poetry ​Club, ​and ​Somerville ​Arts ​Council. ​He's ​been ​teaching ​for ​25 ​years ​and ​currently ​teaches ​creative ​writing ​classes ​at ​Brookline ​High ​School. ​He ​lives ​in ​the ​Boston ​area ​with ​his ​wife ​and ​two ​daughters.Kaitlin's conversation with Ben explores the intersection of creativity and parenting through the lens of his latest book, and how they can coexist.Ben and Kaitlin talk about:Why ​Ben ​felt compelled to write ​a ​book ​in ​and ​around ​the ​subject ​matter ​of ​writing ​while ​parenting.The idea that disorder can be a catalyst for creativity and how being a parent as well as working with kids has shifted Ben's perspective on creativity.The challenge of balancing creative engagement with parenting responsibilities – how we can make our children a part of our creative journey instead of seeing them as obstacles.The delicate balance between being fully present in the moment as a parent and detaching to think about it from a creative perspective and how Ben merges the two aspects through his writing.The ​relationship ​between ​form ​and ​content, and how ​the ​structures ​that ​we ​create ​allow ​for ​freedom ​or ​inhibit ​it.More about Ben:Website: www.ben-berman.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.berman.7927/Pre-order Writing While Parenting here:https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781773491110Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.For regular updates:Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcastSubscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Jacke talks to novelist Shilpi Suneja about her childhood in India, her discovery of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, and her new novel House of Caravans, which offers its own fresh look at Indian Independence and its aftermath. Shilpi Suneja is the author of House of Caravans. Born in India, her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and published in Guernica, McSweeney's, Cognoscenti, and the Michigan Quarterly Review. Her writing has been supported by a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship, a Grub Street Novel Incubator Scholarship, and she was the Desai fellow at the Jack Jones Literary Arts Retreat. She holds an MA in English from New York University and an MFA in creative writing from Boston University, where she was awarded the Saul Bellow Prize. She lives in Cambridge, MA. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

September 2023 Dante's Oliver de la Paz is the Poet Laureate of Worcester, MA for 2023-2025. He is the author and editor of seven books: Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby, Requiem for the Orchard, Post Subject: A Fable, and The Boy in the Labyrinth, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award in Poetry. His newest work, The Diaspora Sonnets, is published by Liveright Press (2023) and is longlisted for the National Book Award. With Stacey Lynn Brown he co-edited A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. Oliver serves as the co-chair of the Kundiman advisory board. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Poetry, American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He has received grants from the NEA, NYFA, the Artist's Trust, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, and has been awarded multiple Pushcart Prizes. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at PLU. Website: https://www.oliverdelapaz.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliver.delapaz1 Instagram: odelapaz Twitter (X): @Oliver_delaPaz Threads; @odelapaz Blue Sky: @oliverdelapaz.bsky.social TikTok: odeladog27 Lynne Kemen lives in Upstate New York. Her chapbook, More Than a Handful, was published in 2020.  She is published in Silver Birch Press, The Ravens Perch, Poetica Review, Stone Canoe, Spillwords, Topical Poetry, Fresh Words, The Ekphrastic Review, Lothlorien Poetry, and Blue Mountain Review. Lynne is the Interim President of Bright Hill Press. She is an Editor for the Blue Mountain Review and a lifetime member of The Southern Collective Experience. She has a new book, Shoes for Lucy, that will be published in early 2023 by SCE.   website: https://lynnekemen.com/ Facebook: Lynne Kemen Twitter (X): @psychadv Instagram: lynnekemen Luke Johnson is the author of Quiver (Texas Review Press), a finalist for The Jake Adam York Prize, The Levis Award, The Vassar Miller Prize and the Brittingham. His second book A Slow Indwelling, a call and response with the poet Megan Merchant, is forthcoming from Harbor Editions Fall 2024. You can find more of his work at Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Narrative Magazine, Poetry Northwest and elsewhere. Connect on Twitter at @Lukesrant or through email: writerswharfmb@gmail.com.   Website: lukethepoet.com Songs Provided by: Christa Wells www.patreon.com/christawells https://open.spotify.com/artist/3gCNiuPNPiAA5UQSgb8Uby?si=2PSZA0SJQrmnwme_fP6kbw Instrument by: Justin Johnson www.justinjohnsonlive.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/151RUyDTIDJM8gXwGJbv7z?si=Ti4xx1_kTIGTJgEa182Rew Special Thanks Goes to: Wild Honey Tees: www.wildhoneytees.com Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com UCLA Extension Writing Program: The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org Mr. Classic's Haberdashery: theemanor.org Woodbridge Inn: www.woodbridgeinnjasper.com The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com The host, Clifford Brooks', The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of Eden, is only available through his website: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order Check out his Teachable courses on thriving with autism and creative writing as a profession here: brookssessions.teachable.com

Often stories come to us in fragments: as a vivid image or a perfect sentence, but how do we turn those fragments into stories? Fiction writer, Jung Yun, shows how to create linear stories from nonlinear fragments and what happens when patience runs thin in this Inspiration Takeover, a series of mini-episodes with different writers who offer us a little dose of inspiration. Jung Yun was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. She studied at Vassar College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Tin House, the Massachusetts Review, the Indiana Review, the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among others. She is the recipient of individual artist's grants in fiction from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. She has also received residential fellowships from MacDowell, the Ucross Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the National Humanities Center. Currently, Jung lives in Baltimore with her husband and is an associate professor of English at the George Washington University. She serves on the board of directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.

Shilpi Suneja shares the first pages of her debut novel, House of Caravans, how she discovered the core of her story (and therefore where to begin) after several rounds of revising, her use of the omniscient first person and how she transitions between characters' internal states without losing her reader, and the weight of history both on her book and her psyche as a writer.Suneja's first pages can be found here.Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop.Click here for the audio/video version of this interview.The above link will be available for 48 hours. Missed it? The podcast version is always available, both here and on your favorite podcast platform.Shilpi Suneja was born in Kanpur, India. At the age of fifteen, she moved with her parents to a tiny village in North Carolina. She later earned  an MA in English from NYU, an MFA from BU, and another MFA from UMass Boston. She's won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her short fiction and essays, nominated for a Pushcart Prize, appear in Arrowsmith, Asia Literary Review, Bat City Review, Cognoscenti, Consequence, Guernica, Hyphen, Kartika Review, Kafila, Little Fiction, McSweeney's,  Michigan Quarterly Review, Solstice, Stirring Lit, and TwoCircles.Net among other places. In 2019 Shilpi attended the Jack Jones Literary Retreat as a Desai Fellow. Her essay won the 2022 Bechtel Prize from Teachers & Writers Magazine. Her first novel about the long shadow of the Indian Partition of 1947, her grandfather's story of migration from Lahore to Kanpur, is slated for publication in September 2023 from Milkweed Editions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Alyssa Songsiridej discusses the first pages of her debut novel, Little Rabbit, including her process of moving between longhand and typing her pages, a process which helps her quiet her anxieties and keep her early work private. We also talk about her choice to begin and end with the image that sparked her book, how she wrote to discover her character, and how that discovery offered surprises both for herself and for her reader. Songsiridej's first pages can be found here.Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop.Click here for the audio/video version of this interview.The above link will be available for 48 hours. Missed it? The podcast version is always available, both here and on your favorite podcast platform.Alyssa Songsiridej is a fiction writer and editor. Her debut novel, Little Rabbit, was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, long listed for the Pen/Hemingway Award, and named a National Book Foundation “5 under 35” Honoree. The novel was named a best book of the year by the New Yorker, The San Francisco Chronicle, Electric Literature, and more. Her short fiction can be found at StoryQuarterly, The Indiana Review, and Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art. She has been honored and supported by Yaddo, the Ucross Foundation, Lighthouse Works, the VCCA, the Vermont Studio Center, KHN Center, MassMoca's Assets for Artists, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is an editor at Electric Literature. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Jessica Keener discusses the first pages of her debut novel, Night Swim, recently re-released in a new 10th anniversary edition. We talk about how she straddled the genre line of an adult novel with a young protagonist, the way her frame story helped her understand what the book was all about, and her journey to find her own publisher instead of accepting unwanted changes—only to make the book a bestseller in the end.Keener's first pages can be found here.Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop.Click here for the audio/video version of this interview.The above link will be available for 48 hours. Missed it? The podcast version is always available, both here and on your favorite podcast platform.Jessica Keener's debut novel, Night Swim, was a national bestseller, which was followed by an award-winning collection of stories, Women in Bed. Her second novel, Strangers in Budapest, was an Indie Next pick, an Entertainment Weekly best new book, and a Southern Independent Bookseller Association bestseller. A tenth-anniversary edition of Night Swim was published in March 2023 for which she embarked on a 50-state virtual book club tour. She's been the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council artist grant, a fellowship from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and scholarships for writing excellence from Wesleyan and Brown University. Her features have appeared in The Boston Globe, Agni, O magazine and others. Her essay “The Flow Room,” originally published by WBUR's Cognoscenti, was included in the award-winning anthology: LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19, which won the 2021 Washington State Book prize. An excerpt from her forthcoming novel, Evening Begins the Day, will be published in June by Image magazine.Thank you for reading The 7am Novelist. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

In this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff discuss the field building support of the Creative Youth Development (CYD) field of practice in the United states. Ashraf interviews Kaäthe Swaback from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Matt D'Arrigo from the Clare Rose Foundation and their work with the CYD Funders Forum. Ashraf and Jeff discuss definitions, multiple perspectives, power, and responsibilities to cultivate the conditions for this field to thrive! In this episode you'll learn: How the many perspectives we bring from our past work can contribute to field-building a community of practice; The ways that funders share knowledge and contribute to intertwined strategies; and  Why we should invest small acts into a greater momentum of change. Some things from the episode: Clare Rose Center for Creative Youth Development: https://clarerosecenterforcyd.org/ Mass Cultural Council's Creative Youth Development (CYD): https://massculturalcouncil.org/creative-youth-development/ CultureRx: Social Prescription pilot: https://massculturalcouncil.org/blog/study-unveils-benefits-recommendations-for-social-prescription/ Raw Art Works: https://www.rawartworks.org/ The Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project: https://massculturalcouncil.org/creative-youth-development/boston-youth-arts-evaluation-project/ CYD National Partnership: https://www.creativeyouthdevelopment.org/ Youth Arts Impact Network: https://youthartsimpactnetwork.weebly.com/ 3C Data Alliance: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XYgdYZep1Xzs2n5PEx2e5vlH5gkHC5Zo/view Ten dimensions of powerful arts education: https://hewlett.org/powerful-arts-education-practice/ Sign up for the CYD Funders forum by emailing katie@clarerosefoundation.org  About Käthe Swaback Käthe Swaback is a visual artist and arts administrator with an M.A. in art therapy. In 2019, Käthe joined Mass Cultural Council's Creative Youth Development (CYD) team where she also co-leads the arts and health initiative, CultureRx: Social Prescription pilot. Her passion for exploring the impact of the intersections of social justice, health, and community building through the arts stems from and is fueled by over 25 years of work as an art therapist and program director in CYD organizations and collaborating in CYD initiatives (Raw Art Works, The Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project, the CYD National Partnership, and currently, the Youth Arts Impact Network, and the 3C Data Alliance). About Matt D'Arrigo Matt D'Arrigo has dedicated the past 20 years of his life to being a champion and advocate for the arts and young people. He is the Director of Creative Youth Development at the Clare Rose Foundation and the Co-Founder of The Clare Rose Center for Creative Youth Development (CYD) in San Diego, CA. The Center is a backbone organization and philanthropic intermediary established to ensure that CYD funders, practitioners, organizations, and young people have access to the resources, tools, opportunities, and relationships they need to thrive. With a small team, D'Arrigo oversees local, regional, and national strategy, investments, advocacy, coalition building, and field building activities. This episode was produced by Ashraf Hasham. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts' theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode, episode transcripts, and Creative Generation please visit the episode's web page and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whychange/support

In this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Karla and Ashraf discuss their perspectives on navigating work and life. Ashraf shares his interview with Nikki Kirk, a cultural equity practitioner who focuses her work on reframing the role of philanthropy in the cultural sector. Karla and Ashraf break down the throughlines of Nikki's work through the use of linguistics, community-driven funding, and ‘radical' approaches to systems change. In this episode you'll learn: About the role of language in framing the purpose of philanthropy; How communities can drive funding priorities towards goals of equity; and The ways change can be radical and productive within larger systems. Some things from the episode: Indy Arts Council Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship A Look Into What Drives Changemakers From The First Season Of Why Change? The Podcast For A Creative Generation Why Change? Why Poetry?: Poetry Is The Language Of The People Making It A Movement, Not A Moment, an analysis of funder perspectives About Nikki Kirk Nikki Kirk (she/her) is a cultural equity practitioner who is dedicated to advocating for systemically excluded and institutionally oppressed populations. She has worked across the country centering on youth and leadership development, and supporting local, regional, and national communities. Through her work with organizations like Americans for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and El Sistema USA, she has supported individual and organizational growth. Nikki has diverse experience as a grant manager, facilitator, curriculum developer, program coordinator, project manager, mentor, and advisor. She currently serves as the Director of Community Impact & Investment with the Indy Arts Council, as well as a Project Consultant for the Aspen Institute's Artist Endowed Foundations Initiative. Nikki earned a Master's degree in Arts, Festival, and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she researched the impact of programming at the intersection of arts and social justice. She received a Bachelor's degree in Political Linguistics from Pitzer College in southern California, where she affirmed her interests in and the significance of language and identity, human rights, and cross-cultural understanding. This episode was produced by Ashraf Hasham. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. The audio is edited by Katie Rainey. This podcasts' theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode, episode transcripts, and Creative Generation please visit the episode's web page and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whychange/support

In this episode, we talk about what a body can do and how we meet the built world. Sara Hendren is an artist, design researcher, writer, professor at Olin College of Engineering, and the creator and host of the Sketch Model podcast. She is the author of What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World, published by Riverhead/Penguin Random House. It was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by NPR and won the Science in Society Journalism book prize. Sara is a humanist in tech. Her work of 2010-2020 includes collaborative public art, social design, and writing that reframes the human body and technology. Her work has been exhibited on the White House lawn under the Obama administration, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, The Vitra Design Museum, the Seoul Museum of Art, among other venues, and is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. She has been a National Fellow at the New America think tank, and her work has been supported by an NEH Public Scholar grant, residencies at Yaddo and the Carey Institute for Global Good, and an Artist Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. At Olin, she was also the Principal Investigator on a four-year initiative to bring more arts experiences to engineering students and faculty, supported by the Mellon Foundation. Episode mentions and links: https://sarahendren.com/ Sketch Model Podcast Engineering at Home AccessibleIcon.org When The World Isn't Designed For Our Bodies via NYT Restaurants Sara would take you to: Clover Food Lab Follow Sara: LinkedIn Episode Website: https://www.designlabpod.com/episodes/115

Do you know what a French scene is? I didn't! This and other helpful tips and tricks from the very source of our storytelling structures: playwriting. And Sari Boren, essayist, storyteller, and playwright is here to help us out.For a list of my fave craft books and the most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page.Sari Boren is playwright, essayist, and museum exhibit developer. She premiered her solo play Exhibiting in 2019 and her short play To Rest at the Somerville Theater Festival. She was a member of Company One Theater's PlayLab Unit and one of seven playwrights in Flat Earth Theatre's collaborative virtual play Seven Rooms: The Masque of The Red Death. Her essays “He's a Rope” and “The Slurry Wall,” were recognized as Notable Essays in The Best American Essays 2019 and 2021.  Her writing has been supported with grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, St. Botolph Club Foundation, and the Vermont Studio Center. Thank you for reading The 7am Novelist. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Mixing reality and invention in fiction and nonfiction might just allow you to say something even more “true.” We discuss how you can you deepen your prose by understanding your character's interior world, how that interior world makes itself known in exterior details, while also offering vulnerability and honesty to your reader. Authors Alysia Abbott and Lise Haines join us.For a list of my fave craft books and the most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page.Alysia Abbott is the author of Fairyland, A Memoir of My Father, which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice an ALA Stonewall Award winner, and winner of the Madame Figaro Prix Heroine in France. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Triquarterly, Solstice, NPR, and elsewhere. Last year, she was awarded an artist grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Earlier this year the film version of her memoir Fairyland  premiered at Sundance and later this month will be showing at the Sarasota Film Festival. She currently teaches at Emerson college and leads the Memoir Incubator program at GrubStreet.  Lise Haines's fifth novel, Book of Knives, was out by Sourcebooks in 2022. Her four earlier books are When We Disappear (Unbridled Books); Girl in the Arena (Bloomsbury USA), a 2011 South Carolina Book Award Nominee, optioned by HBO; Small Acts of Sex and Electricity (Unbridled Books), named a Book Sense Pick in 2006 and one of ten “Best Book Picks for 2006” by San Diego's NPR station; and In My Sister's Country (Penguin/Putnam), which The Rocky Mountain News selected as one of twelve “Stellar Debuts” for 2002.Check out our Bookshop page for my fave craft books and recent releases by our guests. Thank you for reading The 7am Novelist. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

What are the differences between YA and adult, and why do I have to pay attention to them if I want to write something in between? Emily Ross and Desmond Hall help us navigate this thorny issue that involves voice, content, audience, marketing, and what it means to stay true to your vision (and how genre rules might just help you).For a list of my fave craft books and the most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page.Emily Ross is the author of Half in Love with Death, an International Thriller Writers Thriller Awards finalist for best young adult novel, inspired by a true crime from the sixties.  She received a Massachusetts Cultural Council finalist award in fiction for Half in Love with Death. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, Five South, and other publications. She is an editor at Deaddarlings.com. She used to work in tech. Now she writes full time and is currently working on The Black Sea, an adult mystery set in a fictional version of her hometown of Quincy MA.Desmond Hall was born in Jamaica, West Indies, and moved to Jamaica, Queens. He has worked as a high school biology and English teacher in East New York, Brooklyn; counseled teenage ex-cons after their release from Rikers Island; and served as Spike Lee's creative director at Spike DDB. Desmond has served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the Advertising Council and judged the One Show, the American Advertising Awards, and the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival. He's also been named one of Variety magazine's Top 50 Creatives to Watch. Desmond is the author of the gritty YA novel Your Corner Dark which confronts the harsh realities of gang life in Jamaica and how far a teen is willing to go for family. It's been listed among the best YA books of the year by Bank Street, Essence Magazine, and was a New England Book Award Finalist. He lives outside of Boston with his wife and two daughters. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

How to represent place with good research, good intentions, great details, an ear for the nuances of criticism and nostalgia (your own and those of others), and as always: humility. To help us out, we hear from Allison Amend and Shilpi Suneja, both writing about places they know well and places less familiar to them and to their readers.For a list of my fave craft books and the most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page.Allison Amend debut short story collection, Things That Pass for Love, won a bronze Independent Publisher's award. Stations West, a historical novel, was published by Louisiana State University Press  and was a finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Oklahoma Book Award. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday published her most recent novels A Nearly Perfect Copy  and Enchanted Islands. Allison lives in New York City, where she teaches creative writing at Lehman College in the Bronx and at the Red Earth MFA.Shilpi Suneja was born in India. Her work has been published in Guernica, McSweeney's, Cognoscenti, Teachers & Writers Magazine, and the Michigan Quarterly Review, among others. Her writing has been supported by a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship, and a Grub Street Novel Incubator Scholarship. She holds an MA in English from New York University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University, where she was awarded the Saul Bellow Prize. Her first novel, House of Caravans will be published in September 2023.Thank you for reading The 7am Novelist. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Alyssa Songsiridej (Little Rabbit) chats with Jordan about moving to a new city, the scary-freeing experience of being away from one's community, and how letting a book out into the world is a process of letting go. MENTIONED: Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel how cold winters get in Boston Alyssa Songsiridej is an editor at Electric Literature. Her fiction has appeared in StoryQuarterly, The Indiana Review, The Offing, and Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, and has been supported by Yaddo, the Ucross Foundation, the Ragdale Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, the VCCA and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Little Rabbit is her first novel. A National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree, she lives in Philadelphia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Understanding the Denouement as well as John Barth's idea of the “complexified equilibrium” and Jessica Brody's “Five-Point Finale” with authors Rebecca Rolland and Rishi Reddi. Rebecca Rolland is the author of the Art of Talking with Children (HarperOne, 2022), a combination memoir and parenting/education guide that will be translated into over 10 languages. She's also a poet, essayist, and novelist, winner of the Dana Award for Short Fiction, with three poetry collections published and a fourth one coming out next year. She lives in Boston with her family.Rishi Reddi is the author of the novel Passage West, a Los Angeles Times “Best California Book of 2020” which tells of the early South Asian immigrants to California, and Karma and Other Stories, which received the 2008 L.L. Winship /PEN New England Award for Fiction. A National Book Critics Circle Emerging Critics Fellow for 2021-2022, her reviews, essays and translations have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Kirkus Reviews, LitHub, Alta Journal, and Partisan Review, among others. Rishi has received fellowships and grants from the MacDowell Colony, Bread Loaf, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the U.S. Department of State. She lives in Cambridge, MA, and is the Director of Environmental Justice in her day job with the government of Massachusetts. Find John Barth's essay Incremental Perturbations in Julie Checkoway's (editor) Creativing Fiction. And Jessica Brody's 5-Point Final can be found in her craft book: Save the Cat Writes a Novel.Find these and more of fave craft books as well as our panelists' most recent publications on our Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/the7amnovelist This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Today Steve Almond (All the Secrets of the World) talks to us about scorpions, taking three decades to finish his first novel, how he came to write a “social novel,” writing from the perspective of a teenaged Latina, Nancy Reagan, and a man who lusts after teenaged girls while maintaining the book's authenticity, and more!  Steve Almond is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His essays and reviews have been published in venues ranging from the New York Times Magazine to Ploughshares to Poets & Writers, and his short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and Best American Erotica. Almond is the recipient of grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. He cohosted the Dear Sugars podcast with his pal Cheryl Strayed for four years, and teaches Creative Writing at the Neiman Fellowship at Harvard and Wesleyan. He lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with his family and his anxiety.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might seem a simple question, but it has enormous repercussions on your writing approach and success: What is the difference between scene and summary? We talk about the continuum between these two ideas with Susan Bernhard and Rosie Sultan as well as how writers determine what material needs to be written in scene and what can be more compressed or regulated to summary.Susan Donovan Bernhard is a Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship recipient, a graduate of the GrubStreet Novel Incubator program, a 2019 Tennessee Williams Scholar to the Sewanee Writers Conference, and a pantser. Her debut novel Winter Loon was an Amazon bestseller and won the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Prize for Fiction. Susan was born and raised in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana, is a graduate of the University of Maryland, and lives near Boston where she is currently at work revising her next novel, More Scouts Than Strangers. Rosie Sultan's novel Helen Keller In Love (Viking) was praised by The Washington Post, Booklist, and The Library Journal and was an American Library Association book club pick. Rosie won the PEN Discovery Award for Fiction and a Virginia Center of the Creative Arts fellowship. Her marvelous agent is shopping around her children's book, What Color Is Think. Her new novel, The Best Way to Disappear, is nearing completion. Rosie has taught writing to first-generation students, story-curious adults, and everyone in between at Suffolk University, Boston University, Grub Street, The Muse and the Marketplace and venues across the country. She's a manuscript consultant and helps novelists get their stories into the world. As a literary activist, Rosie raises awareness and money for racial and reproductive rights with Writers For—a stellar group of women writers who use their voices to make our world a better place for all.For the definition of a Scene and the difference between Scene and Summary, I love Anna Keesey's essay “Making a Scene” in The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House. (Find this and more of my faves on our Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/the7amnovelist This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

How do you offer your reader enough mystery on the page to keep them reading and spark their thinking caps while also avoiding the problem of withholding too much or outright confusing them to the point that they close the book in frustration? Helping us find that fine line are mystery authors Emily Ross and Jessica Bird. Emily Ross is the author of Half in Love with Death, an International Thriller Writers Thriller Awards finalist for best young adult novel, inspired by a true crime from the sixties. She received a Massachusetts Cultural Council finalist award in fiction for Half in Love with Death. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, Menda City Review, and Yarn (Young Adult Review Network).  She is an editor at Deaddarlings.com and reviews mysteries and thrillers for New York Journal of Books. She used to work in tech. Now she writes full time and is currently working on The Black Sea, an adult mystery / thriller set in a fictional version of her hometown of Quincy MA. When not writing she enjoys art, crime fiction, bourbon, and attempting to train her delightful and uncontrollable kitten, Obi.Jessica Bird, a former academic and current novelist, completed Novel Incubator program as a scholarship recipient. She grew up in the age of missing kids printed on milk cartons, and as a younger sister attuned to sibling dynamics, wondered what life was like for brothers and sisters who didn't disappear. This fascination inspired her book, THE ONLY BROTHER, a character-driven narrative with elements of mystery, about grappling with grief, and building relationships through loss. Jessica has taught literature and composition, ghost-written a business textbook, temped at a variety of high-drama workplaces, and published television recaps for now-defunct websites. An avid baker, Jessica lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two persnickety dowager cats. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

The omniscient point of view, beloved by 19th century authors and most often found in the western literary canon, but this perspective came under suspicion in the early 1900s, only to recently make a strong recurrence. And it might just be the most difficult point of view to handle. What is third and first person omniscient? What are the best practices behind handling this point of view and why might you want to avoid it? We discuss these questions with our guests Weike Wang and Julia Rold.Julia Rold is a fiction writer, essayist, and playwright whose work has appeared in The Missouri Review, The Boston Globe Magazine, the Best New Voices collection, and named for a Pushcart Prize. Her plays have been staged at the Boston Center for the Arts, The Electric Theatre, and the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. A winner of Artist Grants in both playwriting and fiction from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, she has also received awards from the St. Botolph Foundation, has been a Fulbright Scholar to El Salvador, and has twice been among the winners of the Faulkner-Wisdom Award for Novella. She currently is on faculty in the School of Critical Studies at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Los Angeles. Weike Wang is the author of CHEMISTRY (Knopf 2017) and JOAN IS OKAY (Random House 2022).  She is the recipient of the 2018 Pen Hemingway, a Whiting award and a National Book Foundation 5 under 35. She earned her MFA from Boston University and her other degrees from Harvard. She currently lives in New York City and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Barnard College. Also recommended during our discussion: Robert Boswell's chapter “On Omniscience” in his craft book The Half Known World. Find my list of favorite craft books and the most recent works by our guest authors here: https://bookshop.org/shop/the7amnovelist This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Backstory. The killer of many a novel. But the complexity of today's world and its many voices makes more demand on backstory than ever, so what to do? Listen in to debut novelists Aube Rey Lescure and Shilpi Suneja to hear how they solved this knotty problem in the process of writing and revising their first books.Aube Rey Lescure is a French-Chinese-American writer. She currently works as the Deputy Editor at Off Assignment. Aube is the co-author of Creating a Stable Asia (Carnegie 2016) . Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in Guernica, WBUR, The Florida Review Online, Jellyfish Review, Entropy Magazine, Medium, and more. Her essay “At the Bend of the Road” will be featured in Best American Essays 2022. Her novel River East, River West is due out 2024.Shilpi Suneja was born in India. She is the author of the novel House of Caravans, which comes out in June, 2023 from Milkweed Editions. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and published in Guernica, McSweeney's, Cognoscenti, and the Michigan Quarterly Review among others. Her writing has been supported by a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship, a Grub Street Novel Incubator Scholarship, and she was the Desai fellow at the Jack Jones Literary Arts Retreat. She holds an MA in English from New York University and an MFA in creative writing from Boston University, where she was awarded the Saul Bellow Prize.Also mentioned in the episode: Ben Percy's wonderful craft book Thrill Me This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

How to get yourself in the right place to write, and how to use what you already have on the page to find your way forward, with authors Grace Talusan and Jessica Keener.Grace Talusan is the author of The Body Papers, which won the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing and the Massachusetts Book Award in Nonfiction. Her writing has been supported by the NEA, the Fulbright, US Artists, the Brother Thomas Fund, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown University.  Jessica Keener's latest novel, Strangers in Budapest, was an Indie Next pick, a "best new book” selection by Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Review of Books, January Magazine, Real Simple, and a Southern Independent Bookstore Association (SIBA) bestseller. Her debut novel, Night Swim, was a national bestseller, followed by Women in Bed, her collection of award-winning stories. She has taught writing at Brown University, Boston University, Grub Street, and the Story Summit, and is currently completing a new novel. An anniversary edition of Night Swim is forthcoming in February 2023. And here are some of the things we talked about.First, Nancy Krusoe's method of “burrowing” which she discusses in her contributor's notes for her story “Landscape and Dream” in The Best American Short Stories 1994:Secondly, Douglas Bauer's The Stuff of Fiction: Advice on CraftAlso the idea from Virginia Woolf of “gathering in,” most helpful for revision.And finally, one of our marvelous webinar participants (Allison Grinberg-Funes) shared a writing software tool called “focusmate”: “It's a software where you can schedule 25 or 50 minute sessions and be on video with someone. At the beginning, you say what you're working on, then you get to work! You stay in the seat. At the end of the time period, you tell the person how much you accomplished. It's free for 3 sessions a week. More than that is $5/mo and it's honestly worth it in my opinion!” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

It's been 2 years and 20 episodes. What is the state of Theatre today? We meet up with actor Michael Thatcher (1st interviewed in June 2020) once again and find him on Broadway after 2 years of ups and downs. And we speak with Michael J. Bobbitt, the Executive Director at the Massachusetts Cultural Council, to talk about the state of the field now.

January Gill O'Neil is an associate professor at Salem State University, and the author of Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009), all published by CavanKerry Press. From 2012-2018, she served as the executive director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, and currently serves on the boards of AWP, Mass Poetry, and Montserrat College of Art. Her poems and articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, the Academy of American Poets' Poem-A-Day series, American Poetry Review, Green Mountains Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, and WBUR's Cognoscenti, among others. The recipient of fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Cave Canem, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, O'Neil was the 2019-2020 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. She lives with her two kids in Beverly, MA. Find more at: https://www.januarygilloneil.com/ As always, we'll also include live open lines for responses to our weekly prompt or any other poems you'd like to share. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ This Week's Prompt: Craft a poem that connects to a folktale, Bible story, fairy tale, mythology, etc., and gives us a new perspective, turning it on its head. Next Week's Prompt: Write about a bruise or a scar, internal or external. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

Hi there, What a great episode we have for you: Today I am arts calling Allison Adair! About our Guest: Allison Adair's first collection, The Clearing, was selected by Henri Cole as winner of Milkweed's Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. Her poems appear in American Poetry Review, Arts & Letters, Best American Poetry, Kenyon Review Online, and ZYZZYVA; and her work has been honored with the Pushcart Prize, the Florida Review Editors' Award, the Orlando Prize, a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, and first place in the Fineline Competition from Mid-American Review. Originally from central Pennsylvania, Allison teaches at Boston College and Grub Street. Allison on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fascicles Order The Clearing on Bookshop. Order The Clearing on Amazon. Stop by Allison's website for recent publications! https://www.allisonadair.com/publications Thanks for coming on the show, Allison!! *Note: Some edits have been made to the episode due to connection issues. -- Re: the latest attack on abortion rights, please consider visiting https://www.podvoices.help for resources during this difficult time. Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro at cruzfolio.com. If you like the show: consider reviewing the podcast and sharing it with those who love the arts, your support truly makes a difference! Check out cruzfolio.com for more podcasts about the arts and original content! Make art. Much love, j This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you'll hear about: How the Common got started What is involved in running a literary journal Why grants and institutional support matter so much in the literary arts The importance of finding mentors and building a network How the Common creates community Our guest is: Jennifer Acker , who is the founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, and The Yale Review, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Our guest is: Elizabeth Witte, who is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Artist Fellowships in Poetry and author of the chapbook, Dry Eye (Dancing Girl Press); her work appears in a variety of journals, including Prelude, Word For/ Word, and Denver Quarterly. She is Associate Editor of The Common and directs the journal's education program The Common in the Classroom. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Fatigue, by Jennifer Acker Amherst College The Bennington Writing Seminars https://www.bennington.edu/writing-seminars The Common More about the Common in the Classroom can be found here The Common in the Classroom, The Common Young Writers Program A podcast from The Common magazine on The New Books Network “This is the Place” Amherst College LitFest The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Learn more about The Alternative Press conversation with co-founder Ken Mikolowski (courtesy of Centre For Print Research, UWE Bristol); and the Press's Multiple Originals project The Poetry Foundation You are smart and capable, but you aren't an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we'd bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you'll hear about: How the Common got started What is involved in running a literary journal Why grants and institutional support matter so much in the literary arts The importance of finding mentors and building a network How the Common creates community Our guest is: Jennifer Acker , who is the founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, and The Yale Review, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Our guest is: Elizabeth Witte, who is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Artist Fellowships in Poetry and author of the chapbook, Dry Eye (Dancing Girl Press); her work appears in a variety of journals, including Prelude, Word For/ Word, and Denver Quarterly. She is Associate Editor of The Common and directs the journal's education program The Common in the Classroom. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Fatigue, by Jennifer Acker Amherst College The Bennington Writing Seminars https://www.bennington.edu/writing-seminars The Common More about the Common in the Classroom can be found here The Common in the Classroom, The Common Young Writers Program A podcast from The Common magazine on The New Books Network “This is the Place” Amherst College LitFest The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Learn more about The Alternative Press conversation with co-founder Ken Mikolowski (courtesy of Centre For Print Research, UWE Bristol); and the Press's Multiple Originals project The Poetry Foundation You are smart and capable, but you aren't an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we'd bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you'll hear about: How the Common got started What is involved in running a literary journal Why grants and institutional support matter so much in the literary arts The importance of finding mentors and building a network How the Common creates community Our guest is: Jennifer Acker , who is the founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, and The Yale Review, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Our guest is: Elizabeth Witte, who is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Artist Fellowships in Poetry and author of the chapbook, Dry Eye (Dancing Girl Press); her work appears in a variety of journals, including Prelude, Word For/ Word, and Denver Quarterly. She is Associate Editor of The Common and directs the journal's education program The Common in the Classroom. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Fatigue, by Jennifer Acker Amherst College The Bennington Writing Seminars https://www.bennington.edu/writing-seminars The Common More about the Common in the Classroom can be found here The Common in the Classroom, The Common Young Writers Program A podcast from The Common magazine on The New Books Network “This is the Place” Amherst College LitFest The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Learn more about The Alternative Press conversation with co-founder Ken Mikolowski (courtesy of Centre For Print Research, UWE Bristol); and the Press's Multiple Originals project The Poetry Foundation You are smart and capable, but you aren't an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we'd bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you'll hear about: How the Common got started What is involved in running a literary journal Why grants and institutional support matter so much in the literary arts The importance of finding mentors and building a network How the Common creates community Our guest is: Jennifer Acker , who is the founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, and The Yale Review, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Our guest is: Elizabeth Witte, who is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Artist Fellowships in Poetry and author of the chapbook, Dry Eye (Dancing Girl Press); her work appears in a variety of journals, including Prelude, Word For/ Word, and Denver Quarterly. She is Associate Editor of The Common and directs the journal's education program The Common in the Classroom. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Fatigue, by Jennifer Acker Amherst College The Bennington Writing Seminars https://www.bennington.edu/writing-seminars The Common More about the Common in the Classroom can be found here The Common in the Classroom, The Common Young Writers Program A podcast from The Common magazine on The New Books Network “This is the Place” Amherst College LitFest The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Learn more about The Alternative Press conversation with co-founder Ken Mikolowski (courtesy of Centre For Print Research, UWE Bristol); and the Press's Multiple Originals project The Poetry Foundation  You are smart and capable, but you aren't an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we'd bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

In this episode, we'll be speaking with Michael Bobbitt, new Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, about the MCC's new Racial Equity Plan, which seeks to address a goodly amount of the continuing harm to all the Commonwealth caused by the lack of diversity in the Arts. The post Will Call #74 — NTRVW w/Michael Bobbitt appeared first on The Greylock Glass.

Erika Higgins Ross is a writer, marriage and family therapist, and activist who lives in Western Massachusetts. Higgins Ross has maintained a therapy practice for many years, focusing on couples, families, teens, and adult clients, primarily sharing Narrative Therapy, DBT, and mindfulness strategies. Higgins Ross is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, a Peyton Evans writing residency at the Studios of Key West, and was a Warner Brothers Fellowship finalist. She has read her work at Nuyorican Cafe, Public Theater, Rogue Machine Theater's Rant n Rave and Schooled, and as part of the L.A. reading night No One Likes a Yappy Skirt. Her work has been published in Your Teen Magazine, Juice Magazine, Mommy Poppins, LA.com, and Stagebill. Higgins Ross was a founding member of the all-girl band Big Panty. She is currently working on a novel set in NYC in the 70s, 90s, and 2019 and teaching mindfulness and writing workshops through NEAFAST and public libraries. Cornelius "CJ" Harris is a Black man, husband, father, semi-pro shower singer & therapist who is also trained in trauma-focused treatment, therapeutic mindfulness and grounding techniques. Motivation to get into the field has everything to do with identifying ineffective, unproductive and/or harmful cycles/patterns, while collaboratively working toward creating new, more effective and productive patterns through healing.If you want to learn more about AlignRelationships, we will be sharing details soon and steadily in WeAlign (wealign.alignp.com), our new online community that is growing by the day. Interested in coaching for yourself, your team or your organization? Contact Jodi Matas at jodi@alignp.com to start the conversation,.

In part 2 of my interview with Jen Passios, we dive into all things grant writing. We talk about why ways we can improve our writing skills, the materials we can gather before hand, and how we can use grant writing to better define who we are as artists.About Jen PassisosJen Passios is an artist-athlete, wordsmith, and dance educator committed to building agency through improvisation. She has spent the past 8 years performing throughout the United States, bringing dance to spaces ranging from law firms to museums, and church sanctuaries to sand dunes. Jen has had the pleasure of performing for audiences at events including the Inside/Out Festival at Jacob's Pillow, the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston's First Friday Series, TEDxCambridge, and New Balance's 2018 International Conference. During her professional career, Jen has performed work by a notable roster of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including: Yin Yue, Shannon Gillen/ VIM VIGOR, Marco Goecke, Itzik Galili, and Lorraine Chapman. In December 2019, she made her on screen debut as a principal dancer in the feature length film “Little Women” (Columbia Pictures) directed by Greta Gerwig and choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes. She spent the 2020-2021 season traveling the USA with CoGRAVITY partner Jacob Regan uncovering one pathway for a life in the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair continue to create, improvise, teach, and write about the current state of dance through a choose-your-own adventure lens. In addition to her performance work, Jen uses her skills as a storyteller to help performing artists from Boston to Berlin secure the resources they need to bring excellent art to life. Through grant writing and strategy services, she has successfully obtained funding and expansion opportunities including awards from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Boston Dance Alliance, the Boston Center for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Boston Mayor's office of Arts and Culture, Mass MoCa/ Assets4Artists, Ballet Hispanico, The Boston Foundation, The Barr Foundation, the Western Arts Alliance, and Arts Midwest. As a result of these wins, her clients have been able to tour internationally, recoup money lost during the COVID 19 pandemic, make the leap from part time to full time operations, sustain a cast of 6 for an entire season, fund the creation & production of evening length works, expand educational programming, reclaim over 500 hours of studio time, and accumulate a total of $60,000 in institutional funding.Connect with Jen!Instagram: @nonjenue Email: jenniferpassios@gmail.comInterested in working with Brandon?  SIGN-UP for a FREE Coaching Consultation HEREBrandon helps pre-professional dancers find their voice as they navigate their careers and helps them stay accountable  when pursuing their goals.Through coaching, Brandon helps dancers define whats important for them and redefine what a successful life/career looks like.Learn more here: http://www.brandoncolemandance.com/career-coachingConnect with Brandon!Instagram: @itsBrandonColeman | @BreakingTheWallPodcastWebsite: www.BrandonColemanDance.com/BTWP

In part one of my interview with "nomadic artist-athlete and educator" Jen Passios, we dive into her life as a professional dancer, creator, and grant writer. Throughout our conversation, we talked about  taking advantage of happenstance and the importance of defining your boundaries and values around your career wants/needs. About Jen PassisosJen Passios is an artist-athlete, wordsmith, and dance educator committed to building agency through improvisation. She has spent the past 8 years performing throughout the United States, bringing dance to spaces ranging from law firms to museums, and church sanctuaries to sand dunes. Jen has had the pleasure of performing for audiences at events including the Inside/Out Festival at Jacob's Pillow, the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston's First Friday Series, TEDxCambridge, and New Balance's 2018 International Conference. During her professional career, Jen has performed work by a notable roster of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including: Yin Yue, Shannon Gillen/ VIM VIGOR, Marco Goecke, Itzik Galili, and Lorraine Chapman. In December 2019, she made her on screen debut as a principal dancer in the feature length film “Little Women” (Columbia Pictures) directed by Greta Gerwig and choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes. She spent the 2020-2021 season traveling the USA with CoGRAVITY partner Jacob Regan uncovering one pathway for a life in the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair continue to create, improvise, teach, and write about the current state of dance through a choose-your-own adventure lens. In addition to her performance work, Jen uses her skills as a storyteller to help performing artists from Boston to Berlin secure the resources they need to bring excellent art to life. Through grant writing and strategy services, she has successfully obtained funding and expansion opportunities including awards from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Boston Dance Alliance, the Boston Center for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Boston Mayor's office of Arts and Culture, Mass MoCa/ Assets4Artists, Ballet Hispanico, The Boston Foundation, The Barr Foundation, the Western Arts Alliance, and Arts Midwest. As a result of these wins, her clients have been able to tour internationally, recoup money lost during the COVID 19 pandemic, make the leap from part time to full time operations, sustain a cast of 6 for an entire season, fund the creation & production of evening length works, expand educational programming, reclaim over 500 hours of studio time, and accumulate a total of $60,000 in institutional funding.Connect with Jen!Instagram: @nonjenueEmail: jenniferpassios@gmail.comInterested in working with Brandon?  SIGN-UP for a FREE Coaching Consultation HEREBrandon helps pre-professional dancers find their voice as they navigate their careers and helps them stay accountable  when pursuing their goals.Through coaching, Brandon helps dancers define whats important for them and redefine what a successful life/career looks like.Learn more here: http://www.brandoncolemandance.com/career-coachingConnect with Brandon!Instagram: @itsBrandonColeman | @BreakingTheWallPodcastWebsite: www.BrandonColemanDance.com/BTWP

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners if they have quit their job or gone on strike, as many use this stage in the pandemic to try something new in their lives. Lylah Alphonse reports on the latest news from Rhode Island, including a coach fired from a South Kingstown school after conducting “fat tests” on naked male athletes, and the latest political headlines from the state. Alphonse is the Rhode Island editor for the Boston Globe. Juliette Kayyem updates listeners on the status of the Jan. 6 investigation, and what happened at the tragedy at Astroworld Festival in Houston, where eight people died during a crowd surge at a Travis Scott concert. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Corby Kummer weighs in on the pros and cons of outdoor dining, and recent investigations into sexual harassment at fast food joints. Kummer is the executive director of the food and society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Michael Bobbitt talks about the state of the arts and culture sector at this stage in the pandemic, and gives an overview of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's first ever racial equity plan. Bobbitt is the executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Matt Gilbert discusses what's new on TV, including the latest seasons of “Succession” and “Dexter” and the prevalence of psychiatrists on screen. Gilbert is the TV critic for The Boston Globe. We end the show by asking listeners what they've been watching on TV lately.

Description:Happy Day, Friend! On this week's podcast episode, I'm talking about grief, loss, and meaning. My guest this week is author, Maryanne O'Hara.  Maryanne O'Hara is the author of LITTLE MATCHES: A Memoir of Grief and Light. Her daughter Catlin died at 33, after a lifetime of living with Cystic Fibrosis and a harrowing last two years waiting for a lung transplant that finally came but was unsuccessful. In her grief and search for answers, Maryanne trained as an end-of-life doula. Her favorite aspect was creating legacy projects, something she didn't do with Caitlin because of her single-minded focus on her survival. She planned to do it with her mother, but with a sudden illness in the midst of Covid, that opportunity slipped awayMaryanne O'Hara is also the author of the novel Cascade – the Boston Globe Book Club's inaugural pick, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award, and a People Book of the Week. The former associate fiction editor of Ploughshares, she has taught creative writing at Emerson College and Clark University, and has had her writing recognized by the artist grants programs of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the St. Botolph Club Foundation. Little Matches is based on the 9LivesNotes blog she kept while her daughter, Caitlin, waited for a lung transplant. O'Hara is a Reiki master and was recently certified by the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine as an end-of-life doula so that she might better speak to the state of end-of-life care in our culture. Maryanne and I talk about: ~ her journey with her daughter when diagnosed with cystic fibrosis; ~ what challenge has taught her about life, death, and fear; ~ what it means to “grow the soul”; ~ end-of-life doula work and life interviews; ~ her new book, Little Matches:  A Memoir of Grief and Light~ and so much more! It was such a moving conversation filled with so much depth, love, and meaningful insights.  I hope you gain a ton of value from it. If you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend or family member, and make sure to purchase a copy of Maryanne's new book, Little Matches. To connect with Maryanne O'Hara, click the links below. If you have any questions, thoughts, or comments: connect with me on social media @atheadavis!   And, don't forget to subscribe so you can stay tuned in to all the mindful living love.Stay connected

Michael J. Bobbitt is the executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, working to elevate cultural life across the state with an emphasis on improving arts education, promoting diversity, and encouraging excellence in the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences. In our conversation, Michael shares that he is actually moving away from language like “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” because it is inadequate to describe our collective task at hand. Instead, he is moving towards language like “anti-oppression” and “anti-supremacy.” He speaks to what might be possible if we can fully step into the promises of that language.This conversation dances between creative exploration and pragmatic realities. Michael threads these two poles together so skillfully because he is himself a remarkably accomplished artist and leader. As former Artistic Director of the New Repertory Theater, and award-winning director of dozens of plays. And as a leader, he has worked tirelessly to elevate the experience of artists around the country.Michael is standing for a world in which people of all identities who feel called into the artistry and culture-making work of creating new futures can answer that call. Together, we investigate what might be possible if we stop hiding from the systems of oppression that have been built over centuries. Instead, we can face them with compassion and work to dissolve them. In so doing, we could actually unleash our full creative potential as a species and build something truly beautiful together.Get Connected:The Wonder Dome Newsletter http://bit.ly/3dTfdPi​Follow Andy on Twitter http://twitter.com/cahillaguerilla​Like us on Facebook http://facebook.com/mindfulcreative.coachmassculturalcouncil.orgnewrep.orgConnect with Michael:MichaelBobbitt.comfacebook.com/michael.j.bobbittinstagram.com/michaeljamesbobbittlinkedin.com/in/michaeljbobbitttwitter.com/mbobbitt

For author Christopher Castellani, the proud son of Italian immigrants, the desire to tell the Italian American story through his writing has been a constant motivation. Yet, despite his abundant talent, irrepressible passion, and keen sense of his ethnic experience in America, upon entering the literary world, Christopher encountered one deep-seated -- and often discouraging -- preconception about Italian Americans: that we are people who don't read! So, Christopher set out to dispel that myth with a body of work in which the Italian American experience is a driving force behind his story. The first of his five critically-acclaimed novels, "A Kiss from Maddalena," winner of the Massachusetts Book Award in 2004, was inspired by the story of his Italian immigrant mother. His newest novel, "Leading Men" (for which he received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council) tells the true-life tale of Frank Merlo, partner and soothsayer of playwright Tennessee Williams and an unknown Italian American whose steady presence might just be what helped Williams achieve his greatest fame and literary success. Set to become a major motion picture, this award-winning novel is the result of decades of work by this passionate Italian American. Join us as we sit down with Christopher Castellani and discuss whether or not Italian Americans really are literary people, and how it is we can provide more opportunities for our story to be told. Of course, since this is the Italian American Podcast, we'll cover everything from exploring the impact of Elena Ferrante's “Neapolitan Novels” on Italian American culture to debating the merits of the movie “Fatso." Get ready for another wonderful conversation with a brilliant Italian American novelist!

We had our conversation via virtual conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing' requirements of this pandemic period. Agway- Melanie Hamblen  Artist - Chris Blue Lamb Toubeau Rockland Trust- Laurel Katsaros  Artist -  Walter Spencer   We talk about the upcoming ArtWALK scheduled for June 11, 12 and 13. The events will take place on the Town Common, at THE BLACK BOX, and the Historical Museum.  Check out the Cultural District page for all the details https://www.franklinculture.org/home/pages/franklin-artwalk-celebration-escape-arts (https://www.franklinculture.org/home/pages/franklin-artwalk-celebration-escape-arts)  Thanks to the Franklin Cultural District, The Franklin Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (grant), Franklin Downtown Partnership, The Franklin Art Association and the Franklin Public Library. Did we miss someone? I hope not, there are a lot collaborating on this wonderful event. The recording runs about 25 minutes, so let's listen to our conversation -------------- ArtWALK Celebration "Escape to the Arts" event page -> https://www.franklinculture.org/home/pages/franklin-artwalk-celebration-escape-arts (https://www.franklinculture.org/home/pages/franklin-artwalk-celebration-escape-arts)  Cultural District page ->  https://www.franklinculture.org/ (https://www.franklinculture.org/)  Franklin Art Association (50th anniversary) -> http://www.franklinart.org/ (http://www.franklinart.org/) Library Summer Reading page https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/events/317406 (https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/events/317406)  -------------- We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).  This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help. How can you help? If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors If you don't like something here, please let me know Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening. For additional information, please visit https://www.franklinmatters.org/ (Franklinmatters.org/)  or http://www.franklin.news (www.franklin.news)  If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com The music for the intro and exit was provided byhttp://www.eastofshirley.com/ ( Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley"). The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission. I hope you enjoy! ------------------ You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

First, Courtney sits down for a convo with Step Afrika! founder, C. Brian Williams. How can predominantly white institutions (PWIs) better respond to and dismantle their own oppressive practices in order to rebuild their infrastructure? Well, that's one question and one approach. But Williams thinks he has a better idea and call to action: cultivating a strong ecology of arts organizations that are equitably represented in the field. Williams says of arts organizations across the nation that they must examine what deeply rooted historic structures have prevented growth towards equity and telling stories that decenter whiteness, and celebrate the successes and failures that are a part of the history of this country through art. What else do Courtney and C. Brian discuss? And why does C. Brian Williams make a key reference to Dolly Parton? You'll have to listen to this inspiring conversation to find out! Up next, we have Michael J. Bobbitt. Currently he is the Artistic Director of New Repertory Theatre, but he'll become executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council on February 1, 2021. In Courtney’s conversation with the well-known director, choreographer and playwright, the two longtime colleagues discuss the need for new approaches and strategies for embracing anti-racist practices in our nation's arts organizations. Simply put, Bobbitt suggests that, in order to do this, we must be co-conspirators and aim to disrupt and topple oppressive practices. To paraphrase a few of the points made in this conversation, Courtney and Michael talk about oppressive power structures in predominantly white cultural institutions and how power is at the very root of systemic oppression and racism. One of the most poignant statements Michael makes is this: without relinquishing or redistributing their power, white individuals in positions of influence will keep racism alive and thriving.

Shyam Nepali (Nepali Sarangi Player)        Shyam Nepali (Nepali Sarangi Player) is an acclaimed Sarangi player and one of the most notable instrumentalists. He has filled a very unique and important role in the Sarangi tradition of Nepal, expanding on the work of his Grandfather Magar Gaine, and his Father Ram Sharan Nepali, legendary Sarangi players. His creative and virtuoso musicianship has allowed the traditional sound of the Sarangi to travel in new directions musically. His virtuosity and musicianship allows him to fearlessly expand the Sarangi’s expressive capabilities with every note. ‘Mero Sarangi’, his newest and first entirely self-produced album, is a tribute to the ancient roots of the Nepali Gandharva Sarangi Tradition in Nepal. He has done several music albums “Journey to Nepal” (SAC Music International 2000), “Trikaal 1: Cross Cultural Musical Bliss” (Sac Music International 2003), “Gandharva The Magic Sound of the Nepali Sarangi” (Stenopeica, Italy, 2012), “Himalayan Sounds of Sarangi” (Silverwolf Records, 2012), “Rhythmic Fusion” (KTM Music Center, Kathmandu Nepal 2014), “Mero Sarangi” (Amber Records, Boston, USA 2019), and many more. He can be heard on over 49 recordings. He has received several awards; Mah Kwah Cha award from the Government of Nepal, the Governor’s Citation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the honorary consulate from Italian Embassy in Kathmandu, Civil Voice for Peace and Development Award from Government of Nepal (2007), Special Adjudication Award, Outstanding Musical Score during Liverpool International Theatre Festival in Nova Scotia in 2018, Rotary Club of Patan West Vocational Award in Kathmandu, Nepal President’s Art and Poetry Award from Government of Nepal, and Teaching Artist Grant for 2018-2019 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. He was the Cultural Ambassador: Government of Nepal in 2011. live athttps://www.facebook.com/thedeepeshshowhttps://www.youtube.com/thedeepeshshowhttp://www.twitter.com/thedeepeshshow Podcastswww.thedeepeshshow.com#ShyamNepali #TheDeepeshShow #NepaliPodcast #Sarangi #NepaliSarangiPlayer #aeglobal #giftmandu #liveinterview

Mary Anne Piacentini, President, Katy Prairie Conservancy, joins us to discuss:-her background -the Katy Prairie Conservancy: what it does and what it has accomplished -Houston flooding: what and why-the Army Corps of Engineers Interim Report: what it says; what has been accepted and what has been rejected by it-effective, cost-efficient, proven manageable ways to mitigate flooding-what to consider other than “get rid of the water!” and why it is important About MaryAnne: "MaryAnne Piacentini, President, Katy Prairie Conservancy, coordinates its land protection programs and conservation assistance to private landowners, establishes community partnerships and relationships with diverse stakeholders, and oversees the agency’s operations and programs. She expanded the land protection program from 1,300 acres in 1999 to more than 20,000 acres today; implemented a conservation buyer program to support additional conservation; and formed joint venture partnerships to restore habitat while also increasing earned income using stream and wetlands mitigation projects."In 2018 she was awarded the Bayou Preservation Association’s Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award. Ms. Piacentini received the AIA Houston’s Civic Vision Award in 2016. She was one of four women in Texas to receive Audubon Texas’s inaugural Terry Hershey Texas Women in Conservation award in 2014. In 2005, she received the Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award from the Citizens' Environmental Coalition."She received a Master of City Planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of New Hampshire. Previously, she served as Executive Director of various nonprofit organizations, including Friends of Hermann Park, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Cultural Arts Council of Houston. She also served as the Senior Policy Planner for the Community Development Division of the Mayor’s Office of the City of Houston."Contact Michael:1. ccerppodcast@aol.com2. http://www.goldams.com 3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/ 4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/Show notes (more to come).1. Katy Prairie Conservancy: https://www.katyprairie.org2. Matt Cook Wildlife Viewing Platform at Warren Lakehttps://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/A-duck-oasis-40-minutes-from-Houston-14963397.php3. Indiangrass Preserve and the Ann Hamilton Walking Trailhttps://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7023579/ann-hamilton-trail4. Warren Ranchhttp://www.warrenranchtx.com5. Effect of and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey: https://www.khou.com/article/weather/hurricane/harvey/final-report-shows-harveys-impact-on-harris-county-by-the-numbers/285-5620169326. 2019 disasters and their costs: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article239153533.html7. US Army Corps of Engineers' "Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study, Texas:" https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Portals/26/BBTnT_Interim_Report_202001001_Final_1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0VI6q_U1Td_J3YXUwE3yMgwOKF3qsa0-BbZa8nRhIjZKKDiWg95823bcA8. Nature Deficit Disordera. http://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorderb. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/parenting/nature-health-benefits-coronavirus-outdoors.htmlc. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-in-nature/200901/no-more-nature-deficit-disorderd. https://www.childrenandnature.org/about/nature-deficit-disorder/e. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder9. Regenerative agriculture and holistic managementa. http://www.regenerativeagriculturedefinition.comb. https://www.ted.com/speakers/allan_savoryc. https://savory.globald. https://rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/organic-basics/regenerative-organic-agriculture/e. https://holisticmanagement.orgf. http://www.polyfacefarms.comg. https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com10. The National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org11. Tax Day Flooda. https://www.click2houston.com/weather/2019/04/16/look-back-at-houstons-2016-tax-day-flood/b. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/tax-day-flood-houston-2016-photos-looking-back-12832654.phpc. https://spacecityweather.com/houstons-flooding-review/12. "Aging dams threaten thousands across US:" by David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2019/11/10/aging-dams-threaten-thousands-across/F66XXa2e9lGpec2ZyQOEeJ/story.html13. Rewilding rivers and removing damsa. https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/free-flow-rewilding-rivers-through-barrier-removal/b. https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/protecting-rivers/c. https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/restoring-damaged-rivers/d. https://oregonstate.edu/instruction/anth481/ws/damremove.html14. Economic value of naturea. "The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital"by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/9476/Costanza%20et%20al%20%20Nature%201997%20prepublicaton.pdfb. "Twenty years of ecosystem services: How far have we come and how far do we still need to go?" by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://www.robertcostanza.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017_J_Costanza-et-al.-20yrs.-EcoServices.pdfc. TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAEfERGyO8d. Robert Costanza talk "Flourishing on Earth: Lessons from Ecological Economics:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZkTlVPgqG4e. "Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services – Professor Robert Costanza:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4F3M1b1bdIf. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2020/10/31/nature-has-economic-value-that-needs-to-be-valued/?sh=39928d263a2cImage and bio courtesy MaryAnne Piacentini.

Susan Strate, the senior program manager for the Population Estimates Program at the UMass Donahue Institute, joins Nichole to talk about the ins and outs of the 2020 Census, and how the data collected from the count is used to directly affect our lives here in Massachusetts. Carmen Plazas and Lisa Simmons from the Massachusetts Cultural Council detail their new Racial Equality Listening Sessions, where they hope to spark a conversation with members of the Commonwealth's cultural sector to bring about meaningful, systemic change.

ABOUT THE BOOK - THE GRETCHEN QUESTION A single mother, torn between protecting her only child or revealing herself fully to the people she loves most, Roberta finds herself at war with conflicting loyalties, the increasing betrayal by her own body, the confused love she feels for her oldest friend, and a trauma from her past that casts a deep and possibly permanent shadow not only over her own life, but over the legacy she will bestow upon her son. Portraying the most intense and even shameful moments of motherhood, and the things we leave unsaid even to those we want most to hear them, the novel is also a celebration of one woman's private reckoning with the source of her life's most profound pain – as well as its greatest pleasure. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jessica Treadway held a fellowship at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College and taught at Tufts University before joining the faculty at Emerson College where she is a Senior Distinguished Writer in Residence. Her two most recent novels are How Will I Know You? a People Magazine Book of the Week, and Lacy Eye a Target Book Club pick--both published by Grand Central Publishing. She is a Flannery O'Connor Award winner for Short Fiction. Her fiction has been published in The Atlantic, Ploughshares, The Hudson Review, Glimmer Train, AGNI, Five Points, and has been cited multiple times in The Best American Short Stories annual anthology. Jessica has published essays and book reviews for publications including The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Glamour, and The Huffington Post. She has received awards from the NEA and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. www.jessicatreadway.com

Christopher Castellani, of Southern Italian ancestry, recently published his fourth novel, Leading Men, for which he received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, was published by Viking in 2019. The novel explores the complex relationship between Frank Merlo, a Jersey-born Italian American, and Tennessee Williams. Castellani is also the author of the novels All This Talk of Love, The Saint of Lost Things, and A Kiss from Maddalena, a trilogy inspired by the lives of his Italian immigrant parents. His collection of essays on point of view in fiction, The Art of Perspective, was published by Graywolf Press in 2016. He is currently on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. He lives in Boston, where he is artistic director of GrubStreet, the country's largest and leading independent writing center.Things discussed:The parts of our heritage we need to leave behind.Internalizing our family stories.Research shows that family stories give us strength and build the foundation of our lives.Loosening the ties to our family stories in order to incorporate some of our own.How our respective cultures can be comforting and also suffocating.The beginning of our lives start with our ancestors' stories.Writing our family stories as a way to redeem the loss of assimilation.Leaving behind the parts of our heritage that don't support us.The same Elemental of our culture can heal as well as wound.Tips on how to gather and write your family stories.Resources:Guest:Christopher's websiteChristopher's booksChristopher on InstagramGrubstreetMentions:Guggenheim FellowshipItalian American Podcast Gay Talese Episode 1Italian American Podcast Gay Talese Episode 2"Where are the Italian American novelists?" - Gay Talese essayBella Figura:Bella Figura websiteDolores on Instagram

With a portion of the state's casino revenues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council is testing whether arts and culture can be prescribed just like medicine. The organization is running three pilot projects where health providers, counselors, and social workers prescribe cultural activities for those with whom they work. The goal is to see whether going to the zoo, visiting a museum, or attending the symphony can have beneficial health impacts. Anita Walker, the executive director of the Cultural Council, is convinced the experiment will work, in part because the health benefits of cultural activities have been documented in a number of studies. She's using a portion of the revenues her agency receives from casino gambling to pay the cost of the pilot project prescriptions, but in the long run she hopes health insurers will come to see the health benefits of arts and culture and pick up the tab themselves.

"This is why it’s so important for immigrants and feminists to tell our own stories. If we don’t, someone will tell a story about us for their own purposes." - Grace Talusan Grace Talusan was born in the Philippines and raised in New England. A graduate of Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine, she is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University for 2019–2021. The Body Papers, winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, is her first book.   Connect with Grace on Instagram, Twitter, and her website.   Grace's book recommendation: Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger, edited by Lilly Dancyger   This episode is brought to you in collaboration with Leonetti Confetti. We donate 5% of all our sales to a different feminist organization each month. Our January charity is Welcoming America. Get $5 off your Feminist Book Club Box with the code PODCAST at feministbookclub.com/shop. -- Website: http://www.feministbookclub.com Instagram: @feministbookclubbox Twitter: @fmnstbookclub Facebook: /feministbookclubbox Goodreads: Renee // Feminist Book Club Box and Podcast Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dINNkn   -- Logo and web design by Shatterboxx  Editing support from Phalin Oliver Original music by @iam.onyxrose Transcript for this episode: bit.ly/FBCtranscript55   Get $5 off your Feminist Book Club Box with the code PODCAST at feministbookclub.com/shop.  

Annette Hines has been practicing in the areas of Special Needs, Elder Law and Estate Planning for over twenty years. She received her JD from Howard University School of Law, her MBA from Suffolk University and her BA from the University of Vermont. Her clients include individuals and families of children with special needs, the elderly and others in the community. https://specialneedscompanies.com Daniela Petrova grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Sofia, Bulgaria. She came to the US in her early twenties and earned a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University and an MA in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University. She is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. https://www.danielapetrova.com

Not every family legacy is destructive. From her parents, Talusan has learned to tell stories in order to continue. In excavating abuse and trauma, and supplementing her story with government documents, medical records, and family photos, Talusan gives voice to unspeakable experience, and shines a light of hope into the darkness.Grace Talusan was born in the Philippines and raised in New England. She graduated from Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine. She is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Talusan teaches at Grub Street and Tufts.Decolonize Your Bookshelves is a book club founded by blogger and activist Eliza Romero, also known as Aesthetic Distance. The group will focus on Asian American writers who tell stories of struggle and triumph, and explore themes of civil unrest, assimilation, racism, and profound alienation. Because a disproportionate number East Asian writers are represented in the American mainstream compared with other Asians, the club will delve into the works of South and Southeast Asian authors , including Filipino, Indian and Vietnamese creators. The goal: thought-provoking discourse that reveal the absolute  necessity of these works to the American collective identity.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund.Re-opening activities are made possible in part by a generous gift from Sandra R. Berman.

Not every family legacy is destructive. From her parents, Talusan has learned to tell stories in order to continue. In excavating abuse and trauma, and supplementing her story with government documents, medical records, and family photos, Talusan gives voice to unspeakable experience, and shines a light of hope into the darkness.Grace Talusan was born in the Philippines and raised in New England. She graduated from Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine. She is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Talusan teaches at Grub Street and Tufts.Decolonize Your Bookshelves is a book club founded by blogger and activist Eliza Romero, also known as Aesthetic Distance. The group will focus on Asian American writers who tell stories of struggle and triumph, and explore themes of civil unrest, assimilation, racism, and profound alienation. Because a disproportionate number East Asian writers are represented in the American mainstream compared with other Asians, the club will delve into the works of South and Southeast Asian authors , including Filipino, Indian and Vietnamese creators. The goal: thought-provoking discourse that reveal the absolute  necessity of these works to the American collective identity.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund.Re-opening activities are made possible in part by a generous gift from Sandra R. Berman.Recorded On: Tuesday, October 22, 2019

SUE FROST is a founding member of Junkyard Dog Productions (with Randy Adams and Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff) which is dedicated to developing and producing new musicals. Broadway: COME FROM AWAY at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 2010 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winning Best Musical MEMPHIS, FIRST DATE. National tour and West End production of MEMPHIS. In development: CHASING THE SONG, FLY HIGH. Since its inception in 2006 Junkyard Dog has also produced VANITIES, MAKE ME A SONG (Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk noms.) and PARTY COME HERE. JYD also served as Executive Producer of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO on Broadway in 2015. Prior to founding Junkyard, Sue was Associate Producer at Goodspeed Musicals for 20 years, where she produced more than 50 new musicals at both the Goodspeed Opera House and the Norma Terris Theatre. She is proud to have established, in conjunction with the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, an annual residency for composers, lyricists and librettists at the Goodspeed as well as the pilot program for Goodspeed’s Musical Theatre Institute. Prior to Goodspeed she worked as a company manager on several Broadway shows and tours including A CHORUS LINE, DANCIN’ and THE RINK. In addition to chairing two New American Works panels for the late Opera-Music Theatre Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, Sue has served as a panelist and/or site evaluator for the NEA, the Philadelphia Theatre Institute, the Connecticut Commission for the Arts and Tourism, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the TCG/Pew National Theatre Artist Residency Program. She lectures regularly at Yale University and is a member of adjunct faculty at Columbia University. A graduate of Smith College, Sue is past president of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and is currently a member of the Broadway League’s Board of Governors, Executive, Tony Administration and Intra-Industry Committees as well as co-chair of the Audience Engagement Committee.

Daniela Petrova is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and a scholarship for the Tin House Summer Workshop. Her short stories, poems and essays have been published in the New York Times, The Washington Post and Marie Claire, among many others. She was born and raised in Bulgaria and currently lives in New York City. HER DAUGHTER’S MOTHER is her first novel. This gripping novel is both a twist-filled domestic suspense and an exploration into the emotional and ethical complexities of advanced fertility treatments and motherhood. When a newly pregnant woman crosses the line and befriends her anonymous egg donor, she is surprised by the unlikely friendship they form—and is blindsided when her new friend disappears. As one of the last people to have seen her, she becomes a key suspect in a possible crime. But the truth is even more complicated than she could have imagined. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ** Named Most Anticipated Book of Summer by CrimeReads ** Named Best Beach Read of the Year by O, The Oprah Magazine ** Named Best Beach Read of 2019 by New York Post _______________________________ Writers Corner Live

Daniela Petrova grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Sofia, Bulgaria. She came to the US in her early twenties and earned a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University and an MA in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University. She is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her stories, poems and essays have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, and Marie Claire. Her first novel, Her Daughter’s Mother, is forthcoming from Putnam in June 18th, 2019. She lives and writes in New York City. You can find her at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

James Charlesworth 3:56James Charlesworth is the recipient of a Martin Dibner Fellowship from the Maine Community Foundation. He attended Penn State University and Emerson College in Boston and his debut novel, The Patricide of George Benjamin Hill (published by Arcade) was released January 15th, 2019. He joins us at AWP to talk about his publishing journey from 2007 to 2019, wherein he learned the art of failure...er, patience. Hannah Meredith 8:59Hannah Meredith teaches Composition and Sophomore Literature at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. From oral performance project, Beer and Bards, Hannah gives an amazing short fiction reading called "Ms. Shuffles" and shares a few of her most embarrassing moments. Shena McAuliffe 22:23Shena McAuliffe is an Assistant Professor of Fiction at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Her essay, Endnotes to a Seizure was chosen by Maggie Nelson as the winner of the 2012 Black Warrior Review Nonfiction Prize and her stories have been twice named as notable in the Best American Short Stories anthologies (2008, 2010), and once in the Best American Nonrequired Reading series (2007). She holds a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Utah.Shena discusses her first novel, The Good Echo from Black Orange Press, which is a historical piece about a dentist and his wife whose son dies after they perform a root canal on him. Daniel Peña 27:13Daniel Peña is a Mexican-American novelist, essayist, and critic frequently published in The Guardian and Ploughshares blogs. He received the Pushcart Prize in 2016 for his short story Safe Home which appeared in the 2017 Pushcart anthology. His debut novel, Bang, was originally published on January 30, 2018 through Arte Público Press, a publisher of contemporary literature by Hispanic authors. Listen to us talk AWP fashion, bodegas, “club” poets, and Fuck la Migra — a printing press in Mexico City that created the F***ing Shakespeare t-shirts for Bloomsday. Daniela Petrova — 42:17Daniela Petrova’s stories, poems and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, and Marie Claire, among others. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University, an MA in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University, and is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.Her first novel titled, Her Daughter’s Mother, is a domestic suspense thriller about a woman who encounters and befriends her egg donor on a subway. The woman disappears a week later. Her Daughter’s Mother is forthcoming from Putnam in June 2019. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @danielagpetrova.Tori Cardenas — 49:07Tori Cardenas is an MFA Candidate in Fiction at the University of New Mexico. She received her dual Bachelor's of Arts in History and English-Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico in 2014. Her poetry has appeared in Conceptions Southwest, Cloudthroat Journal, Lavender Review, and the Taos Journal of Poetry and Art. Listen as we discuss classroom politics versus the real world. You can find her on Twitter @monsoonpoet and online at www.cardenaspoetry.com. Ben Ristow — 57:14Ben Ristow is a fiction writer and academic scholar who teaches at Hobart and William Smith College. He joins us to talk about Craft Consciousness and Artistic Practice in Creative Writing, which will be published as part of the series, Participating in the Research in Creative Writing by Bloomsbury (forthcoming in 2020). In this book, Ben will examine how to conceptualize craft which includes international perspectives. We have the pleasure of discussing how he connected with Bloomsbury, what he does on the side, and what is exciting at AWP. M.S. Coe — 1:08:12M.S. Coe is an animal lover and travel agent. She joins us with guest host, Daniel Peña, aka Rodney Danielfield, to discuss her book New Vernonia, which comes out in November 2019 from Clash Books. Set in Delaware and Florida, Coe follows a group of teenage boys who are “losers,” and whose anger and frustration bleeds into their friendships.

Today the Creative + Cultural Podcast connects with Grace Talusan in collaboration with UCI and the Illuminations initiative. Grace Talusan was born in the Philippines and raised in New England. A graduate of Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine, she is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Talusan teaches the Essay Incubator at GrubStreet and at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts. She is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University. The Body Papers, winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, is her first book.     Creative + Cultural is an interdisciplinary podcast dedicated to creative collaboration and cultural innovation. Each series is designed to provide community leaders a platform to share stories about business, history, technology, and the arts. Building on UCI’s demonstrated excellence in the creative arts and cultural programming, Illuminations aims to ensure that all of our students, regardless of major, have serious and meaningful exposure to the creative arts. In addition, we seek to strengthen the connections between UCI and our regional arts and culture centers and institutions. Producer: Heritage Future and UCI Illuminations Host: Trevor Allred Guest: Grace Talusan Music composed and performed by Dan Reckard

In this episode of the Potluck Podcast, where UIndy hosts conversations about the arts, UIndy students Creative Writing Major Jessica Marvel and Nursing Major Erin Pool interview the 2018 Whirling Prize winning novelist. Etchings Press, a student-run publisher at the University of Indianapolis, awards The Whirling Prize each fall to two books that demonstrate an excellent and compelling response to a theme selected by students. The 2018 theme was disability, and the student judges talk with Mira T. Lee about her winning novel, Everything Here Is Beautiful. Mira T. Lee's work has been published in numerous quarterlies and reviews, including The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Harvard Review and Triquarterly. She was awarded an Artist's Fellowship by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2012, and has twice received special mention for the Pushcart Prize. She is a graduate of Stanford University, and currently lives with her husband and two young sons in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Everything Here Is Beautiful is her debut novel. We thank you for listening to UIndy's Potluck Podcast, which is hosted by students and faculty of the University of Indianapolis. We would like to thank our guests and the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences. To learn more about UIndy's Potluck Podcast and hear other episodes, please visit etchings.uindy.edu/the-potluck-podcast. Thank you for your support.

Enzo Silon Surin, Haitian-born poet, educator, publisher, and social advocate, is the author of two chapbooks, A Letter of Resignation: An American Libretto and Higher Ground. He is recipient of a Brother Thomas Fellowship from The Boston Foundation and is a PEN New England Celebrated New Voice in Poetry. Enzo’s work gives voice to experiences that take place in what he calls “broken spaces” and has appeared in numerous publications. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is an associate professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College and founding editor and publisher at Central Square Press. Today, he speaks with former Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges. She is the author of two books of poems, The Dear Remote Nearness of You and Maroon; the chapbook Letters from Congo; and the editor of City of Notions: An Anthology of Contemporary Boston Poems. She is a professor of creative writing and interim director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Lesley University. She is also a faculty member of the William Joiner Institute Summer Writer’s Workshop, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her work includes poetry translations, collaborations, and curation. Her honors include fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Boston Foundation, the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, and commissions from the Trustees of Reservations. She is the City of Boston’s former poet laureate. Read more about Enzo and see a video profile of Danielle on our podcast page.

Pagan Kennedy tells stories about iconoclasts, humanitarian inventors, and scientific visionaries. Her eleven books include The First Man-Made Man, a study of the transgender pioneer Michael Dillon. Kennedy's journalism has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times Magazine, where she wrote the "Who Made That?" column. In the 1980s and '90s, she created a 'zine called Pagan's Head that anticipated today's self-produced samizdat -- and was named the Queen of 'Zines by Wired Magazine. She is now a contributing writer for the New York Times Opinion section; she is also co-producing a serial podcast for the Radiotopia network. As a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 2010-11, Kennedy studied microbiology and neuroengineering. She has won numerous other awards including an NEA fellowship, a Smithsonian fellowship, and two Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowships.

Pagan Kennedy tells stories about iconoclasts, humanitarian inventors, and scientific visionaries. Her eleven books include The First Man-Made Man, a study of the transgender pioneer Michael Dillon. Kennedy's journalism has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times Magazine, where she wrote the "Who Made That?" column. In the 1980s and '90s, she created a 'zine called Pagan's Head that anticipated today's self-produced samizdat -- and was named the Queen of 'Zines by Wired Magazine. She is now a contributing writer for the New York Times Opinion section; she is also co-producing a serial podcast for the Radiotopia network. As a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 2010-11, Kennedy studied microbiology and neuroengineering. She has won numerous other awards including an NEA fellowship, a Smithsonian fellowship, and two Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowships.

It's almost like this superpower... design is such an invisible force in our lives. We don't realize how it's affecting our behavior, affecting how we do things, how we live, how we die.  - Pagan Kennedy "Pagan Kennedy tells stories about iconoclasts, humanitarian inventors, and scientific visionaries. Kennedy's journalism has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times Magazine, where she wrote the "Who Made That?" column. She is now a contributing writer for the New York Times Opinion section; she is also co-producing a serial podcast for the Radiotopia network.  As a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 2010-11, Kennedy studied microbiology and neuroengineering.  She has won numerous other awards including an NEA fellowship, a Smithsonian fellowship, and two Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowships.  She is the creator of Inventology — How We Dream Up Things That Change The World. "    Website: https://www.pagankennedy.space/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Inventology-Pagan-Kennedy/dp/0544811925/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545190907&sr=8-1&keywords=inventology Podcast: https://radiopublic.com/ShowcaseFromRadiotopia/ep/s1!dfcfb   Fun And Interesting Points Discussed 1. Most cited patent holders were in their 40s and 50s.  2. John Goodenough invented the lithium Ion battery at the age 57. He was still creating inventions at the age of 94. 3. Alexander Flemming's beginnings to creating Penicillin 4. Serendipity - observational creativity and "anti-serendipity" 5. Invention is multi-step. Eureka makes for a good story, but there needs to be testing, understanding... Eureka makes it sound a lot easier than it is.  6. The one who sees a problem on a daily basis has the strongest ability to create a solution (end-user mentality).     

In her first novel, Everything Here is Beautiful (Pamela Dorman Books, 2018), author Mira T. Lee delves into the sometimes troubled but always compelling life of Lucia from the perspectives of her older sister Miranda, her husband, Yonah, and the father of her child, Manny.  Miranda, who has taken care of Lucia since she was a baby, struggles to help her sister from near and far. Lucia and those who love her are forced to grapple with her recklessness and her mental illness. They also cope with immigration and cultural issues, relationships, raising Lucia’s child, and all the flotsam and jetsam of Lucia’s chaotic life.  In rich, evocative prose, Mira T. Lee has written about love that spans oceans, perspectives, and time. Her work has been published in numerous quarterlies and reviews, including the Missouri Review, the Southern Review, Harvard Review and Triquarterly.  She was awarded an Artists fellowship by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2012 and has twice received special mention for the Pushcart Prize. She is a graduate of Stanford University and currently lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, Mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her first novel, Everything Here is Beautiful (Pamela Dorman Books, 2018), author Mira T. Lee delves into the sometimes troubled but always compelling life of Lucia from the perspectives of her older sister Miranda, her husband, Yonah, and the father of her child, Manny.  Miranda, who has taken care of Lucia since she was a baby, struggles to help her sister from near and far. Lucia and those who love her are forced to grapple with her recklessness and her mental illness. They also cope with immigration and cultural issues, relationships, raising Lucia’s child, and all the flotsam and jetsam of Lucia’s chaotic life.  In rich, evocative prose, Mira T. Lee has written about love that spans oceans, perspectives, and time. Her work has been published in numerous quarterlies and reviews, including the Missouri Review, the Southern Review, Harvard Review and Triquarterly.  She was awarded an Artists fellowship by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2012 and has twice received special mention for the Pushcart Prize. She is a graduate of Stanford University and currently lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, Mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone is familiar with MIT and the university's reputation as a serious force in the world of science, tech, and research, but how many are aware of MIT's legacy in the arts? Did you know that MIT's founder had envisioned incorporating the arts from the very beginning?In this episode we speak with Leila Kinney and Evan Ziporyn of MIT's Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST) about MIT's culture of creativity and exploration, the institution's mission to humanize science and tech, and the exciting projects that have emerged from CAST, like Tomás Saraceno's Arachnid Orchestra.-About Leila Kinney-Leila W. Kinney is the Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), working with Associate Provost Philip S. Khoury, the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P), the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), the Creative Arts Council, the Council for the Arts at MIT, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, and the MIT Museum, to advance the arts at MIT in the areas of strategic planning, cross-school collaborations, communications and resource development.Kinney is an art historian with experience in both SA+P, where she was on the faculty in the History, Theory and Criticism section of the Department of Architecture (HTC) and SHASS, where she taught in the Program in Women’s Studies and in Comparative Media Studies. She specializes in modern art, with an emphasis on media in transition, arts institutions and artists’ engagement with mass culture. She is a member of the Executive Committee of a2ru (Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities) and of the Advisory Committees of the Catalyst Collaborative at MIT, the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the MIT Museum.-About Evan Ziporyn-Evan Ziporyn makes music at the crossroads between genres and cultures, and between East and West. He studied at the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and UC Berkeley with Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, and Gerard Grisey. He first traveled to Bali in 1981, studying with Madé Lebah, Colin McPhee’s 1930s musical informant. He returned on a Fulbright in 1987.Earlier that year, he performed a clarinet solo at the First Bang on a Can Marathon in New York. His involvement with Bang on a Can continued for twenty five years. In 1992, he co-founded the Bang on a Can All-stars (Musical America’s 2005 Ensemble of the Year), with whom he toured the globe and premiered over one hundred commissioned works, collaborating with Nik Bartsch, Iva Bittova, Don Byron, Ornette Coleman, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Thurston Moore, Terry Riley, and Tan Dun. He co-produced their seminal 1996 recording of Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports,” as well as their most recent CD, “Big Beautiful Dark & Scary” (2012).Ziporyn joined the MIT faculty in 1990, founding Gamelan Galak Tika in 1993, and beginning a series of groundbreaking compositions for gamelan & Western instruments. These include three evening-length works, 2001’s “ShadowBang,” 2004’s “Oedipus Rex” (Robert Woodruff, director), and 2009’s “A House in Bali,” an opera which joins Western singers with Balinese traditional performers, and the Bang on a Can All-stars with a full gamelan. It received its world premiere in Bali that summer and its New York premiere at BAM Next Wave in October 2010.As a clarinetist, Ziporyn recorded the definitive version of Steve Reich’s multi-clarinet “New York Counterpoint” in 1996, sharing in that ensemble’s Grammy in 1998. In 2001, his solo clarinet CD, “This is Not A Clarinet,” made Top Ten lists across the country. His compositions have been commissioned by Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road, Kronos Quartet, American Composers Orchestra, Maya Beiser, So Percussion, Wu Man, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, with whom he recorded his most recent CD, “Big Grenadilla/Mumbai” (2012). His honors include awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (2011); The Herb Alpert Foundation (2011); USA Artists Walker Fellowship (2007); MIT’s Gyorgy Kepes Prize (2006); the American Academy of Arts and Letters Goddard Lieberson Fellowship (2004); as well as commissions from Meet the Composer/Commissioning Music USA and the Rockefeller MAP Fund. Recordings of his works have been been released on Cantaloupe, Sony Classical, New Albion, New World, Koch, Naxos, Innova, and CRI.He is Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT. He also serves as Head of Music and Theater Arts, and in 2012 was appointed inaugural Director of MIT’s Center for Art Science & Technology. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with Christine Southworth, and has two children, Leonardo (19) and Ava (12).-About MIT CAST-The MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) creates new opportunities for art, science and technology to thrive as interrelated, mutually informing modes of exploration, knowledge and discovery. CAST’s multidisciplinary platform presents performing and visual arts programs, supports research projects for artists working with science and engineering labs, and sponsors symposia, classes, workshops, design studios, lectures and publications. The Center is funded in part by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Cornelia Carey has served as the executive director of CERF+ since 1995. She is the co-Chair and founding member of the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response, an initiative to improve emergency preparedness and response in the arts sector. Before her tenure at CERF+, Cornelia ran programs supporting artists and cultural institutions at the Vermont Arts Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She has served on boards and review panels for foundations, state arts councils, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives with her husband and daughter on their farm in Calais, VT.

In our first full-length episode, we discuss the Berkshire Museum’s controversial decision to sell off 40 works of iconic art from its permanent collection to raise funds to rebrand itself as a science and natural history museum, and build a large endowment.  Only after the regional museum had signed an agreement with Sotheby’s auction house to deaccession these works, did the museum announce its plans to the public.  Museum and cultural groups, the fine arts community, and certain local constituents have passionately opposed these plans.  Other stakeholders and commentators have strongly supported the museum’s efforts to monetize its collection and rebrand.  We will discuss both the ethical and legal issues around deaccessioning and the Berkshire Museum’s actions in particular.  We are joined by the financial and art-market journalist, Felix Salmon. More information on the Berkshire Museum and deaccessioning: From Felix Salmon: http://www.felixsalmon.com/ https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lost-masterpieces-of-norman-rockwell-country https://hyperallergic.com/409126/berkshire-museum-battle-sothebys-auction/ More perspectives: https://berkshiremuseum.org/newvision/ https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2017/11/26/change-die-choice-clear-for-berkshire-museum/zLEFaUrZiXfJRNlhaVeb1K/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/01/27/the-berkshire-museum-defends-its-most-important-asset-its-open-doors/M92tisiPanIT93ZHXKysCP/story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/arts/design/berkshire-museum-art-auction-criticized.html http://www.artnews.com/2017/07/25/museum-alliance-and-directors-group-issue-open-letter-criticizing-berkshire-museums-deaccession-plan/ Litigation status and some papers: http://www.artnews.com/2018/02/05/berkshire-museum-case-heads-massachusetts-supreme-court/ http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/big-reveal-from-ag-due-monday-on-berkshire-museum,531233 https://www.scribd.com/document/362156288/Complaint-in-Berkshire-Museum-Case http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wfcr/files/verified_complaint_b2211761_.pdf?_ga=2.41888810.982465672.1508763064-1725306865.1506095323 https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/878449/Motion%20for%20Injunction%20Pending%20Appeal(B2218262).pdf?t=1518034885672 More about deaccessioning: https://www.aamd.org/sites/default/files/document/PositionPaperDeaccessioning%2011.07.pdf https://www.npr.org/2014/08/11/339532879/as-museums-try-to-make-ends-meet-deaccession-is-the-art-worlds-dirty-word http://www.philly.com/philly/education/la-salle-museum-plans-sale-of-prized-artwork-masterpieces-20180103.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/arts/design/censured-delaware-art-museum-plans-to-divest-more-works.html http://legacy.wbur.org/2011/10/28/rose-art-museum http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/arts/design/28fink.html Episode Transcription: Steven Schindler: Hi, I’m Steven Schindler. Katie Wilson-Milne: I’m Katie Wilson-Milne. Steven Schindler: Welcome to the Art Law of Podcast, a monthly podcast exploring the places where art intersects with and interferes with the law. Katie Wilson-Milne: And vice-versa. The Art Law Podcast is sponsored by the law firm Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP, a premier litigation and art law boutique New York City. Felix Salmon: There’s this very vivid and high-stakes debate, which people care about very much about the deaccessioning and like 99% of the planet has no idea it really exists. But, the people who care about it, care about it very much. They basically said, look at this, there is a bunch of billionaires out there in the world who are willing to pay millions and millions of dollars for the art in our little museum, and we don’t have very much money and we can raise like $50 million just by selling off all of our art. And then, honestly we would rather have $50 million then the bunch of dusty old paintings, this art is worth more to those billionaires who we don’t even know who they are, then it is to us. And, the idea of a museum being a place which preserves cultural heritage basically goes straight out the window and they get to play with this vast pool of money that they have decided they can conjure up just by selling off their paintings. Katie Wilson-Milne: In July 2017, the Berkshire Museum, a quirky museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts announced to the public that it would auction of 40 works of art from its collection. To raise more than $60 million for capital projects, to transition to a science and national history museum, and to raise a substantial endowment. Chief among the objects for sale are two premier paintings Norman Rockwell, one thought widely to be his best work, and two Alexander Calder sculptures. These works alone were estimated to bring in over $40 million. Now, when a museum decides to sell works from its collection, it is called deaccessioning. Deaccessioning is controversial and the Berkshire Museum’s decision to sell works from its collection set off a firestorm in the art community, that spawned two multi-party law suits, a devoted protest movement, and sanction in disavowal from the art and museum community. Steven Schindler: And that’s what we want to talk about in this episode. We will explore the question, ‘Can a museum sell art from its permanent collection?’ One reason why we choose to focus on this story in this episode is that it is really a great vehicle to think more generally about ethical issues around museum deaccessioning, the plight of small regional museums and about the public’s interest and ownership stake in museum art collections. Katie Wilson-Milne: These really are the questions at the heart of the Berkshire Museum story, so let’s turn to it. To really understand both sides of these issues, we need to take a step back and look at the history of the museum and the surrounding area. In 1903, a wealthy local philanthropist named Zenas Crane donated a building located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts for use as a public museum of art and artifacts. Pittsfield is a city in Western Mass, an area called the Berkshires known for its natural beauty and today a lively summer vacation and art scene. Crane wanted this museum in rural Massachusetts to be a window to the world for the area’s people. The Berkshire museum was originally located behind and operated by the Berkshire Athenaeum, and they shared a board of trustees. The museums earlier relationship with the Athenaeum is important to our story for one primary reason: The Massachusetts legislation establishing the Athenaeum in 1871 stated that its property could not be removed from the town of Pittsfield. In 1932, the museum became a separate and standalone entity. By law, the Athenaeum transferred to the museum, the museum building, its land, as well as the money and objects donated by Zenas Crane. The 1932 legislation doing this did not have any language about the property staying in Pittsfield, but it did state that museum property be used according to any written conditions of the donor. Things changed in Pittsfield in the following decades, as the trial court in the current litigations stated, “Since the 70s, the national economic winds have eroded the Berkshire County business environment resulting in many industries and businesses dying off or relocating. The population has shrunk and most importantly generous benefactors have vanished.” Steven Schindler: And it’s true, Pittsfield today is an economically struggling and depopulating city. The Berkshire Museum, the city’s main museum is in financial trouble. It operates at a significance deficit and has a relatively small endowment. In light of the museum’s financial needs, the current board of trustees embarked on a master planning process in 2015 in which they considered changes to the museum’s mission and physical layout, they also considered options for increasing revenue and reducing costs, including approaching Christie’s and Sotheby’s to value the museum’s collection. Katie Wilson-Milne: And, we should note the museums former director, Stuart Chase, has adamantly opposed deaccessioning works to pay for operating expenses, which caused a clash with the board. He was replaced with a new director, Van Shields, in 2011, who has been proponent of monetizing the museum’s collection. Steven Schindler: The board also hired a consulting firm, heald focus groups and several board retreats focused on the future of the museum. The consulting firm recommended the museum raised $25.6 million to stabilize operations and suggested the deaccessioning of 22 to 41 works of art. The board eventually opted to raise much more, a $60 million plan with $20 million to go toward transforming the museum into a science museum and $40 million toward a robust endowment. By the fall of 2016, the board had decided to sell off the most valuable parts of the museum’s collection to raise these funds. And in spring of 2017, the board signed an agreement with Sotheby’s to auction of 40 works no longer deemed relevant to the museums updated mission. Months later in July 2017, the museum announced its plan to deaccession works of art to the public for the very first time. Sotheby’s anticipated that the auctions would raise somewhere between $46 and $68 million. Katie Wilson-Milne: And, while only 40 works were up for sale out of the museum’s 40,000 or so objects, these works were the vast majority of the Berkshire Museum’s collections value, and included pieces by famous artists such as Norman Rockwell and Alexander Calder. Norman Rockwell’s painting, Shuffleton’s Barber Shop, widely thought to be his best work, alone accounts for an estimated 35% of the value of the entire museum collection. Now Norman Rockwell had lived and worked in the Berkshires and had a close relationship with the museum. He in fact had called it his favorite museum and he donated two of the works to be sold at auction to the museum himself in 1958 and 1960. Interestingly, Alexander Calder, now one of the world’s most famous sculptors with works regularly selling for tens of millions of dollars, got his start with the Berkshire Museum. His first ever public commissions flanked the existing museum’s theatre and his father’s woodwork sculptures define another of the museum spaces. Among the works to be sold are two Calder sculptures acquired in the 1930’s, when the museum was the first to give Calder an exhibition and the first museum to purchase his works. So that’s the factual background. There are many vocal supporters and opponents of what the museum’s called its “New Vision Plan” and the public outrage and legal battles comes next. Steven Schindler: So, let’s dive into the ethical and legal issues in this case. And what’s interesting to me is the overlap between the ethical and legal issues. So, starting with the ethical issues; certain museum member groups have adopted ethical guidelines for deaccessioning, and principally these groups are the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors. And, these two groups have both adopted ethical guidelines and any museum that’s affiliated with or the directors who are affiliated with these groups are really ethically bound to go along with them. Over the years, the rules for deaccessioning have developed, but in principle these ethical rules require that each museum have and adopt a set of guidelines that deal with managing their collections and how you buy and you sell art. One of the principle guidelines is that whenever you sell works of art, and there are number of reasons why museums are entitled to sell works of art, but one of the principle rules is that when you sell or deaccession works of art, the proceeds of deaccessioning should only be used to buy new works, is simply not permitted to use the proceeds of selling art to pay for electricity or to build a new movie theatre. So, for years the Berkshire Museum had a standard deacessioning policy, one that would fit right squarely within the guidelines that we’ve just been discussing, and it had on occasion deacessioned works in accordance with these kinds of guidelines, they sold works and they bought other works. But, it turns out that shortly after they consigned the 40 works to Sotheby's, somebody looked at their policy and said, “Well this doesn’t make sense and this consignment to Sotheby's is contrary to the policy that we have.” So what did they do? They amended the policy after the fact, specifically allowing the very transaction that they were contemplating. And the consequence of violating these ethical guidelines is that the museum gets sanctioned and can no longer borrow works, which is central to the core operating function of a museum. Now once this became public, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Smithsonian, the Peabody Essex, AAM, AAMC, AAMD, all vociferously came out against the sale and basically called this a violation of the public trust. So, these ethical guidelines are enough to ostracize the Berkshire Museum from the museum community, discourage donors from giving, and prevent it from cooperating productively with other museums in the future. They do not however make the museum’s deacessioning illegal. At least in Massachusetts, there are no laws adopting these ethical guidelines, where in New York we do have such laws, but at least in Massachusetts these are ethical guidelines and are not legally binding standards. Katie Wilson-Milne: But it’s not just an ethical issue, right Steve? Steven Schindler: No, in fact two high profile law suits have been filed. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, what are the legal arguments given that Massachusetts doesn’t have a statute prohibiting deaccessioning for operating expenses? Steven Schindler: Well, this goes back again to the history of the museum and whether the museum, under its own legal commitments and state laws, permit it to sell these works. Two groups of plaintiffs have sued the museum seeking to enjoin the sale. Now, let me describe these two law suits. The first law suit was brought primarily by the sons of Norman Rockwell, and they name the trustees of the Berkshire Museum as defendants and also brought into the law suit, Maura Healey, who is the attorney general of the State of Massachusetts, in her capacities as attorney general. The second law suit was brought by members of the Berkshire Museum. Both of these law suits were eventually consolidated and arguments were heard before the trial judge as to whether or not the sale of Sotheby should be enjoined or stopped. So, the parties before the court argued that the sale of the museum’s core art collection violates three restrictions. The first argument was that the sale of the works to Sotheby’s violated the museum’s charitable purpose, contained in its charter to be an art museum. The second argument was that the statutes creating the museum and its predecessor entity, that is the Athenaeum or Athenaeum, prevent it from selling any of the art acquired by the museum or its predecessor before 1932. And then, the third argument is that Norman Rockwell himself intended and the museum agreed that his art would remain at the museum for the community in perpetuity. So, that is the sort of first set of arguments which we can call either breach of trust, breach of contract. The second set of arguments is based upon the trustees’ of the museums alleged breach of their fiduciary duty of care to the museum. And the way that argument generally goes is that essentially that the museum’s decision to sell off the core collection of the museum was not reasonable under all of the circumstances. And that rather than undertaking an extensive survey and search to try to see if there were any other ways to keep the museum solvent while retaining the collection that they didn’t do any of those things. And, their failure to explore any alternatives, constitutes a breach of their fiduciary duty of care. Now, let me just stop here for legal concepts that are relevant. The first is how do you get an injunction and what is it? Typically, you are entitled to enjoin something from happening if you can show that you will be irreparably harmed if an injunction is not issued and that generally means that money after the fact is not going to compensate you for your loss. You also have to be able to show to the judge that you are likely to succeed on the merits and that the equities that is looking at the harm or potential harm to both sides are in your favor. And so, with this mind both cases went before the judge seeking this kind of preliminary injunction of the Sotheby sale. The other legal standard that comes into play here is a somewhat arcane concept called Standing, Legal Standing. And that question is who has the right to go to the judge and ask that action be taken on behalf of themselves or on behalf of the museum. And in this case, both of the private parties had difficulty with standing. The judge had observed that while the Rockwell heirs were indeed sons of Norman Rockwell, the problem was that they were not executor of his estate and therefore didn’t have the right to come into court on behalf of Norman Rockwell’s estate. And then, with respect to the members, the judge also observed that the trustees of the museum are the ones who have the authority to act for the museum and simply by the virtue of the fact that you are a member of a museum doesn’t mean that you are entitled to come into court and challenge the actions of the museum. I’m a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I pay a few hundred dollars a year for that privilege, but I can’t go into court and enjoin them from building the next new wing. Now, while the attorney general had standing to bring this law suit, the trial judge at least after hearing the case in October of 2017 decided that the attorney general did not meet the standard for obtaining a preliminary injunction. And principally, the judge concluded that the attorney general was not likely to succeed on the merits of the case. After the trial court dismissed the case and denied plaintiff’s request for an injunction, the parties immediately appealed. And, now to tell us more about the controversy is Felix Salmon. Felix Salmon is a financial journalist, formerly of Portfolio Magazine and Euromoney and a former finance blogger for Reuters. He has hosted Slate’s ”Money Podcast” since 2014. Felix has recently writing about the controversy at the Berkshire Museum. Welcome to the Podcast Felix. So, why is the deaccessioning is such a big deal, why should anybody care? Felix Salmon: So, I think one way to think about this is to put yourself in the shoes of Norman Rockwell when he donates what is probably his single greatest painting, arguably his single greatest painting, Shuffleton's Barbershop, to the Berkshire Museum in the 1950s. And, back then, there was no such thing as the deaccessioning. Deacessioning only really began as a thing in the 1970s. So, when Norman Rockwell donates this painting to the Berkshire Museum, and Norman Rockwell lives in the Berkshires, he has done his entire practice in the Berkshire, he cares about the Berkshires. What is it that he is doing? And what he doing quite explicitly, and this has been recorded contemporaneous letters and back and forth between him and the then directors of museum, is he is giving his painting to the people of the Berkshires, for the people of the Berkshires, for them to look at and enjoy in perpetuity. That’s what museums do, you give your work of art to a museum, and the museum then is a custodian basically for the painting, and presents it in a certain context and manages to – and people can come to museum to see that work of art, that’s the whole point. What happens in deaccessioning is that the museum basically reneges on that agreement and says, we no longer feel that it’s our job to look after this painting and to show it to the people to the Berkshires and to use it for the benefit of the people of Berkshires, instead what we are going to do is we are going to ship it off to Sotheby’s in New York, they are going to sell it to the highest bidder who is almost certainly not going to be in the Berkshires and we are going to use the cash to build an atrium. That is clearly not what the agreement between -- no one in the original agreement when Rockwell gives that painting to the Berkshire Museum ever dreamed that might ever happen. Steven Schindler: Right. Are there any circumstances in which deaccessioning is acceptable? Felix Salmon: Absolutely. Yes. And the deaccessioning happens frequently, and it happens all the time. And grand institutions like the Museums of Modern Art or the Metropolitan Museum or any major museum you guys can think of is constantly deaccessioning their various works. Now, what they are not doing is selling off the Desmoiselles, they are not selling off Starry Night. They’re not selling off their greatest artworks. What they are doing is they are saying, we have vastly more art than we can ever show, that for whatever reason is not important or interesting or doesn’t fit into our program, and at the same time, and this is the important thing, we have a relentless appetite to stay relevant to create a program which is important to our audience, and so we need to do acquisitions. And so what they are basically doing is swapping out, and they are saying, if we sell a bunch of art here that gives us the resources to buy a bunch of out there. What art is not is asset on the balance sheet, which can be liquidated just to fill a whole in your annual P&L. That art is always in the history of museum finance been held on the balance sheet of the zero value for exactly that reason. But not that it has never happened, it has happened, but when it does happen there is nearly always a controversy and a bit of bru ha ha. And most museums directors, when they start moving in that direction, tend to do so quite apologetically and talk a lot about existential crises and how they have no choice and they’re trying to create like a whole new sustainable situation, where they’re never going to have to do this again and they’re very apologetic about it. One of the interest things about the Berkshire Museum announcement was that there was none of that and they were just enthusiastically selling off literally what seems to be well over 90% of the value of their collections. Katie Wilson-Milne: Yeah. I think we want to ask you too about what went wrong in this particular example. Because, I think for probably many of non-art world or non-museum listeners, it makes total sense for a museum to sell assets to generate liquidity when it needs to keep the lights on or to pay salaries. It’s only real asset is the art. If it doesn’t have funds coming in from another source and there is art that’s not being displayed, why not sell it? I mean, I know you disagree. Felix Salmon: Yeah. And, because I mean -- the first response to that is there is a stock versus flow problem there, you have generally don’t sell of this family silver to plug, you know, to pay a credit card bill. Steven Schindler: But, what if I wanted to do it to send my daughter to college? There has to be some discussion at some point, wouldn’t there be of weighing priorities and what is important, I mean it may be that -- my great grandmother left her prized chifforobe to be handed down from generation to generation. And then, one day I wake up and I say, well, I can either look at this dusty relic or I can sell it and send my daughter to college, and what would she rather have, because she is not here any longer to talk her about it? Felix Salmon: Right. And then – I’m sympathetic, and you of course have every right to do that. And, I’m sympathetic to anyone who pushes back against the idea that we should totally run our lives according to the wishes of dead people. You know, dead people are dead, like, let’s run our lives according to the wishes of what we are doing right now, but a museum is a living thing, and a museum exists to look after artworks and to preserve artworks. And it’s not -- as I say, that they are never allowed to deaccession, they totally are. But, that is within the context of creating a collection, not in the context of an annual shortfall. If you are having annual shortfalls, that’s a bigger issue which is hard to solve on a sustainable basis through deaccessioning. One of the things we are seeing with the Berkshire Museum is that they are actually going one step further, and they are trying to fill a kind of annual shortfall in perpetuity by selling off so much art, like that they can put it into an endowment and then just extract money from the endowment to cover these hypothetical shortfalls that they’ll will have in decades time, and that seems a little bit weird to me. The other really important thing when you talk about the deacessioning is to just have one eye on future donations, the slogan is that collectors collect art, and museums collect collectors. And so, the question is always in the back of our head, how are we going to collect the collectors? Every collector in the world is looking at you and looking at how you look after the art that you have been entrusted by previous collectors. If collectors look at you and say, well, the way you look after the art that has been entrusted to you by artists like Norman Rockwell and other previous collectors is you just sell it off to make payroll, you are not going to get very many future collectors donating you anything at all. So, in terms of the long term future of the institution, you are kind of cutting yourself off at the knee caps if you start engaging in egregious deacessioning of this form. Katie Wilson-Milne: Are you saying that, that’s the underpinning for why there are ethical guidelines on deacessioning? Felix Salmon: That’s one of the underpinnings; it’s not the only one. There is also this idea that there is a job of museums which is to keep art and to look after art and that is a very central role that museums have. One of the things you see frequently in auction catalogues is there will be some editioned work, there will be like a Warhol say, and the auction catalogue will say, this is the last of this series in private hands, and they will say, the other five are all in museums, and this is your last chance to get one of the paintings in this series, because the other five are all in museums. And what’s the thinking behind that? What's was the logic behind that? The logic behind that is obviously if the other five are all in museums, they’re never going to come on the market. That’s just an understood part of the art market, the whole art market, the way that people think about what’s available and what isn’t would change, valuations would certainly fall. Steven Schindler: Reading your articles about Berkshire Museum, I’m struck by your objections to the process of what happened, the lack of transparency in the museum’s actions. This is a situation where the museum seemed pretty careful to try to hide what they were doing from public view. Felix Salmon: There is absolutely no conceivable reason why you would sign a contract with Sotheby's, which is like an irrevocable contract, and ship the art off to New York City before you announce that you are facing financial difficulties and that you have come to the conclusion that a certain amount of the deacessioning will be necessary. What we have seen time and time again with museums is that they come out and say, “eek!” we have this really nasty cash crunch, and we are going to have to do something pretty drastic, and one of the options on the table is deacessioning of some form or another. And, once the announcement has been made, a bunch of options often start presenting themselves and people start coming along and saying, hey, I didn’t realize you are having this really nasty cash crunch, and maybe I can help out. The Berkshire Museum never gave the community that option, if there was a local benefactor say who might have been able to acquire one of the Rockwells and donate it to the Norman Rockwell Museum down the street, that would have kept the Rockwell in the Berkshires, that would provided liquidity to the Berkshire Museum, and that might have helped bridge a certain amount of gaps. So, it seems clear that there was something else going on in this case. Katie Wilson-Milne: Well, and what do you think it was, because clearly the museum’s position is they were having trouble fundraising, they didn’t have this wealthy local owner. Felix Salmon: Well one of the reasons that they were having trouble fundraising was that they fired all their fundraisers, but yes. Katie Wilson-Milne: Pittsfield especially, but the Berkshire is not a wealthy area, there are wealthy people that go in the summer to go Tanglewood or Jacob’s Pillow or do other art related things, but it doesn’t have a wealthy year-round population anymore and one of the museum’s claims, I think, or what’s implicit in their papers is that the times have changed, the population of the Berkshires had changed. You know, people were not as interested in going to look at Norman Rockwell painting or Calder sculpture. Felix Salmon: Well, that would maybe be more compelling if they’d actually tired. And, it’s interesting, because those claims are very similar, the situation of Pittsfield in Berkshire is actually very similar to the situations of North Adams which is a couple of hours -- Steven Schindler: MASS MoCA. Felix Salmon: -- further north, and not only is North Adams is home to MASS MoCA, which is a hugely successful museum, and is expanding and is doing amazing stuff right now, but it has even now started opening up new spaces and Tom Kraines wants to open up a new museum there with Frank Garry and there is a whole bunch of like interesting cultural stuff going on in North Adams, and it’s becoming a cultural destination. Pittsfield can do that too, Pittsfield is bigger it has better communications and the museum is located in the city centre, in the part of the town which is dire need of rehabilitation and that was the other thing, North Adams one of the ways that MASS MoCA put itself on the map was by getting grants from the city and state to say -- and saying like if you look help us out here we will revitalize the entire town. Katie Wilson-Milne: And they did. Felix Salmon: And they really did, it worked. And that’s something which again the Berkshire Museum never really attempted. Steven Schindler: Could you tell, and I haven’t been able to tell us from the court papers, whether or not there were any studies done to actually demonstrate that attendance was down or the people weren’t interested in coming to see these works of art, was that just something that the museum just said to justify what it was doing? Felix Salmon: The museum claimed that they spent a couple of years talking to various local stakeholders. Most of the local stakeholders who are consulted and talking about this consultation process will tell you that basically the way these meetings worked, because they get got called in and they were asked, “Do you send your kid to the Berkshire Museum’s Ooey Gooey Camp?” And they say, “Yes, we do, we love it!” And they said, “Would you like more things like Ooey Gooey Camp?” And they said, “Yes! More things like Ooey Gooey Camp would be great!” And the museum never asked should we sell our Rockwells in order to create more Ooey Gooey Camps, but they took the answers to those questions as a public buy-in to the idea that they should, they never really presented the people they were talking to with any kind of tradeoffs. And, the first that the local community ever heard that there was any kind of fiscal crisis was the announcement that they already signed this deal with Sotheby's. Steven Schindler: So, how much is the opposition coming from the local community and how much is coming from what I would view as sort of out of town elitist art snobs, like ourselves? Felix Salmon: So, this is -- the museum loves the idea that like there is a bunch of snobby art types in Boston and New York, who don’t understand the realities of Pittsfield and are out of touch and honestly like have they even been to Pittsfield and who are they to say anything, and the local community is supportive of them and all you need to do is to read the letters page of the Berkshire Eagle to understand that is totally not true and that Save The Art Campaign and various other people are genuinely grassroots. It’s not to say that there is no support. I mean, what the museum has done is really cleaved the town in two, and friendships have been broken over this and people and – there are marriages where people are on either side of it, it’s really like the big debate in Pittsfield and in the surrounding area, but there is no -- I mean, that’s primary reason for them not to have done this in the first place. Like, a museum is meant to be the focal point, a place in the town which brings the town together, instead what they have done is they have torn the town apart. That in itself is good reason not to have gone down this road. Katie Wilson-Milne: Should say that the Berkshire Eagles is the amazing local paper that has had terrific journalism about this whole saga and has actually I think changed its mind, came out in the very beginning like the Boston Globe did in favor of this New Vision Plan, and then later, after doing some serious digging, recanted that and has been pretty against deacessioning plan. Felix Salmon: To the point at which the museum is now refusing to talk to the Berkshire Eagle. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, it seems obvious to us, especially the way you are presenting it, that this was a terrible decision, no museum that knows what’s doing, would ever have deacessioned in this manner at least, if that all, to pay for capital projects, but what was the board thinking? I mean, are these people who are so completely out of touch, who have no concept of their obligations as trustees? Felix Salmon: Well, one of the things that Van Shields did when he became director was he basically put an end to any kind of acquisitions policy. The people who were in charge of acquisitions got pushed out of the museum, and the art shows in the museum started becoming less and less of a priority. There are non-art shows in the museum, it’s also a museum of natural history and science and stuff like that. The board chair is a science teacher and the role played, there was this a group of friends of the museum who would pay a $1000 a year to meet with the museum to talk about their collections and that kind of stuffs. And that group just waned to nothing, because there were no meetings. When people went up to Van Shields and said I have this collection of X, Y, Z, do you -- would you be interested in acquiring it, should that it donate it to you? Van, he would just turn around and say, you know what, don’t bother we’ll just sell it, we’ll never exhibit it. And so -- Katie Wilson-Milne: He said that out loud? Felix Salmon: He said that out loud to collectors. Katie Wilson-Milne: Wow! Steven Schindler: Wow! Felix Salmon: And so, what happened was that every -- he systematically pushed out and alienated everyone in the community who had any love for art, which meant that by the time he presented his plans to the board, there were no real -- there was no one on the board who cared about the art holdings. Katie Wilson-Milne: Because they would have already left? Felix Salmon: Exactly. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, are there any examples you know of where deacessioning was done appropriately and that should be sort of the gold standard for museums who face this quandary? Felix Salmon: So, obviously, as I say, that the way that larger successful museums like MoMa or the Met do their deaccessioning is perfectly fine – Katie Wilson-Milne: And no one objects. Felix Salmon: -- and no one objects. If what you wanted to do is use art – use proceeds from the sale art for non-acquisition purposes, the example I gave in my New Yorker piece was the New-York History Society. Katie Wilson-Milne: Right. Felix Salmon: And, they did something which was highly controversial and the lot of people to this day think they shouldn’t have done it, but what they did was what I call responsible deaccessioning. They talked to the attorney general. They talked to all of the stakeholders. They created a system whereby even if someone won the work of art being auctioned, they still wouldn’t be guaranteed that they could take it home, because any other museum in first New York State, but then anywhere else in the country would have a sort of rights of first refusal to buy it at a discount to that price. They tried very hard to keep that art in the museum world broadly defined, but I will say that this is – that litigating this stuff in the courts as this is being done is a clear sign that something has gone very, very wrong, like it should never reach this point. And there were other things which are clear signs, like for instance if you are going to be a museum of science and art, two of the works being sold are very important Calder pieces, which were acquired by the museum. They were the first works that Calder ever sold to any museum. They were part not only of the museum’s attempt to show great art in the Berkshires, but they were also very scientifically important. They were motorized in a way that no art had ever been done before. And of course Calder and his dad Stirling Calder, who built a bunch of the upstairs room in Berkshire Museum where were very local, like, these works are so integral to not only the mission of the museum, but also to the history of the museum that you would never sell them. Like that would, it would be thinkable to sell them and the idea they just got sort of piled into this job lot without so much as a second thought, again is the indication that something just went hardly wrong here. If you are going to be an art museum of the Berkshires, then frankly Calder and Rockwell are the top two names that you want to have, because those are the two great Berkshires artists. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, will it be different if what was being deaccessioned wasn’t art. Is there something special about art that makes people so upset at this prospect they wouldn’t be true if it was a significance piece of furniture from a certain period or some kind of non-art object that had historical significance? Is there something about art? Felix Salmon: I think what happened is that the valuations that artists been able to achieve in the secondary market have skewed incentives that there is really no non-art object that a museum is likely to own, which you could send off to Sotheby's and which could fetch $30 or $40 million. Steven Schindler: There are the 40,000 other things that they had in their collection. Felix Salmon: And none of those were being -- Katie Wilson-Milne: Were worth nothing, right. Felix Salmon: Consigned, exactly, and Sotheby's had no interest in those. And it’s not just the Berkshire Museum, it’s pretty much all museums. You could go along to the Met and you could take all of the furniture in the Met and consign it at Sotheby's and add it altogether and it would be worth less than one of their paintings. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, they just never do it, because it wouldn’t raise the money? Felix Salmon: It doesn’t move the needle. Katie Wilson-Milne: So, in conclusion; museum sells art all the time, deaccessioning is a common form of collections management. But, it is accepted by the museum and fine art community only if the funds go to buy new art, not to the operations of the museum like salaries, renovations, et cetera. That puts a small regional museum, which is asset rich, but cash poor in a difficult position. And while there may be legal reasons why a museum can’t sell its own art, such as if the donor put a restriction on the sale of the work, the museum agents violate fiduciary obligations or the sale is illegal from some independent reason, they are typically far more ethical and moral concerns at play. Steven Schindler: And that’s it for today’s podcast. Katie Wilson-Milne: We will share information about the Berkshire Museum and other deaccessioning controversies on the podcast website, artlawpodcast.com, and in the show notes, as well as some more information on our guest Felix Salmon. Steven Schindler: And please subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and send us feedback at podcast@schlaw.com. We would love to hear from you. Katie Wilson-Milne: Until next time, I’m Katie Wilson-Milne. Steven Schindler: And I’m Steven Schindler bringing you the art law podcast, a podcast exploring the places where art intersects with and interferes with the law. Katie Wilson-Milne: And vice-versa. Produced by Jackie Santos