A new lineup of writers in conversation

By Marie-Christine Perry

This summer saw Haystack Book Talks bring three stand-alone talks to the Norfolk Library: Byron Kim and Lisa Sigal, the new directors of the Yale Summer School of Art, talked with Nell Painter, the distinguished American historian and author of “Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over”; Melvin Chen, director of the Yale Summer School of Music, spoke with Alan Walker about his “Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times”; and Michael Kelleher, founding director of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prizesat Yale, joined the Iraqi American poet Dunya Mikhail to explore her newly released collection, “In Her Feminine Sign.”

Against the backdrop of local autumn foliage and cooler temperatures, October will bring back to Norfolk the second edition of the weekend-long Haystack Book Talks Festival. This year’s festival, which runs from Oct. 4 to 6, will offer conversations between writers and thinkers on topics as varied as race and class, women’s biographies, the fictionalization of true characters, wars and humanitarian catastrophes, the history of race in America and the secret life of beavers.

This year’s series will start on Friday evening with the Brendan Gill Lecture, given by Mitchell S. Jackson, award-winning author of “Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family.” An essential addition to the national conversation about race and class, “Survival Math” takes its name from the calculations Jackson had to make to survive the Portland, Ore., of his youth. After the lecture, there will be a free cocktail reception at the Manor House Inn.

Saturday will offer three sessions.During the first, Martha Saxton, author “The Widow Washington: The Life of Mary Washington,” will be speaking withpoet, biographer and the New Yorker staff writer Judith Thurman about biographical writing on female historical subjects. They will be followed by local author Courtney Maum (“Costalegre”) and Teddy Wayne (“The Love Song of Jonny Valentine”), who will talk about the fictionalization of real people in their recent novels. The day closes with a session on reporting from the front lines. Award-wining journalists Janine di Giovanni (“The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria”)and Norfolk resident Anne Garrels (“Naked in Baghdad”)will discuss how to tell the hardest stories, what it’s like working in a field dominated by men and how to surviving the aftereffects of the job.

Sunday’s talks start with a conversation between two American historians, David Blight, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” and Steve Luxenberg, author of the highly praised “Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation.” An exploration of the history of race in America, from slavery to abolition to segregation, could not be more timely. The weekend closes with the Great Mountain Forest session, which this year will featureBen Goldfarb (“Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter”), and Dan Flores (“Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History”) talking about humanity’s misguided attempts to control wildlife. After their conversation, Goldfarband Flores will lead an outdoor walk and talk in GMF to observe beaver activity. 

For more information on the weekend, or to reserve a free seat at any of the talks, please go to the Norfolk Foundation’s Haystack Book Talks page, https://www.norfolkfoundation.net/book-talks. To find out about becoming a supporter of the festival, or to purchase a ticket to the Haystack talks dinner at the Norfolk Country Club on Saturday evening, contact Dawn Whalen at 860-542-7185 x251, or email her at dawnwhalen@norfolkfoundation.net.