FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Third Annual “Out of the Mouths of Babes” at Berkshire Festival of Women Writers on March 1, 2014
February 24, 2014
Great Barrington, MA –
Whether you’ve been tending a fevered child all night, struggling with a creative drought, or exploring your relationship with the woman who raised you, you’ll find food for thought at the third annual "Out of the Mouths of Babes," at the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers on March 1st. Author, editor, and blogger Suzi Banks Baum has organized a multimedia evening of "mothers reading to others" with live words and music, video, artwork, and, most importantly, connection. "A whole community has grown up with the event," says Banks Baum. “The relationships birthed by mothers drive rankling, thorny depths into all of us. The stories resonate with everyone.”
Half a dozen writers will read from their work, including Banks Baum:
Nicole Dupont writes about "the snarkier side of rural, single parenting" and has been published in Newsday, Berkshire Magazine, and the Huffington Post
Michelle Gillett is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cookbook author as well as op ed columnist for The Berkshire Eagle
Jenny Laird blogs about caring for a child who has autism and epilepsy, and is currently collaborating on a series of musicals based on The Magic Tree House books
Janet Reich Elsbach blogs about living on a farm and feeding a family of five at A Raisin & A Porpoise
Leigh Strimbeck is Artist in Residence at Russell Sage College, a professor in the theater and WORLD programs; she co-founded the WAM Theatre, and has performed, toured, taught and directed around the world
This year, several new voices will be included in a video presentation from Banks Baum's Powder Keg Sessions students. These readings were filmed by Lynnette Najimy, and feature women from the Sessions who have spent the past several months learning to engage with, and actively tell, their stories. "Creatively engaged women birth creatively engaged families," says Banks Baum. "The positive change they offer doesn't end with their children. Hearing their stories connects people to women around the world, contributing to a growing vortex of power and even igniting policy change in Washington DC."
The Circle of Fifths, a female band founded with the Music in Common program at Monument Mountain Regional High School, will open the event. There will also be an art exhibit featuring Berkshire County artists. Bedtime snacks and socializing will close the evening.
"Out of the Mouths of Babes" will be at Dewey Memorial Hall, Sheffield, MA on Saturday, March 1st. It will start at 7pm and a $10 donation is requested at the door. Pajamas are perfect attire. To learn more, contact Suzi at (413) 429-1799 or [email protected] .
About Suzi Banks Baum
Suzi Banks Baum creates community wherever she goes. She’s the editor and publisher of An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice; instigator of Rampant Sisterhood, which promotes engaging authentic presence online; creator of “Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others” for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers; and collaborator with FeMail, a snail-mail art exchange that’s in its seventh year. Being a full-time mother to two children stirred her passions to connect with herself creatively, leading to all the above activities as well as a blog at www.laundrylinedivine.com. Her next book, Laundry Line Divine: A Wild Soul Book for Mothers will be published in 2014.
About the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers
The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers (BFWW) was created in honor of Women’s History Month. Throughout the month of March, BFWW hosts events at local libraries, bookstores, theaters and schools throughout Berkshire County, all of which are open to the public. Major funding for the 2014 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers is made possible by the John A. Sellon Charitable Trust, the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, the Local Cultural Councils of many Berkshire towns, and generous support from many organizations, businesses and individuals. For more information, visit http://berkshirewomenwriters.org/ .
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