<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For immediate release: Second Week of Berkshire Festival of
Women Writers</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Contact: For complete information about Festival events: </span><a href="http://www.berkshirewomenwriters.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue">www.berkshirewomenwriters.org</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For further press information: Judy
Nardacci, </span><a href="tel:413-243-2382" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue">413-243-2382</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">;
<a href="mailto:MssEnn29@gmail.com" target="_blank">MssEnn29@gmail.com</a>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The second
week’s events include:</span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Friday, March 8</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <br>
</span></p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
<i>Do You Want to Be a Published Author?</i><span></span></span>
<br><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Interactive
discussion hosted by Carole Owens, with Julia Lord, Roberta Silman, Edith
Velmans</span><br>
<br><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Why do
you want to write, and for whom? Finding answers to these and other questions
will help shape and motivate your craft. Discussion will follow with audience
members about their aspirations, motivations, and questions</span><br>
<br><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stockbridge
Library, 4-6 p.m.</span><br>
<p><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before I Forget…A Workshop in Memoir
Making (or, How to Tell a Story that Never Stays the Same)</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Led by
Sally-Jane Heit, with special guest Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez; Uel Wade on
piano</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Playwright,
actor and singer Sally-Jane Heit shares excerpts from <i>Before I Forget…A
Memoir with Music</i> and discusses how she came to create this one-woman show.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Blodgett
House, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Gt. Barrington, 7 p.m.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></i></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Saturday, March 9</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <i><br>
Return to “Little Women” <br>
</i>Multimedia lecture presented by Iris Bass</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Part autobiography and part idealized
family life and marriage, the novel reflects author Louisa May Alcott’s belief that
women of her day had a right to pursue careers. Excerpts from Mark Adamo’s 1998
opera based on the book also explore the themes of this seminal work.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mason Library, Gt. Barrington, 10
a.m.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">W<i>omen, Creativity and Aging</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hosted by
Sondra Zeidenstein</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An
interactive discussion to help participants focus on the ways aging is helping
or hindering their creative process: the content of their work, productivity,
publication, mood, and sense of community.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mason
Library, Gt. Barrington, 1-3 p.m. <i><br>
</i></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
<i><br></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><i>Your Genie Awaits- How to Access Your Wisdom Through Writing<br>
</i>Hosted by Millie Calesky</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Journaling is an effective way to
tap into your deepest wisdom. This workshop will give you three proven
strategies to begin or strengthen your journaling practice, and help you find
answers to your life challenges.<br>
Lichtenstein Center, 28 Renne Avenue, Pittsfield, 1-4 p.m.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
<i>Alison Larkin LIVE!</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Internationally
acclaimed comedienne Alison Larkin performs a sneak preview of her new
one-woman show as a fund-raiser for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. She
will entertain and chat about her autobiographical novel <i>The English American</i>, under development as a film. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Unicorn
Theater, Stockbridge, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20; call the Colonial Theater box
office at <a href="tel:413-997-4444" value="+14139974444" target="_blank">413-997-4444</a><br></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sunday, March 10</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The
Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series presents: The 12<sup>th</sup> Annual
International Women’s Day Observance at Bard College at Simon’s Rock: “Sweet
Dreams of Women’s Rights</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A screening of the new documentary
film <i>Sweet Dreams, </i>by Rob Fruchtman
and Lisa Fruchtman, about women who survived the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and
found reconciliation and hope through the efforts of women’s arts organizer
Kiki Katese. A surprising connection <span> </span>made with Jennifer Dundas, an owner of a
Brooklyn ice cream shop, further helps the women develop unique paths toward
peace and possibility.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">McConnell Theater, Daniel Arts
Center, Bard College of Simon’s Rock, Gt. Barrington, 2-5 p.m.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
<b>Monday, March 11<br>
</b><i>A Celebration of Young Women Writers</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hosted by
Lisken Van Pelt Dus</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A
mixed-genre reading of work by young women writers from Monument Mountain
Regional High School. Each will read a short selection of poetry, fiction or
creative nonfiction. The English faculty will select readers and moderate the
event.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Guthrie
Center, 4 Van Deusenville Road, Gt. Barrington, 7-8:30 p.m.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
<b>Tuesday, March 12<br>
</b><i>Stories from the Inside Out</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Workshop
led by Annabelle F. Coote<i><br>
</i></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">All women have stories. In this
interactive workshop we will use movement and other creative arts to connect
with our bodies’ wisdom and explore our stories. No prior writing, arts,
or<span> </span>movement experience necessary.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dance Studio, Daniel Arts Center,
Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Gt. Barrington, 7 p.m.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Wednesday, March 13</span></b></p>
<p><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">WRites of Passage and First
Motherhood: Sex and Giving Birth<br>
</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Workshop led by Angela Vuaginaux and
Elizabeth Young</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Participants will be invited to
explore some of the most pivotal moments in their lives, using writing prompts,
discussion, freewriting and optional sharing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sruti Yoga Center, 33 Railroad
Street, Gt. Barrington, 7-9 p.m.</span></p><br><p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thursday, March 14<br>
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kripalu Presents: <i>Writing the Wild Heart<span><br>
</span></i>A workshop led by Jennifer Young</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In this workshop we explore a
variety of landscapes: deserts, forests, oceans, rivers, mountains. Through
writing prompts and discussion, we discover what they bring up for us, and how
they can empower, inspire and support our lives.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health,
Lenox, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required. To register call </span><a href="tel:800-741-7353" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue">800-741-7353</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speak Out and Speak Up! </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A
Spoken Word Poetry Workshop for Young Women</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hosted by Kirsten Peterson and
Alexis Marie Wint</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This workshop will give young women
of the Berkshires a chance to learn about writing and performing poetry.
Designed for the teenage crowd, it will be followed by a reading. No previous
experience required.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Railroad Street Youth Project, 60
Bridge Street, Gt. Barrington, 7 p.m.<br>
<br>
For complete information about the entire month of events throughout Berkshire
County: </span><a href="http://www.berkshirewomenwriters.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue">www.berkshirewomenwriters.org</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
Major funding for the Festival is provided by the John A. Sellon Charitable
Trust, the Massachusetts Council on the Humanities, Bard College at Simon's
Rock, and local Cultural Councils of the Massachusetts Council on the
Arts, along with many organizations, individuals and businesses.</span></p>