2nd Telluride Literary Arts Festival, Overview

10 May 2nd Telluride Literary Arts Festival, Overview

“This is an opportunity to get together and party around the joy of reading. It is a celebration of that good ole fashioned past-time,” said Between the Covers Bookstore co-owner Daiva Chesonis, one of the original conspirators behind Telluride’s newest shoulder-season happening: Telluride Literary Arts Festival (LitFest), Thursday, May 14-17.

A long- time follower of other book festivals, Chesonis decided it was time for Telluride to put on its own event for readers, writers and poets. The result? One power-packed weekend featuring everything from performance poetry, author talks, and a book-lovers bash to literary burlesque and a fun, hands-on program for kiddos.

This year’s LitFest also offers a special nod to poetry, with Colorado’s Poet Laureate, Joe Hutchison, in attendance, as well as Aaron Abeyta, outgoing Western Slope Poet Laureate, who will announce the region’s new laureate. The Telluride Arts District’s Mark Fischer Poetry Prize—with a $1,000 award for the poem chosen from over 200 submitted—will also be announced.

Joe Hutchinson

Telluride’s LitFest is an ambitious endeavor cobbled together by a coalition of regional writers and literature-loving organizations and businesses, supporting (and sustaining) all of the literary arts: Ah Haa School for the Arts, Between the Covers Bookstore, Talking Gourds (sponsored by Telluride Institute), Telluride Arts, and the Wilkinson Public Library.

Falling the weekend before Telluride Mountainfilm, the collective goal for LitFest is to evolve into a premier literary event in the intra-mountain West, one celebrating not only the craft and the West’s ongoing literary history, but also the simple and uninterrupted nexus between writer and reader.

What is the price of entry to attend all the literary fun and games? Much of LitFest is free, including Saturday night’s Book Lovers Bash & Dance Party. The only ticketed events are Literary Burlesque ($10 at the door or stop by Between the Covers) and the Raising the Dead Hike-To Readings ($15). In addition, a Poetry Pass is available for all Talking Gourds programming, which runs Friday-Sunday ($60).

American Academy of Bookbinding, Spring 2015

LitFest kicks off Thursday, May 14, with a tour of one of Telluride’s best kept secrets. Check out the intricate art of making books at the American Academy of Bookbinding at the Old Stone Building, 117 N. Willow, a longstanding program of the Ah Haa School. This spring’s AAB students are studying Advanced Fine Leather Binding with Monique Lallier, including decorative techniques and alternative box structures. Get a peak at the students’ progress during a tour of the studio on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.

That same evening, 7:30 p.m., an Opening Reception at Between the Covers Bookstore, which will feature award-winning authors Mark Sundeen and Amy Irvine McHarg. Following the official “opening of the book” on the festival, participants will dive into what Sundeen has been working on since “The Man Who Quit Money,” “a perennial bestseller at the bookstore after his memorable author event here in 2012,” commented Chesonis.

Mark Sundeen

Continuing his look into the conflict between economy/technology and nature/spirit up next for Sundeen is a non-fiction book about families leading lives of radical simplicity and dissent. After a brief sneak peek reading and Q&A, Sundeen will be joined by Amy Irvine McHarg, Colorado Book Award-winner for “Trespass,” a brief discussion titled “The State of the Union: Readers & Writers,” moderated by Chesonis. And then, “the disco lights come up and we’ll see what happens,” she adds. Admission is free.

Amy Irvine McHarg

During the day on Friday, May 15, 1 p.m., a panel discussion at the Ah Haa School – “From the Formal to the Free” – will feature poets David Rothman and Judyth Hill, moderated by James B Nicola.

Shortly after, 3:30 – 5 p.m., Nicola will teach a poetry workshop, “Sounding the Silence.”

(If Nicola’s name sounds familiar, that is because he directed a number of Shakespeare in the Park productions for the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company, which merged into Telluride Theatre.)

Friday evening gives center stage to the 2nd annual Telluride Literary Burlesque performance at Ah Haa at 7 p.m.

Erika Gordon

“Close to the Bone” highlights risks and revelations as some of the region’s best women poets and writers whittle away their layers with words. Join Kierstin Bridger, Erika Gordon, Amy Irvine McHarg, Rachel Kellum, Ellen Marie Metrick, Corinne Platt, and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for a bare bones evening where layers of language are shed – right down to the essentials. Colin Sullivan of Telluride Theatre will act as emcee this year, following Craig Childs who guided last year’s standing-room-only event. Admission is $10 at the door, or advanced tickets are available at Between the Covers Bookstore.

Following the performance, festival guests are invited to ride out that Burlesque buzz with some late-night spoken word during a Talking Gourds Open Mic Kickoff Party, starting around 9:30 p.m. Bring a poem or two to share, three minutes max. Need not be a poet to partake. Free to Burlesque attendees and poetry pass holders; $5 for others.

Saturday’s programming begins with the free film premiere of “Acceptance,” a short cinepoem by filmmaker Suzan Beraza and poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, from 10 – 10:15 a.m. at the Wilkinson Public Library. What happens when you meet your limit? The creative pair finds “the perfect storm” – complete with shovel – and then let their muses take over. Following the film, there will be a brief discussion about cinepoetry and collaboration across artistic genres.

Rosemerry, Kaycee Clark

McHarg and Sundeen return Saturday morning to host Raising the Dead: A Walking Celebration of Landscape and Literature, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Participants will wander to and through Telluride’s Lone Tree Cemetery for readings of authors that have inspired their own writing careers.

“This festival is about reveling in the sheer pleasure that books bring to our lives, and so we want to offer an opportunity to just wallow in words, particularly the gorgeous, powerful narratives that have shaped who we are as writers of the West, of the natural world,” says McHarg. “In that spirit, we’ll summon (perhaps channel!) the great literati of nature writing. Think Thoreau, Charles Bowden, Ellen Meloy, D.H. Lawrence, Jerry Mander, Ed Abbey, Gary Snyder.”

Participants are invited to enjoy lunch and margaritas with the authors at La Cocina de Luz afterwards. Meet in the café at Between the Covers Bookstore at 9:45 a.m. for a prompt 10 a.m. start. The cost is $15 (La Cocina post-gathering not included).

On the poetry front, two-hour workshops abound on Saturday. From “Walking Dolores La Chapelle” up Bear Creek with Art Goodtimes and Judyth Hill to Valerie Szarek’s Open Mic with Flute at the library. Plus David Rothman’s “The Many Faces of Ezra Pound” and Debbi Brody’s “Erasure Poem with Collage at the Ah Haa School, and then “Walking in Two Worlds” with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer at the library. Workshops are $10 or, for classes at the library, by donation.

Rothman in Flowers, West Maroon

New this year is a LitFest Kids Day at the library from 12-4 p.m.

The event includes a Bookmaking Party plus a visit at 1 p.m. from author Sylvan Bald and illustrator Ting Taylor, two local teens that collaborated on their forthcoming book “The Ice-Blue Bones of Telluride: A Dinosaur Discovery.” They’ll discuss what it takes to make a book a reality, concept to design, and then kids can try it all out on little blank hardcovers furnished by the library for a hands-on mini-publishing experience.

Sylan & Ting

Bring a story in your head, leave with it in your hands,” says Chesonis.

While the kids are busy, Saturday afternoon is dedicated to Poetry Award Ceremonies at Arroyo Wine Bar, 2–4 p.m. First, another world premier: “Two Passionate Sonnets” will be performed by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Robert MaCauley, Kyra Kopestonsky, Colleen Mahoney, and Kit Rohrbach. Then, the much-anticipated Mark Fischer Poetry Prize, with a $1,000 cash prize, will be awarded by Elaine Fischer to one of over 80 poets living west of the Mississippi who entered poems.

Once upon a long time ago, Mark Fischer & Elaine

This year, the winning selection was chosen by North Beach legend Jack Mueller. The prize is named in memory of Mark Fischer, Telluride’s much-loved poet, lawyer, skier and raconteur. The event will include a reading of the winning piece by the winning poet. The second prize to be announced is the Karen Chamberlain Award, judged by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Art Goodtimes. Chamberlain, who passed away in 2010, was a poet, writer, naturalist, an ambassador for the arts, and a dear friend to many Western Slope wordsmiths. The cost is $10, or free for Poetry Passholders.

After a dinner break, LitFest jumps right back into poetics with an evening of Poetry Performances, emceed by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Art Goodtimes, from 7 – 9:30 p.m. at the Ah Haa School. The announcement of the Western Slope Poet Laureate by outgoing Laureate Aaron Abeyta will be followed by performances by Joe Hutchison (CO Poet Laureate), Valerie Szarek, Jack Mueller, Judyth Hill, and Wendy Videlock with David Rothman (both CO Poet Laureate finalists).

Wendy Videlock reading at Telluride Library. 2012

Then, LitFest’s big Saturday event, the Book Lovers Bash & Dance Party with DJ radio addiction, kicks into gear around 10 p.m. at the Ah Haa School. Music and a gaggle of new and old friends will take attendees into the night as they dance their hearts out in celebration of words and stories. “This could get primal, bring your inner beat beast,” recommends Chesonis, promising free books, a participatory novel wall, and door prizes.

LitFest wraps up Sunday with the Talking Gourds Closing Circle at the Ah Haa School at 10 a.m., giving participants the opportunity to pass the gourd around one more time and say goodbye until LitFest 2016. Until then, get caught reading.

Complete LitFest schedule, plus presenter bios, Poetry Pass info, and lodging deals, here.