The 15th annual Fall for the Book, one of the largest literary festivals on the East Coast, is under way this year at George Mason University and in the city of Fairfax, Virginia. This year, the festival hosts almost 150 authors, which include big names such as David Baldacci, Sonia Sanchez, Cheryl Strayed, Dave Barry, Ralph Nader, Zainab Salbi, and Kojo Nnamdi.
Each year, some of Mason’s own faculty, staff, students and alumni take center stage at festival events. This year’s roster includes authors Keith Clark, Scott W. Berg, and Kyoko Mori.
Keith Clark, Department of English
Recent Work: The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry
Event Setting: Tuesday, Sept. 24, 1:30-2:45 p.m., Sandy Spring Bank Tent
Keith Clark’s Tuesday event will hold significant importance to him, both personally and professionally. As a scholar of African-American literature, he has devoted much of his research to the life and work of the trailblazing author Ann Petry. This week, Clark will share the stage with Elisabeth Petry, Ann’s daughter and a hardworking ambassador for her mother’s work.
This will be the first time Clark and Petry will meet in person, though the two have talked on the phone and through e-mail.
"From an academic and scholarly standpoint, Elisabeth Petry has a reservoir of information about her mother, in terms of personal history and research, such as notebooks, journals and letters,” Clark said. “On a personal level, it is very fulfilling and enriching for me personally to have contact with the family member of a writer whose work and life I greatly admire. Having that personal connection with Elisabeth gives me a great appreciation for Ann Petry, and also of the work that Elisabeth has done to keep her mother’s legacy alive. Frankly, I'm overjoyed at the prospect of meeting her.”
Clark will read from and discuss his work, The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry, a comprehensive analysis of the writer’s work, discussed in the context of the social climate of the mid-20th century, Petry’s literary characteristics, and more. Clark asserts that Petry pushed boundaries with her work, taking complicated stances while writing about black women, psychological complexity, emotional complexity, gender lines, and the portrayal of different sexual orientations.
During the same event, Elisabeth Petry will share passages from her book, At Home Inside: A Daughter’s Tribute to Ann Petry.
Scott W. Berg, Department of English
Recent Work: 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier’s End
Event Setting: Thursday, Sept. 26, 4:30-5:45 p.m., Sandy Spring Bank Tent
Scott W. Berg will read from his book, 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier’s End, a historical narrative covering a six-week period during the height of the Civil War, in which more than 300 Dakota Indians were found guilty of murder for their part in a conflict with settlers along the Minnesota frontier. In the story, Berg chooses to concentrate on the plights of several characters, including Little Crow, a leader of the Dakota warriors, and Sarah Wakefield, a prisoner of the Dakotas.
38 Nooses is a historical narrative, for which Berg conducted exhaustive research to piece together the stories of his characters. He based the story on newspaper accounts, diaries, personal correspondence, and a host of other primary sources. As a result, his readers get a more personal, emotional pull while reading about a time period that they might have felt they had already known.
“To boil down good narrative - it's about people, people in trouble, people with problems, people trying to do something and having to overcome all kinds of obstacles, and it's full of tragedy, comedy, hardship, success and failure,” Berg said. “Readers become invested in their dilemmas. This book has many characters in it, and each one of them has their own troubles. And as readers, you are trying to understand the human element of their troubles.”
Kyoko Mori, Department of English
Recent Work: Barn Cat
Event Setting: Friday, Sept. 27, 3-4:15 p.m., Johnson Center, Room A
Kyoko Mori’s latest work is a bit of a changeup from her usual novel format, but her material remains as strong and powerful as ever. The acclaimed writer, who has penned three memoirs and several novels, including Shizuko’s Daughter, will read from her latest work, Barn Cat, at Fall for the Book.
Barn Cat follows the story of a little girl who leaves Tokyo for a small town in Wisconsin, and picks up again after 33 years. The book is part of the “Gemma Open Door Series,” designed to be accessible to new adult readers. As a result, the story is easy to digest, but still packs in Mori’s signature themes, such as home, family, personal fulfillment, tragedy, and longing.
“In Barn Cat, I explore the theme of ‘home,’” Mori said. “Where is home and what does that mean, especially if you move around a lot and do not have a home you can take for granted. And I also write about family relationships. My character feels what it is like to be alienated from her own mother.”
Mori herself emigrated from Japan and lived in a small town in Wisconsin for 15 years.
“You always want to write about what you know, and extend it a little, ask ‘What if?’ and imagine a parallel story,” she said. “I don't know how to write a story that I'm not personally invested in.”
At Fall for the Book, Mori will share the stage with fellow writer Brian Bouldrey and Gemma Media publisher Patricia O’Hare.