I'm grateful to the MCC and the Stockbridge Cultural Council for the seed money to grow this program that will build bridges between the Stockbridge community here in Massachusetts and the Stockbridge Mohican community in Wisconsin.I will work with contacts at the Mohican reservation and at the Mission House and Indian Museum to organize an interactive music program that incorporates stories, songwriting and history.
Thank you to Tammis Coffin and the Mission House as well as some of the rich resources in Stockbridge, MA for local history.
Here's info on International Women's Day at Bard College at Siomn's Rock on March 5th. I'm honored to be singing some of my original songs at this event.
International Women’s Day Conference: Women Write the World
on Mar 5 2011, 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (84 Alford Rd. Great Barrington)
This year’s 10th Annual International Women’s Day Conference will celebrate the power of women’s words, both locally and globally. Established and emerging women authors will be invited to share their insights on how they have used writing as a tool for “righting” the world—in other words, how writing is used by women as a creative outlet and a vehicle for social justice. See full program at Women Write the World.
The event is co-sponsored by Bard College at Simon's Rock and Berkshire Women for Women Worldwide. The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires is a long-time collaborator in supporting International Women's Day.
Keynote speaker will be acclaimed ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, whose trailblazing book, Living Downstream, makes a lyrical, personal and scientific case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food, and our bodies.
( http://steingraber.com/ ) Readings and discussion by women include Native American poet Deborah Miranda, Chicana novelist Demetria Martinez, and journalist Christina Asquith, on Iraqi and American women in the Iraq War. There will also be a panel of women writers from Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, and Ghana and a special dance choreographed by Anni Crofut on the stories of Berkshire women. Singer/songwriter JoAnne Spies will share her original music.
Registration: $25 paid in advance; $30 at the door; $10 with student ID; Scholarships available.
The International Women's Day conference will be held in the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA. Contact: iwd@simons-rock.edu
Parallel events will be held throughout Berkshire County for the entire month. Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires will host poet Jan Hutchinson reading and discussing "Poetry as Soul Rescue' at their March 17th program.
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| Int'l Women's Day "Call Down Mumbet" song | / | photo by Peggy Reeves |
