Reading, writing, listening — and just plain gabbing — were the hallmarks of the third annual Easthampton BookFest, held last Saturday in ten venues across the city. Easthampton City Arts notes that it puts on the one-day event to “highlight the rich literary culture in the Pioneer Valley.”
The day started off with a bug-themed Children’s Book Fair at the high school that featured a story walk and readings by authors and illustrators Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi. Afterward, the couple offered up the simple sketches from their presentation as keepsakes to an appreciative young audience.
Not to be left out, the grownups had their own readings to savor at White Square Books, with Easthampton author Ellen Meeropol and others. A bit further down Cottage Street, a small but industrious group gathered at Big Wheel Press to write poems and then, in 19th-century style, hand-set them in hot metal type to create a collaborative booklet.
The Old Town Hall hosted all-day art shows in its two galleries plus a bustling ZineFest at Flywheel Arts Collective. And in one of the more quirky hands-on events, typewriter enthusiast Alexandra Woolner brought eight of her machines to the Emily Williston Memorial Library so that patrons could write and reminisce in “postcards” to Easthampton. She topped off the event with a typewriter repair demo, enlightening those keen on perpetuating the 20th-century technology.