Writerly Happenings: Growing Local Community of Writers and Readers - November 2018

writerly_nov2018.jpg

Hi There, Reading Anything Good These Days? 

It’s Phoebe here - kicking off this column with what everybody is reading here at A Little Beacon Blog before we dive into the second installment in this new column, Writerly Happenings.

I just returned Peter Carey’s new “A Long Way From Home” to the library without getting too far, though he’s usually a favorite. Now I’m starting “The Glitch” by Elizabeth Cohen, which passed me by when it was published in 2012, but I’ve heard good things. 

Katie is reading edible Hudson Valley’s Fall issue about the secret hotel created by an app developer of luxury cars (what?!). He wouldn’t even let them take full photos - all secret photos.

Marilyn, our Managing Editor, is actually blogging about her yoga teacher training experience at her blog, Ink and Coffee.

Catherine, our Editor of the Art Gallery Guide, is reading science. Science! Actually it’s Anatomy this week. She is back in school to be a nurse.

Speaking of good things, here’s the second installment of this new A Little Beacon Blog Guide to Writerly Happenings. Every couple of weeks I round up the best events happening in our growing local community of writers and readers and the people who love them.

WRITERLY HAPPENINGS IN BEACON & COLD SPRING

On Wednesday, November 7, Binnacle’s Book Club meets from 7 to 8 pm at Denning's Point Distillery to discuss “Lake Success,” by Gary Shteyngart. If you are going and want to buy the book at Binnacle, you get 10% off this title. I’m sorry to have missed the reading of “The Seas,” by Samantha Hunt, on Wednesday the 24th, but staying tuned for more events to come.

The littlest Halloweenies and literary types might love the storytime and costume contest at Split Rock Books in Cold Spring on Sunday the 28th with David Quinn, author of “Go To Sleep, Little Creep.” Grown-ups should check out local author and journalist Virginia Sole-Smith’s reading from her first book, “The Eating Instinct” - described as “a personal and deeply reported exploration of how we learn to eat in today's toxic food culture,” on Saturday, November 10, from 7 to 8 pm.

Get Lit Beacon has its monthly writer salon at Oak Vino on Sunday, November 11. Featured speaker will be notable author Leland Cheuk. Get Lit offers an option for any writer to read their own stuff, so you should also sign up to read some of your work. And - they made T-Shirts! So far you can only buy them at the event, so go. Last month featured a very engaging professional storyteller explain how to tell a story, as well as local journalists Brian Cronin of the Highlands Current, and Katie of A Little Beacon Blog.

On Tuesday, November 13, poets from Ruth Danon’s Live Writing workshops take over Quinn’s for a reading of their work. We’ll be back with an update once the Facebook event page is up. 

Beacon’s new Poet Laureate, who has not yet been announced, will be inducted on Tuesday, November 20, at the Beacon Library in the Community Room from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. 

OPEN MIC NIGHTS THAT LITERARY TYPES MIGHT LIKE

For monthly musical open mic nights, check out The Falcon Underground in Marlboro, the Wherehouse in Newburgh, the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon and Fiesta Friday in Poughkeepsie.

Calling All Poets is having an open mic night at the Towne Crier in Beacon on Thursday, October 15, and on Friday, November 2, at its First Friday reading series up in New Paltz at Roost (the open mic on Friday, December 7, will feature Beacon local Ruth Danon).

FARTHER AFIELD 

Rough Draft Bar & Books hosts a reading on Tuesday, October 30, with local author John Langan reading from his horror novel set near the Ashokan Reservoir. Sounds scary and also totally worth a trip to Kingston.

We are prepared to tailgate to hear Roxane Gay discuss her book “Bad Feminist” on Wednesday, November 7, at Vassar. And we might have to because it’s first-come, first-serve to get in. Get your elbows ready!

And we are super excited that former Beacon resident Jon Beacham is back in the Hudson Valley and has opened The Brother In Elysium Books. This Tivoli bookstore had its grand opening at the end of September, a poetry reading earlier this month and in addition to focusing on poetry, literature, art, design, photography and film, also carries used and out-of-print books, actively buys books and “is also home to The Brother In Elysium publishing imprint and letterpress studio.”

We’ll see you back here in a couple weeks with more upcoming events. Tell us where to go and what to read in the meantime, if you like. phoebe@alittlebeaconblog.com

Updates Made to Events Guide - Trustee Election and Budget Vote at the Howland Public Library

albb events guide.jpeg

Many events are coming up in April, starting today with the Trustee Election and Budget Vote at the Howland Public Library, and the Citizens Preparedness Training tonight (includes prep for floods and long power outages). The next few weekends in April are jam-packed! So look ahead using A Little Beacon Blog's Event Guide!

But what about all of those events and meetings that happen on a regular basis, the same whatever day of the month? The Third Thursday? Or the Last Monday, or is it the First Monday? Who knows!? A Little Beacon Blog knows, because we started a Guide for that. It's called the Repeating Event Guide, or the Every X Day Guide. We can't decide. Got an idea for a name? Let us know in the Comments below!

Sponsor the Event Guide and reach our readers! It is one of our most popular and appreciated by the Community. Past sponsors of Guides have included the Beacon Flea Market. Thank you for your support! Find details here on our Media Kit page.

Update Made to Shopping Guide: 2 New Stores, 1 Less Store, 1 Moved Store

Moving and shaking as always on Main Street in Beacon. We have made updates to A Little Beacon Blog's Shopping Guide, and they go like this:

OPEN:
Sanctuary
192 Main St.
(845) 440-6973
Opened by Laura Gould, a former Beaconite who moved to Nyack for a while, and is back in Beacon. Laura is also a former board member of BeaconArts. Sanctuary is "a Conscious Living Shop," according to Laura. In the space on the corner that was the longtime home of Beacon Barkery, Laura focuses on hand-made, fair-trade and ethically made goods. Inside, you'll find art, home furnishings, clothing, jewelry, books, wellness and self-care items, ritual and sacred objects, and a beautiful selection of curated gifts. Expect to see in-person gatherings in the shop in the evenings to learn how to use essential oils and other wellness techniques.

Howling at the Edge of Chaos
428 Main St
Located in the sliver of a storefront next to the Beacon Hotel, Howling at the Edge of Chaos is a charmingly fierce shop. Here's how the owner, Valerie Mitchell, describes the store:
"Life is art. Art is life. Art isn’t just what you put on your walls. It’s what you hold in your hands in the morning sipping coffee, it’s the leather bag you carry on your shoulder everyday, the pin you wear on your jacket expressing your thoughts, the necklace you put on as you walk out the door to meet your girlfriends. You should be surrounded by unique, beautiful wares, pieces that make you smile, laugh, feel strong, empowered, or make you dream. Howling at the Edge of Chaos carries unique finds for those that want to HOWL their TRUTH. Items might include but are not limited to: Jewelry, Pottery, Handbags, Textiles, Paintings, Photographs, Cards, Pins, Patches. Stop by if you’re curious."

MOVED
Colorant has moved across the street! Head next door to Mountain Tops to check out their new digs, and for natural-fiber dyeing workshops with NY Textile Lab. From 3 to 7 on Second Saturday, bring your own cotton, wool or silk pieces for indigo-dyeing workshops (sign up here). Once you're finished repurposing, celebrate your new skills with cocktails featuring Beacon's own Drink More Good products.

CLOSED
A Classic Couture Fashion Boutique has left the west end Beacon location. This space is now For Rent. But fear not, you will probably be able to access owner Leah's collection in other ways if you were already in touch with her.

Visit A Little Beacon Blog's complete Shopping Guide for all of the stores on Main Street in Beacon.
https://www.alittlebeaconblog.com/blog/?category=Guide+Updates
www.alittlebeaconblog.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2019-26
263255
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:UOV2MOM2BHY4Z7MLRL3PEN52AICB2T3M
<urn:uuid:af95af1e-3b2b-4c14-9f7c-cdaac1014f86>
2019-06-20T04:54:01Z
198.185.159.145
text/html
sha1:VJUE7YUSPHPFOELCCIZE7QQX6FGYWSSR
<urn:uuid:b8b951c8-015f-4017-9e81-b0ddbcd3c201>
https://www.alittlebeaconblog.com/blog/?category=Guide+Updates
response
<urn:uuid:616c7f68-9b74-4735-8549-cc7359de0abc>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-26
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for June 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-81-161-154.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.1-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/