In 1894 the first book in the handwritten shelf list is Walt Whitman, poems like Leaves of Grass. In 1874, you might have been more likely to find Edmund Morris’ Ten Acres Enough.’ … When the Williamstown public library first opened to the town, it began with a collection of 100 agricultural books in a corner of H. Cole’s General Store.
Read articleDaf Moby project immerses in Melville — one page a day
Last fall, on Rosh Hashanah, Williams College professors Jeffrey Israel and Edan Dekel began reading Moby-Dick together … and they have found the experience transformative.
Read articleA certain slant of light — winter afternoons — #berkshireweekends
Sunset over the water on a clear winter day turns the sky a deep blue and a touch of rose. And it turns out so does a rainbow of color on an ice fall at the hairpin bend.
Read articleWCMA maps the Unfinished Project of Liberation
From many perspectives, internationally acclaimed artists are looking closely at the roots of the nation’s ideas of freedom, and how they play out in the 21st century.
Read articleEluding Capture: Rising light at Mass MoCA — #berkshireweekend
On a sunlit afternoon, I walked into the labyrinth of Eluding Capture, the newest exhibit at Mass MoCA, where Gulnur Mukazhanova, a Berlin-based artist, is telling stories in traditions of cloth from her native Kazakhstan …
Read articleA zing of life and laughter on our stages — #berkshireweekend
Berkshire stages are stirring with life, as WAM welcomes a new artistic director and Williamstown Theatre announces two new leadership roles ... and asks searching questions.
Read articleFinding places where we belong — #berkshireweekend
We have ways of moving in and out of each other’s spaces, a friend tells me. We’re driving back roads through the hilltowns in the dusk, and we’re talking about how people in this country live together.
Read articleEnergy stirring in the heartwood of trees — #berkshireweekend
We’re coming up on the full moon at the heart of winter, and on Sunday I sat in a room full of windows, looking out at a vast willow and listening to songs about trees budding.
Read articleArt in the Berkshires — Winter 2024
When Raven Chacon composes, he seems to draw the voices of a forest. We haven’t yet had the chance to hear his music in the Berkshires — but we can see him, and artists with him and around him, re-imagining the world.
Read articleLooking for clear vision in the snow — #berkshireweekend
The Hoosic river path is quiet in the snow. Flakes are still falling, and the horizon is hazy enough to hide the mountains. The sky and the land blend together, and the water is running a dark jade green.
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