{"id":8914,"date":"2018-10-09T11:20:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T15:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=8914"},"modified":"2018-10-09T11:21:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T15:21:16","slug":"boston-book-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2018\/10\/09\/boston-book-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Book Festival: What To See At This Weekend\u2019s Word Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s our guide to what to see at this weekend\u2019s Boston Book Festival<\/a>. The annual event offers more than 125 talks and presentations at three locations\u2014the main festival in Boston\u2019s Copley Square plus satellites in Roxbury and East Boston. Nearly all the events are free and unticketed.<\/p>\n

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Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Friday, Oct. 12<\/h3>\n

7:30 P.M. Michael Pollan<\/strong><\/a> kicks off the festival with a talk about his latest book, \u201cHow to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.\u201d It\u2019s his account of a personal journey down the rabbit hole of the history of psychedelics and his own experiments with the mind-bending LSD, psilocybin, and Sonoran Desert toad venom. Tickets required<\/strong>. At Old South Sanctuary, 645 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Oct. 13<\/h3>\n

11 a.m. At the Roxbury satellite festival, Tayari Jones<\/strong><\/a> talks about her novel \u201cAn American Marriage,\u201d about a young black couple whose marriage is ripped apart when the husband is wrongfully accused of sexual assault and subsequently imprisoned. The book has been a New York Times bestseller, an Oprah\u2019s Book Club selection, and longlisted for the National Book Award in fiction. At Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington St., Roxbury. Jones will also give the \u201cFiction Keynote\u201d talk at the Copley Square festival at 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

11 a.m. Somerville author and artist Jef Czekaj<\/strong><\/a> reads and raps his way through his latest picture book, \u201cHip & Hop in the House!,\u201d about a rapping turtle and rabbit. At Berklee Stage, Copley Square, 560 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

11:15 a.m. Vermont graphic novelist Jason Lutes<\/strong><\/a> talks about the landmark publication of his collected \u201cBerlin,\u201d a monumental fictional account of Berlin in the tumultuous 1920s and \u201830s. At Boston Architectural College Cascieri Hall 320 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

12:15 p.m. \u201cFiction: Love and Trauma.\u201d<\/a> A discussion with Andre Dubus III<\/strong>, whose \u201cGone So Long\u201d tells the story of a woman meeting the man who killed her mother, her father; Jenna Blum<\/strong>, whose \u201cThe Lost Family\u201d tells of a guilt-wracked Auschwitz survivor trying to start over in the United States; and Aminatta Forna<\/strong>, whose \u201cHappiness\u201d tells of the adventures of a Ghanaian trauma specialist and an American wildlife biologist. At Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

12:15 p.m. \u201cMister Rogers.\u201d<\/a> Maxwell King<\/strong>, author of a new biography of Fred Rogers, \u201cThe Good Neighbor,\u201d talks about the kind, complicated man behind the hugely influential children\u2019s television show \u201cMr. Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood.\u201d At Boston Public Library McKim Exhibition Hall, Dartmouth Street, Copley Square.<\/p>\n

1 p.m. At the East Boston satellite festival, movie and television actress Sheetal Sheth<\/strong><\/a> reads to children from her first book,\u201d Always Anjali,\u201d a picture book about a girl who is exceptional at many things, including the monkey bars, but her name is different\u2014and kids on the playground let her know. First 25 participants will receive a free copy of the book. At Children’s Room, East Boston Branch, Boston Public Library 365 S Bremen St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

1:15 p.m. \u201cAuthoritarianism.\u201d<\/a> Mull the rise of authoritarianism today with Amy Siskind<\/strong>, who enumerates the Trump regime\u2019s threats to democracy from his embrace of racists to his demonization of the press in her book \u201cThe List\u201d; Timothy Snyder,<\/strong> author of \u201cThe Road to Unfreedom\u201d; and Stephen Greenblatt<\/strong>, whose book \u201cTyrant\u201d looks at strongmen in Shakespeare\u2019s plays. At Old South Sanctuary 645 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

2 p.m. \u201cSaving Planet Earth.\u201d<\/a> A discussion of how the earth might be rescued from global warming and other destructive human activities with Charles Mann<\/strong>, author of \u201c1491\u201d and his new book \u201cThe Wizard and the Prophet,\u201d and astrobiologist David Grinspoon<\/strong>, author of \u201cEarth in Human Hands.\u201d At Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

2 and 3 pm. Wee the People<\/strong> from Boston leads \u201cEverywhere<\/a> and Nowhere<\/a>,\u201d a social justice workshop for kids, with stories of the immigrant experiences, live music, a kids \u201cRound the World\u201d open mic, and a passport craft activity to places real and imagined. At Brainstorm Tent, 560 Boylston St., Copley Square. ALSO at 11:30 a.m., Francie Latour<\/strong> of Wee the People and artist Ken Daley<\/strong> read from their picture book \u201cAunt Luce\u2019s Talking Paintings,\u201d<\/a> about a young girl visiting her Auntie Luce, a painter, in Haiti, at Boston Public Library Children\u2019s Library, 700 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

2 p.m. \u201cRenaissance Redux.\u201d<\/a> A discussion with Walter Isaacson<\/strong>, a biographer of Benjamin Franklin, Einstein and Steve Jobs talks about his latest book \u201cLeonardo da Vinci,\u201d and Ramie Targoff<\/strong>, author of \u201cRenaissance Woman: The Life of Vittoria Colonna,\u201d about the poet, political mover and shaker, and best friend of the artist Michelangelo. At Boston Public Library Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

2:15 a.m. \u201cArts Activism in America: Igniting Change.\u201d<\/a> At the Roxbury satellite festival, rising theater star Liza Jessie Peterson<\/strong> and Black Arts movement pioneer Askia Tour\u00e9<\/strong> talk about how arts can improve the world. At Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington St., Roxbury.<\/p>\n

3:15 p.m. \u201cOn Leadership.\u201d<\/a> A talk about what makes a good leader with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin<\/strong>, author of \u201cLeadership in Turbulent Times,\u201d and former Senator and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry<\/strong>, author of the memoir \u201cEvery Day Is Extra.\u201d Samantha Power, President Obama\u2019s United States Ambassador to the United Nations, moderates. Tickets required<\/strong>. At Old South Sanctuary, 645 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

3:30 p.m. Fiction Keynote with Tayari Jones<\/strong><\/a>, who discusses her novel \u201cAn American Marriage,\u201d about a young black couple whose marriage is ripped apart when the husband is wrongfully accused of sexual assault and subsequently imprisoned. The book has been a New York Times bestseller, an Oprah\u2019s Book Club selection, and longlisted for the National Book Award in fiction. At Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

5 p.m. Justine Bateman<\/strong><\/a>\u2014the actress who portrayed Mallory Keaton on the popular sitcom \u201cFamily Ties\u201d (1982\u20131989) and then went on to appear in \u201cLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman\u201d (1996), \u201cMen Behaving Badly\u201d (1996\u20131991), \u201cCalifornication\u201d (2008), and \u201cDesperate Housewives\u201d\u2014discusses her book \u201cFame.\u201d At Old South Sanctuary, 645 Boylston St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

5 p.m. Young Adult Keynote with authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera<\/strong><\/a>, who discuss their collaborative novel \u201cWhat If It\u2019s Us,\u201d about a \u201ccouple of boys who meet cute at the post office and then come to terms with the complexities that ensue after the initial spark of attraction.\u201d At Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

5 p.m. Humanities Keynote by Harvard University cognitive scientist Steven Pinker<\/strong><\/a>, whose book \u201cEnlightenment Now\u201d marshals statistics to argue that we are living in the best of times\u2014but enlightenment values are being threatened by authoritarianism, tribalism, religious zealotry and magical thinking. At Emmanuel Sanctuary, 15 Newbury St., Copley Square.<\/p>\n

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Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s our guide to what to see at this weekend\u2019s Boston Book Festival. The annual event offers more than 125 talks and presentations at three locations\u2014the main festival in Boston\u2019s Copley Square plus satellites in Roxbury and East Boston. Nearly all the events are free and unticketed. Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[37,162],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8914"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8926,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914\/revisions\/8926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}