In this new edition of our Foreword! series of author happenings, we explode the author reading series, bringing us out from behind the podium into uncharted territory inspired by Happenings of the ’50s and ’60s, bridging performer and audience while mixing together art forms.
Andrew Leland started his career as a writer and editor of The Believer, then went on to be the host/producer of the The Organist podcast. His new memoir-meets-reportage The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight (Penguin Press) was inspired by his degenerative eye condition. Leland takes fascinating dips into everything from the development of Braille to the history of the blind civil rights movement – with cameos by James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges and Henri Matisse.” “Andrew Leland’s thoughtful, beautifully expressed memoir invites us to rethink ideas about identity and independence.” The Guardian
Hosted by Ashley Mayne whose work has appeared in Fence, Post Road, Northwest Review, Juked, Peripheries, Blight Podcast, Metambesen, and elsewhere. She is the author of novels Mankiller (2014 Dr. Cicero Books) and Tiger (2015), edits fiction for Fence, curates the reading series Crystal Radio, and works on an organic farm in the Hudson Valley.
Our 2023 LIVE FROM UPSTATE series is presented with support from Hammertown Barn and Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern.
