Milford Readers and Writers Festival celebrates nine years

It’s hard to believe that the Milford Readers and Writers Festival (MRAW) is turning nine. There have been a lot of changes since its inception in 2016, when co-founders Amy Ferris, Sean Strub, Bob Levine, and Suzanne Levine were sitting around at the Fauchère and started to conceive this dream. They brought the likes of Gloria Steinem, Alan Alda, MK Asante, Lee Childs, John Berendt, and Anne Perry, among others.

As MRAW has developed with many changes over the years, it has evolved into what it is today — a cultural must see for Milford. There are no longer any main stage events on Sunday, allowing for more free events all over town, including at the library, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, and Grey Towers. The festival also now features writers’ groups.

On Friday night, Kenny Werner gave a captivating presentation on what he calls “Effortless Mastery.” Werner, a pianist and author, sat at the piano and spoke effortlessly about letting go and not judging ourselves. He said, “Anyone here can be successful as long as we take off the yoke of needing to be successful.” Michelle Oram produced this session.

Many of the topics were educational. On the main on stage on Saturday, Brad Gooch and Christopher Makos discussed “The Life and Line of Keith Harding,” followed by an enlightening presentation of AI, “Our World in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” by Sophia Olivas, Arina Arisotova, and David Poyer. Many in the audience appeared shocked at some of the predictions the presenters made about AI, such as “Yes, it will replace many of the jobs today, but there will be other jobs created by AI.” Or “there will be no more books in five years, but they will be replaced by AI jobs. “They suggested that we should “make friends with AI, treat it as a tool and be a collaborator.” Some people noticed the irony of saying this at a readers and writers festival.

Jack Kelly had a discussion with Brian Carso about his book, “God Save Benedict Arnold” and revealed a huge amount of historical knowledge about Arnold. Lastly, Richard Wiese, a world-class explorer and longest serving president of the Explorer’s Club, talked about the adventure and excitement of being an explorer. He was in conversation with Megan Smith-Harris talking about his book, “Born to Explore.”

The Science Fiction group was a free event on Saturday that celebrated the fact that Milford was and is a mecca for science fiction.

One of the hidden gems of MRAW has always been the Salon Series, which was started by Sean Strub in the third year of the Festival. Previously known as the Fauchère Series, it moved to Good Shepard Episcopal Church when Strub sold the hotel. The Series is a smaller, more intimate venue and is excellent for more engaged discussions with audience members.

Leadership change

The big news announced at the Festival was that board President and Co-Chair Edson Whitney is stepping down this year. Whitney said, “I have been a part of the festival since the beginning in 2016. I believe in the need for transition and change. My belief in my professional and volunteer life is that no one needs to stay on forever and that organizations benefit from new blood and new ideas. It has been my honor to lead this festival, I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I am leaving the festival in talented and capable hands. I also want to thank everyone for all their support over the years and I look forward to future festivals as a member of the audience!”

Brian Carso will be replacing Whitney. He said, “The Milford Readers and Writers Festival is one of the great cultural treasures that make our piece of northeastern Pennsylvania truly special. I‘ve looked forward to it every year since its inception, and now I look forward to serving as co-chair of the festival board with Carol McManus, and working with all the extraordinary volunteers who plan this festival all year long. And I want to say especially how much I appreciate the vision and guidance of Edson Whitney, who has served as co-chair for the last nine years. Trying to fill Edson‘s shoes is no easy thing, but I’m happy he’ll be around to give advice and share enthusiasm. And I hope that, in his downtime, he’ll write a book about all the extraordinary things he’s done, so that one of these years we can put him in the author’s chair and interview him on the stage of the festival.”

And so, we look forward to the 10th year of the Festival and perhaps further evolutions.