Tucked beside the unassuming businesses on Main Street in Narrowsburg, sits the answers to the all-important question, “If you were stranded on a desert island, which 10 books could you not do without?” The desert island, otherwise known as One Grand Bookstore, was founded by former Out magazine editor Aaron Hicklin, who posed this query to various artists such as Tilda Swinton, and other celebrated individuals. The bookstore is a treasure trove of literary works consisting of the essential reads of some of the world's most prominent thinkers. The shelves are stacked with recommendations like George Eliot’s Middlemarch from Greta Gerwig’s top 10 lineup, and Silences by Tillie Olsen from George Saunders’s list of crucial books. In mid June, One Grand lays at the heart of the Deep Water Literary Festival, with which it shares a mission of encouraging engagement with the development of literature and art by bringing together the work of both internationally acclaimed as well as local authors and artists. The festival will occur from June 16-18, bringing to the area a diverse community of award-winning writers, artists, and performers.
This year, the festival delves into the work of George Orwell, whose iconic and influential output stretches across the genres of fiction, non fiction, and journalism. The programming will kick off on Friday afternoon with a number of events located along Main Street, including a discussion with London-based artist Alastair Gordon about his new exhibition of drawings, “Pattern Recognition 2,” at The Mildred Complex(ity), and a reading with Laurie A. Guzda and Elaine Lee from Musings, a collection of short stories that features 12 pieces from 8 local authors. Friday evening, the opening night cabaret at the 108 popup space will be led by New York City downtown musician David Driver and will feature many local artists and guests.
Certain events and exhibitions will be open to visitors for the entirety of Saturday and Sunday. These will include the Black Library at the 108, which celebrates Black history and culture, and a paper wall where visitors are encouraged to write poetry, draw, or respond in any way to various George Orwell quotes. There will also be a special exhibition at Ruffed Grouse Gallery featuring collages by Ulster County resident and award-winning writer and artist Lucy Sante.
In addition to her exhibition, Sante will be featured in an event on
Saturday called On Low Life and Feral Cities alongside Sukhedev Sandu and Jeremiah Moss. The various works of these three writers, including Sante’s first book, Low Life, echoes Orwell's famous accounts of poverty in Down and Out in London and Paris. Other writers featured throughout the weekend will include journalists Barbara Demick, Peter Pomerantsev, Azmat Khan. Hafizah Agustus Geter, winner of the Pen Open Book Award for her memoir The Black Period, will speak alongside Marlon James and Parull Sehga about speculative fiction, genre, and writing dystopia.
There will be workshop opportunities throughout the weekend, including a flash memoir writing workshop for adults taught by Melissa Gelula. Some workshops will be designed specifically for middle and high school aged students, such as a dystopian world-building workshop with best selling Jamaican writer Marlon James and Isadora Alteon, as well as a podcasting workshop with NPR and ProPublica reporter Ilya Marritz and Tim Bruno of WJFF Radio Catskill. For younger children of all ages, musician, teacher, and drag queen Lyra Vega will be reading three banned picture books to celebrate the right to read and dress freely.
