ANDRÉ BERNARD is calling on his friends to join him in talks — with an audience listening in . How very fortunate we are here in the Berkshires to have Bernard in our midst , bringing world-renowned writers of varied genres to discuss a wide array of topics . At The Stockbridge Library , Bernard has spoken with authors such as Marty Baron , Roxana Robinson , Harold Holzer , and Letty Cottin Pogrebin . And for a second summer in a row , he will host the Masters Series at The Mount in Lenox . No doubt , the series looks to live up to its name .
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B y A n a s t a s i a S t a n m e y e r
Let ’ s Talk
NOTABLE AUTHORS WILL BE IN DIALOGUE WITH ANDRÉ BERNARD AT THE MOUNT THIS SUMMER
ANDRÉ BERNARD is calling on his friends to join him in talks — with an audience listening in . How very fortunate we are here in the Berkshires to have Bernard in our midst , bringing world-renowned writers of varied genres to discuss a wide array of topics . At The Stockbridge Library , Bernard has spoken with authors such as Marty Baron , Roxana Robinson , Harold Holzer , and Letty Cottin Pogrebin . And for a second summer in a row , he will host the Masters Series at The Mount in Lenox . No doubt , the series looks to live up to its name .
“ I ' m doing it because I love books and writers , and I love talking about books ,” says Bernard , who interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove at last year ’ s Authors Guild Foundation Words , Ideas , and Thinkers ( WIT ) Festival . “ I don ' t know the painting world , I don ' t know the movie world , but I know the writing world pretty well . I ' m fascinated by how writers work , how they create , how they want to write something , where the ideas come from — how do they do it ?”
All talks at The Mount are from 4 to 5 p . m ., and authors will sign books afterwards . This Masters Series includes the following :
June 14 , Roz Chast , cartoonist for The New Yorker and book author .
July 12 , Dwight Garner , senior book critic for The New York Times .
July 26 , Lauren Groff , three-time National Book Award finalist .
August 2 , Rosanne Cash , singer , songwriter , and book author .
August 9 , Jonathan Alter , political biographer and TV commentator .
August 30 , Michael Pollan , best-selling author and thought leader .
Why hold these talks in the Berkshires ? Because of the area ’ s literary audience , and writers want to come here , says Bernard . “ The Mount is known for its literary programs . They have a wonderful range of writers — not just my program , but their own other programs . They are so professionally prepared . It ' s a very smooth operation , and I find that writers are very attracted to it because it was Edith Wharton ' s home and they want to see the mansion .” It ’ s also Bernard ’ s way of giving back to a community that is like home to him . His father , Albert , a viola player , was hired by Serge Koussevitzky in 1925 to play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was there when Tanglewood was founded . The family had a house in West Stockbridge , and they would go out every summer for the Tanglewood season . Albert retired in 1967 and kept teaching at the Tanglewood Music Center until he died in 1979 .
André Bernard married Jennie McGregor on Church on the Hill in Lenox , and their daughters have also been coming here since they were very young . Bernard plans to retire soon and live full-time in Stockbridge . He is currently vice president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in New York City , administering its fellowships . Through his 25 years in publishing , Bernard has gotten to know a lot of writers . “ And so I call on people I know .” The Masters Series was the idea of Dan Kasper , board chair at The Mount . It was so popular last summer that Bernard wanted to expand the range so it ’ s not just book authors . First on the list this summer is Roz Chast , whom Bernard describes as “ an iconic cartoonist for The New Yorker .”
“ For Roz , I ’ d like to start out by asking her how she got her foot in the door at The New Yorker . There are hundreds of writers and cartoonists who want to be published by The New Yorker . How did she get in ? Her cartoons are so unique . They ' re so particular to her sensibility . She ' s been obviously embraced by the magazine and by the magazine-reading public . I ' m interested in that trajectory .”
Bernard has his own views of each of the writers who will be coming to The Mount . Take Dwight Garner , for instance . “ Dwight is super smart and obviously reads a phenomenal number of books and has very , very strong opinions ,” says Bernard . “ I used to often dispute his reviews because he comes out very strongly — either loves something or really doesn ’ t . I got to know him and found talking to him about the reviews illuminating . So now , I read him with a different eye . He ' s very opinionated . That ' s a really great thing . You don ' t want to read a wishy-washy . Once he gets his teeth
96 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE May / June 2024