At Brook Farm Inn, Lenox Massachusetts, we’re offering a special golf package.  The weather is gorgeous, and the golf course has beautiful Berkshires scenery to enjoy.  Here’s the deal:

 

We were delighted to be mentioned in this past Sunday’s Boston Globe, in Jan Gardner’s “Shelf Life” column.  See http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/04/26/a_fighting_chance/

We’ve long been fans of Ms. Gardner’s column, where she mentions book picks and literary events that you otherwise might not know about.  She has mentioned the poetry event, “The Four Seasons of Edna St. Vincent Millay,” which will take place at 3:00 on Saturday, May 16th, at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts.  For more information, go to www.brookfarm.com.

BEETHOVEN AND SHOSTAKOVICH TRIOSADAM NEIMAN, piano 
STEFAN MILENKOVICH, violin

YEHUDA HANANI, cello

“Beethoven supports the ancient conception of art, providing catharsis, while Shostakovich challenges it, providing a mirror to a reign of terror,” says Hanani. “Beethoven aims for a triumph of the spirit, while Shostakovich bears witness to the destruction of the spirit. One piece ends with a tremendous affirmation, the other fades with a disturbing question mark and no resolution in sight. These are two utterly different visions of life, history, human existence.”

Close Encounters continues its tradition of commentary before the performance and of inviting the entire audience to a reception to meet the artists immediately following the performance at the “Afterglow.” 

Tickets at $35 and $10 for students are available at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center box office, 413.528.0100, or at www.mahaiwe.org; and through Close Encounters With Music at 800-843-0778 or at www.cewm.org .

This weekend is going to be warm and sunny in the Berkshires, and there’s lots to do.  Here are some theater performances, all of which are just minutes from Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts:

“Moonchildren” at Simon’s Rock College, Great Barrington, 413-644-4235

“Doubt” at Barrington Stage Co.’s Stage 2, Pittsfield, 413-443-9279

“A Tennessee Williams Menagerie,” Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge.  Presented by Aglet Theatre Co., 860-435-6928.

Wheatleigh is one of the premier hotels in the Berkshires.  Located in Lenox, Massachusetts, it’s a sophisticated country house  hotel, with a 5-star gourmet restaurant.  We were pleased to receive a luncheon invitation today.   The gracious reception by friendly staff members was followed by a delicious and beautifully prepared lunch.  It was served in the Library, looking out at a spectacular Berkshires view. Guests who stayed with us at Brook Farm Inn, and had dinner there last week were equally impressed.  We highly recommend Wheatleigh for a special lunch, dinner — and they offer special event planning for weddings and other celebrations. 

We were delighted to see a blog entry by Beth Jannery, a treasured guest, who writes an inspiring book series called Simple Grace.  You can read her blog at http://simplegracebooks.blogspot.com/.  Beth has a positive and inspiring outlook that will lift your spirits, and she gives wonderful strategies for ” living in the moment, creating purpose . finding meaning . breathing space.”  She responded to our invitation to attend the Edna St. Vincent Millay event on May 16th.  You can find out more about that by phoning or email us www.brookfarm.com.   Meantime, check out Beth’s books!

On Saturday, April 18th at 5 pm, Simon’s Rock professor Peter Filkins will read from and discuss his recent translation of H.G. Adler’s novel, The Journey.  The reading takes place in the Mount, The estate of Edith Wharton at 2 Plunket Street, Lenox Massachusetts

Adler, one of only a handful of German-speaking Jewish novelists to survive the Holocaust, wrote 26 works in German, including poetry, fiction, history, philosophy and religion. This is the first of his novels to be translated into English.  In this work, Adler uses his experiences at the labor camp Theresienstadt to recount the tale of the Lustig family and their struggle to come to terms with the tragedies of war.

Peter Filkins is a poet and translator. His translations include the collected poems of Ingeborg Bachmann, Darkness Spoken, as well as her novels The Book of Franza and Requiem for Fanny Goldmann.  His work has been awarded an Outstanding Translation Award from ALTA, a Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin, and a Distinguished Translation Award from the Austrian Government.

A book signing and reception will follow.

Tickets for this event are $12.  Please phone 413-551-5111 for reservations.  The Mount is located one mile from Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Ma.

We look forward to our special event at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts on May 16th, featuring Peter Bergman, director of the Millay Society.  We hope you can come.  But if not, you can catch Peter at the Stockbridge Library on Sunday, April 19th at 4:00. 

At Brook Farm Inn, Lenox Massachusetts, we’re pleased to say “There is poetry here.” It’s not just a phrase, because we share our library of poetry books with our guests, and have readings sometimes — there’s one coming up on May 16th.  Since April is National Poetry Month, here’s a poem about the Inn:

Feeling At Home in the Library at Brook Farm Inn

I think I could happily live in this one room,

high-ceilinged enough to let my thoughts soar.

This space has the most important things–

walls full of books to explore, comfortable seats,

a solid old piano of some dark wood whose keys

invite fingers to roam, warm board flooring

and homey rugs.  A frieze of books

marches around the ceiling, setting the theme.

There is a serenity here you can feel,

and warmth…Ah, yes, I can tell

I could be content to live in a room like this.

Here’s a unique way to celebrate spring’s arrival — the Berkshire Fools Festival, in Pittsfield Massachusetts. (It’s only ten minutes from Brook Farm Inn, in Lenox.) Today through Sunday, April 5th, the festival will make you smile, with theater, music, art exhibits, and activities. The festival was kicked off yesterday with goofy clowns and mimes in the middle of town, to bring attention to the event. See the full schedule  at http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_12053029