BooksmART Festival – My Favorite Things

Well, it’s that time again! The second annual FREE BooksmART Festival at the Dallas Museum of Art is right around the corner. Mark your calendars now: Saturday, June 9, 2012, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Spend the entire day with authors, illustrators, musicians, and actors! Every member of the family is guaranteed to find something to enjoy–there is really something for everyone. The full lineup can be found on our website, but I thought I would go ahead and give you my “Top Ten” list of things you need to do at the festival.

My Top Ten List of Things To Do (And See) at the BooksmART Festival 

1. Get here early! The first events start at 11:00 a.m. and you won’t want to miss them. You know what they say,  “To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unacceptable!”

2. Make sure you go to an author or illustrator presentation. Whether you read picture books, chapter books, young adult books, or comic books, we have an event for you.

3. Get as many autographs as humanly possible. If, by chance, you miss an author at their booksigning, you can politely ask them to sign a book for you if you attend their workshop.

4. Eat something from the food trucks! I pinky promise that you’ll be glad you did. We’ve invited all kinds of trucks to come to the festival, but I know you’ll be especially excited for snow cones and ice cream sandwiches as the hot Texas sun threatens to swallow you up. You are welcome.

5. Head over to the Crow Collection of Asian Art for paper and pop-up fun! I am dying to learn how to re-create the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry using only paper, scissors, and my own two hands. I tried, and Wingardium Leviosa doesn’t really work in the Muggle world.

6. Stop in for a workshop or performance by the Dallas Theater Center. I’m so curious–just what is an Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? They don’t exactly sell them at the Gap.

7. Get your eyes checked! The Essilor Vision Foundation will be at the festival all day providing FREE vision screenings and glasses to kids ages 5-16. After you get your glasses, go meet Taye Diggs. I’m 99.9% positive he’ll be wearing his glasses too.

8. Grab a snack and re-hydrate in the Atrium while you listen to music. Food, water, and music–life’s essentials!

9. Drop in on the Center for Creative Connections (a.k.a. C3). Check out the Art Studio, where several illustrators will be giving workshops; stop by the Tech Lab and create a digital short film; or just hang out at the space bar and let your imagination run wild!

10. Buy your favorite author’s books in the Museum Store, and visit Half Price Books’ table in the Concourse. Sign up for their summer reading program so you can keep the BooksmART fun going all summer long.

And now, since your appetite has been whetted, I’m going to leave you with a little song I’ve written for the BooksmART Festival. Sing it over and over with your family and friends in anticipation. If, by chance, you happen to memorize it, come find me; I’ll have a special prize for the choristers who serenade me. I will be at Horchow Auditorium all day, so look for me.

My Favorite Things (BooksmART Remix)

To the tune of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things”

Readings and writings and workshops and classes
Joe wears a dreamcoat and new stylish glasses
Pablo Picasso and yum, Chocolate Me!
These are a few of my favorite things
Cartoons and funnies and writers of stories

Mice and amoebas and full Scrabble glory
Dramas and comedies and mysteries
These are a few of my favorite things

Papers that morph into pop-up creations
Aliens that go on extended vacations
Monkeys that bounce on a bed full of springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When I’m grounded
When the ship sinks
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

For more information about the 2nd annual BooksmART Festival, visit our website or call 214-922-1818.

Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming at the Dallas Museum of Art. Growing up, her favorite picture book was “A Bargain For Frances.”

Sacré Bleu! A Twisted Tale of the Ultramarine Hue

Recently I managed to get my hands on an advance copy of Christopher Moore’s newest book, Sacré Bleu. This auspicious event was followed by two days of ravenous reading, skipped meals, and neglected chores. Christopher Moore, the author who has brought us absurdly funny stories about Jesus Christ, vampires, and sassy whales, has cannonballed into the pool of art history–and has made a huge splash!

"Sacré Bleu" by Christopher Moore. On sale April 3, 2012.

When asked about the origin of his latest novel, Moore says, “I simply set out to write a novel about the color blue.” This desire brought him to Paris, London, and Italy, where “it turns out they keep a lot of the art discussed in this book.” The novel opens as the tragic news of Vincent van Gogh’s death reaches Paris. His friends, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Lucien Lessard, set out to solve the mystery of Vincent’s death after receiving this warning from him:

“P.S. If you see the Colorman, run. Run. You are too talented and too delicate of constitution to endure, I think. I am not mad. I promise.”
–Vincent

To solve the murder, Lucien and Henri will have to hunt down this twisted little Colorman who has a penchant for ultramarine blue. They will find love, heartbreak, forgotten memories, and, ahem, some girls in Moulin Rouge. Ultimately they will uncover the secret of the Colorman and the ordained powers he gets from Sacré Bleu, but not before having a little bit of fun with their impressionist friends.

Here are some examples of uses of Sacré Bleu from Christopher Moore’s novel. Throughout the story, each of these artists is visited by the manipulative Colorman.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “The Swing,” 1876, oil on canvas, Museé d’Orsay.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, “Rousse dit aussi La Toilette,” 1889, oil on cardboard, Museé d’Orsay.

Claude Monet, “Camille Monet on Her Deathbed,” 1879, oil on canvas, Museé d’Orsay.

Georges Seurat, “Bathers at Asnières,” 1884, oil on canvas, National Gallery.

Sacré Bleu, the “sacred blue,” the truest blue, was at the time the most expensive paint in history. It was extremely difficult to obtain. First, colormen would need the gemstone lapis lazuli, which, for centuries, was more rare and more valuable than gold. On top of that, lapis lazuli is only found in one place in the world, the mountains of Afghanistan–a world away from Europe! Why go to all this trouble to make a little bit of blue paint? Because the pigment derived from lapis lazuli creates the most spectacular, everlasting, ultramarine blue. It does not fade over time or blacken with age like some other blue paints. This quality of ultramarine blue, as well as the significant sacrifice one had to make to obtain it, made it the perfect color to reserve for the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Christ. In many religious scenes, Mary is seen wearing a Sacré Bleu gown.

Michelangelo, “The Entombment,” c. 1500, tempera on panel, National Gallery.

Although he spends most of his time haunting the impressionists in Montmartre, the Colorman does make his way back to 16th-century Italy to visit the masters of the Renaissance. In this example, it appears as though Michelangelo’s The Entombment remains unfinished because he was unable to obtain the ultramarine paint he needed to finish the figure of the Virgin Mary. Of course in reality this is probably due to the high cost of the paint, but in Sacré Bleu, it is a mystery that is waiting to be solved by you!

Christopher Moore will discuss his new book as part of the Arts & Letters Live program at the Dallas Museum of Art on Tuesday, April 1o, at 7:30 p.m. For more information and tickets to this event, visit our website. The DMA’s Museum Store is selling first-edition copies of Sacre Bleu, with beautiful color illustrations of the art discussed in the novel.

Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Arturo is BooksmART!

Hello everyone! Arturo here, the family mascot of the Dallas Museum of Art! I bet you already know that I like spending my time at the Museum painting, drawing, and doing yoga, but did you know that I like to read too? Picture books, chapter books, comic books–I like to read everything! This spring, Arts & Letters Live is bringing some of my favorite authors to the Museum to talk about their work–and I wouldn’t miss them for anything! If you like to read too, then I would love for you to come to a BooksmART event with me. I’ll be sitting on the front row–you can’t miss me!

If you’ve never been to an Arts & Letters Live BooksmART event, let me tell you a little bit about it. Arts & Letters Live is the DMA’s literary series, bringing authors of all kinds to talk to readers (like you and me) about books they have written. After the event, the author meets everyone at the book signing. Last year I met Rick Riordan!

Mark your calendars now for these upcoming events.

On Friday, March 16, as a part of our Spring Break Late Night, author Laura Numeroff will be talking about her new book, The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure. Laura is the author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. I’m going to suggest that she title her next book If You Give a Parrot a Paintbrush! She’s going to start at 7:00 p.m. so make sure you get your mom and dad to get you to Horchow Auditorium on time!  ickets to this event are FREE with paid general admission to the Museum but a reservation is required.

On Sunday April 15, the legendary author-illustrator Marc Brown will be right here at the DMA talking about If All the Animals Came Inside. You may know him as the creator of Arthur Read, everyone’s favorite aardvark! Did you know that Arthur was born one night while Marc Brown was telling his son a bedtime story?  Now his son has grown up and reads Arthur books with his children!  Before the event there will be a tour of some of the animals in the DMA’s collection, inspired by If All the Animals Came Inside.

On Thursday, April 19, we are having a huge birthday party at the DMA. No, no, it’s not my birthday! Judy Blume’s book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is turning forty this year, so we are celebrating in true BooksmART style. I know you won’t want to miss it! Judy will be here talking about all of our favorite books–Frecklejuice, Blubber, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and of course, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and the indomitable Fudge. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

To order tickets, you can have your mom or dad call my friends in the Arts & Letters Live office at 214-922-1818 or they can always get them online.  For more information about all our events, visit our website. I hope to see you at one of these events soon. Until then, keep reading!

Arturo is the mascot for all Museum family programming. He makes appearances on First Tuesdays and Late Nights; you can also find him on all family related print materials and as a temporary tattoo. He had a bit of help with this post from Hayley Dyer, Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming.

A Pair of Twos: Two Authors’ Take on Two Painters

Part of what’s most fun about working on Arts & Letters Live is getting to hear the buzz about new books several months before they are released. We first heard about Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith last winter and couldn’t wait for the release. This new biography came out less than a month ago to tremendous acclaim. Leo Jansen, Curator at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, called it “the definitive biography for decades to come,” and the authors were  profiled on 60 Minutes.

We are thrilled to be able to host these two authors for a program at the Dallas Museum of Art on Monday, November 14. They will discuss their new book and the similarities between Vincent van Gogh and Jackson Pollock, the subject of their Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Jackson Pollock: An American Saga.

Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith were gracious enough to answer a few questions for us in advance of their event.

How did you come to tackle Vincent van Gogh as a subject for this book?
While we were still working on our biography of Jackson Pollock, more than twenty-five years ago, we began to think about the next artist we might want to write about. The challenge for a biographer is to find a subject (1) who is significant, in terms of the work he or she has left behind; (2) who led an interesting life; (3) whose life had a particular impact on the work; (4) who left behind enough of a record in order to be able to reconstruct the life; and (5) who hasn’t already been the subject of a definitive, or even a thorough, account. No one met these criteria better than van Gogh. The only hurdle was that we don’t read Dutch, a hurdle got past with the help of eleven translators. 

Other than Vincent van Gogh himself, who is the most interesting figure that you write about in this book?
Theo, certainly. He was easily the most important person in van Gogh’s life. He was Van Gogh’s only consistent source of emotional and financial support. He was an interesting person in his own right – both audacious enough to be one of the first dealers in Paris who showed the work of the impressionists, but also conservative enough to show only work he knew would sell. He was intensely conflicted in his feelings for his brother –fully aware of Vincent’s willingness to take advantage of his generosity, furious that Vincent caused their family so much trouble, and angry that Vincent refused to accept his advice about how to make his work more salable, yet caring for him deeply, utterly.

How do you feel van Gogh’s letters shaped Van Gogh: The Life?
The letters are the starting point for any biographer of van Gogh. They are astonishingly long and detailed, and yet they often have a manipulative intent. Van Gogh usually wanted something from Theo, and he was sometimes elegant, sometimes ham-fisted, in his efforts to cloak his requests. But because of van Gogh’s intermittent self-knowledge, because of his extraordinary intelligence and intellect, because they were written for the most part to one person, and because he didn’t think anyone else would ever read them, van Gogh’s letters open an almost unique window onto a great creative mind.

Sheaves of Wheat, Vincent Van Gogh, 1890, Oil on Canvas, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Do you have a favorite work of van Gogh’s? What draws you to that piece?
We have many, many favorites, but one that comes to mind is a painting of underbrush in the Van Gogh Museum collection. It shows both his absolute mastery of color – extraordinary and subtle combinations of browns and purples and blues, hundreds and hundreds of them – and a dazzling display of his command over his brush, and in particular his Sargent-like ability to paint wet on wet.

Tree Roots, July 1890, Oil on Canvas, 19 3/4 x 39 1/4 in. Van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam.

Have you visited Dallas before? If so, what did you think of the city?
(Steven) Yes, I have a lot of family in Texas – in fact I was Congressman Charlie Wilson’s first intern on Capitol Hill. Dallas has some spectacular architecture, including I. M. Pei’s Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and the Museum has a first-rate collection, including two key works by Jackson Pollock, Portrait and a Dream and Cathedral. We have not yet seen the Nasher Sculpture Center and are thrilled at the opportunity to see it.

Cathedral, Jackson Pollock, 1947, Enamel and aluminum paint on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard J. Reis

The November 14 event is sold out but overflow seating is still available in a live simulcast in the Center for Creative Connections Theater.

Katie Hutton is Program Manager of Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Bookends

We’ll host our 1^st Annual BooksmART festival on Saturday June 11^th from 11am to 5pm. General admission to the Museum will be FREE with a fun-packed day of events and activities celebrating literacy and the arts for the young and young-at-heart. Our  stellar lineup of authors, illustrators and performers include Rick Riordan, Laurie Halse Anderson, Norton Juster, Jerry Pinkney, David Wiesner and many more!

One of the authors that I am especially excited to hear  is Cynthia Leitich Smith, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author whose fictionfor young readers  is noted for its diversity, humor, lyricism, imaginativeness, compelling action, and mid-to-southwestern settings. And I got the chance recently to ask her a few questions.

Q: Why did you decide on a career writing for children and young adults?

As a child and teen, I was an avid reader and writer. I read all of the Newbery winners and everything by Judy Blume. I transitioned to spooky stories during adolescence. Along the way, I also read graphic-format books (which we used to call “comics”).  In sixth grade, I had a column, “Dear Gabby” in Mr. Rideout’s classroom newsletter, offering advice to the troubled and lovelorn.

I went on to become editor of my junior high and high school newspapers. From there, I earned a journalism degree and law degree, working summers for small-town and major metro newspapers (including the Dallas Morning News) and in law offices.

As a first-generation college graduate, I was mindful of pursuing writing jobs with relative security to them. But in my late 20s, after the Oklahoma City Bombing, I was reminded that life can be short, unpredictable, and precious–that we should follow our dreams and do our best to uplift others. I could imagine no pursuit closer to my heart than books for young readers, and from that point on, I’ve dedicated myself to that end.

Q:  You are a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.  How has your Native American heritage and identity influenced your writing?

The quintessential advice we give to new voices is: write what you know. For me, that meant realistic stories of lower middle class, mixed blood Native American families from the mid-to-southwest. It meant stories of daily life and intergenerational relationships and military service and loss and healing.

My first book, Jingle Dancer  is about a young girl who assembles her jingle dance regalia with the aid of women of every generation of her intertribal community and then dances to honor them at a powwow. My debut novel for tweens, Rain is Not My Indian Name, is about a girl who, after the unexpected death of her best friend, slowly reconnects to the important people in her life through the lens of a camera. Indian Shoes is a collection of humorous, touching short stories for middle grade readers. They’re about young Ray and his Grandpa Halfmoon.

I’ve continued writing about Native characters and themes in my short stories. In 2012, I look forward to the publication of a companion short story to one by noted Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac, which will appear in Girl Meets Boy. Our tales are a fun pairing, about two Native teens–one who’s a tall, formidable basketball-star girl and one who’s a short, scrawny boy into martial arts. It’s a love story–naturally.

 

Q: You shifted your emphasis to fantasy for your book TANTALIZE, the first in a series.  What made you want to tackle the fantasy/gothic fiction genre?

I occasionally joke that I’m in the thrall of the master, by which I mean Abraham Stoker. I was fascinated by Dracula, especially with regard to the timelessness of its themes for teen (and grown-up) readers today. The classic touches on gender and power, orientation, the “dark other” (which back in the day meant Eastern European), plague, invasion, and more. All of those topics are still very much with us today, and looking at the vampire mythology itself….

Q: What has been one of your most meaningful interactions with one of your readers?
A handful of teenage girls have written to tell me that they have left their abusive boyfriends because of Quincie, the hero of the Tantalize series. A girl has written to say that she felt differently–better about herself–after having been assaulted by someone she’d trusted.

Other kids have written to say that Rain is Not My Indian Name helped them to cope with the loss of a loved one, and an aunt told me that her niece wouldn’t speak of a friend’s death until she could do so by using the novel as a reference point.

Most recently, I’m reminded of a boy–about age 14–who came up to me on my recent book tour. I was in New York City, and he approached me with a well-loved and quite tattered copy of Tantalize. He said it was the first book he’d ever finished. “The first book?” I asked, and he nodded solemnly. “The first book ever,” he emphasized. “All the way through.”

Q: What are you most excited about for the BooksmART festival?  Can an art museum add something to the traditional book festival?

I’m excited to connect with folks who have a global love of the arts–visual, literary, and beyond. They’re people of imagination and possibilities–kindred souls and the very kind of heroes that I love to write about.  Austin may be my home now, but Dallas will always be dear to me. See y’all soon.

Cynthia Leitich Smith will be presenting on her young adult fiction, including her latest novel, Blessed, in Horchow Auditorium. 

She will also present on her books for younger readers that explore Native themes and characters in the DMA’s exhibition Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. 

Katie Hutton is Interim Head of Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art

Ask @MoRocca

Last week we asked you to tweet us your questions for Mo Rocca. We picked three at random and below are his answers. Mo Rocca will appear at the Charles W. Eisemann Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. as part of Arts & Letters Live’s 20th season. Purchase Mo Rocca tickets from the Eisemann Center online or call 972-744-4650. Don’t forget that university students, faculty, and staff receive a 40% discount off any price level by entering the code “student” at checkout.

 

@llkays What is your dream meal —where, with whom (from any time or place), and what would you eat?

I’d like to eat Chinese food with Barbra Streisand. She used to work at a Chinese restaurant. Plus she’s Jewish. She could explain to me why Jewish people love Chinese food—in song.

@smallcapsitalic You make me laugh, so what makes YOU crack up?

Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn in Young Frankenstein. The Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont. David Sedaris.

@kimbaway What is your favorite type of art?

Modigliani. I like long necks.

Our Oscar Moment

The day after the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden poses in front of Pollination, the DMA’s magnificent painting by Lee Krasner, the artist Ms. Harden portrayed in the film Pollock and for which she won an Academy Award. In an instance of DMA synchronicity, we captured Ms. Harden after rehearsals for her performance tonight in the Arts & Letters Live program Texas Bound. On March 25, Arts & Letters Live will present an evening with art historian Gail Levin for her new biography on Krasner.

Are you ready for some Art?

It’s no secret that Super Bowl hysteria is sweeping the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. On February 6, people from around the nation will be gathering in Arlington to watch the Steelers take on the Packers. But what are some of the best things to do in Dallas leading up to the Super Bowl? Below is a Dallas Museum of Art checklist for a super week for the sports fan and art critic in you. How many will you do?

Big New Field: Artist in the Cowboys Stadium Art Program

1. Big New Field: Artists in the Cowboys Stadium Art Program is an exhibition of work by the artists featured in the Cowboys Stadium Art Program. While exploring the exhibition, try to figure out which artist’s work from the Cowboys Stadium belongs to the work at the DMA. Pick up Cowboys Stadium: Architecture, Art, Entertainment in the Twenty-First Century from the Museum Store if you need some help.
2. See the former head coach of the 2006 World Champion Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy and his wife, Lauren, on Saturday, February 5, at 3:00 p.m., part of Arts & Letters Live BooksmART. They will discuss their new children’s book You Can Be a Friend and you can stick around to meet the Dungys after this free event. Be sure to reserve your seats at https://www.tickets.DallasMuseumofArt.org/public/ or call 214-922-1818.
3. Have you ever wanted to meet a room full of former NFL players? On Saturday, February 5, the NFL Players Association will hold the annual Jazz Brunch and Art Auction Smocks & Jocks in the Dallas Museum of Art’s Atrium at 10:30 a.m. Mingle with former and current NFL players while discovering their artistic talents. For more information on the event, click here.
4. Explore the Center for Creative Connections and soak up some inspiration before you stop by the Art Studio to create your own work of art, maybe even a special football-inspired trophy sculpture.
5. If you are looking for a break from football, travel to Europe without leaving the Museum through a bite-sized tour of four recent acquisitions in our new European galleries.

The Ball Drops

The DMA and Radio Disney are teaming up again this year for Noon Year’s Eve on December 31, the perfect way to ring in the New Year if your bedtime is a bit before midnight. The Museum will open at 10:00 am to kick off the three hours of celebration. There will be music and games led by Radio Disney DJ Tera Beal and prizes aimed at visitors ages 6 and under. Everyone is invited to join in on the countdown for when the clock strikes noon. The DMA is also offering a prize for parents and other grown-ups who come, $5 admission and $5 parking in the DMA garage from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (visitors ages 12 and under are always free at the DMA). 

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Inspired by the New Year’s countdown — and the impressive Times Square crystal ball — we created a top ten countdown (without any scientific data or specific parameters) of the past year at the DMA.

10. Turning 107 in January and kicking off a year of great Late Nights at the Museum.

9. The month long celebration of the Arts District, Art in October, with two free admission days to the Nasher Sculpture Center, The Crow Collection of Asian Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art with multiple family programs. 

8. Welcoming the DMA-organized exhibition The Mourners from our sister city of Dijon, France in October with an opening weekend featuring a Mourner on stilts and five French chefs.

7. The summer gave us two months of the inspiring and cozy The Living Room installation made of recycled cardboard by artist Jill Foley.

6. Celebrating the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence with nine months of events and two exhibitions featuring Mexican art.

5. September brought the opening of the new C3 exhibition Encountering Space with new works of arts from the DMA collection, a space bar, and a new Arturo’s Nest.

4. Inviting a special guest, The Grinch, to close out a great year of exciting First Tuesdays.

3. Jeff Kinney, author of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid, made an appearance as part of the BooksmART series of Arts & Letters Live in April.

2. Launching our quarterly Autism Awareness Family Celebrations in April inviting children with autism and their families to explore C3 and participate in activities an hour before the Museum opened.

1. Our amazing visitors! More than 500,000 of you visited our many exhibitions and programs throughout 2010, we can’t wait to get started on 2011.

2010 also brought the launch of Uncrated. Thank you dear readers and Happy New Year.

Backstage with Arts & Letters Live

Many people have asked me, “How do you plan Arts & Letters Live?” Here’s a glimpse into the process of how we “produced” this year’s series.

In July DMA colleagues Helen Seslowsky, Katie Hutton, and I spent five days in a very hot and humid New York meeting with nearly forty publicists from all the major publishing houses to learn the scoop about new book releases on the horizon for 2011. When we got back to Dallas, we met for about twelve hours to prioritize our wish list of authors and brainstorm about books whose themes resonate with the Museum’s upcoming exhibitions and collections installations. For example, Mexico’s renowned novelist Carlos Fuentes is coming to speak while the exhibition Tierra y Gente: Modern Mexican Works on Paper is on view. In March two biographers will share new insights into the lives of artists Lee Krasner and Amedeo Modigliani, both of whom have works in the Museum’s collections.

Throughout the year, we also travel to hear authors speak at several prominent book fairs—the Texas Book Festival in Austin, the National Book Festival in D.C., and the New Yorker Festival in Manhattan—to discover which authors speak as beautifully from the stage as they do on the page. I heard Annie Proulx, Simon Schama, Pico Iyer, Gary Shteyngart, and others at a variety of these festivals while planning the 2011 season and knew I wanted to pursue them.

From my front row seat at Steve Carell's interview with Tad Friend at the New Yorker Festival. At the 2010 festival, I also heard authors Tobias Wolff and Mary Karr, E. L. Doctorow, Atul Gawande, Yo-Yo Ma in conversation with Alex Ross, and Simon Schama and Annie Proulx -- both of whom we're bringing to Dallas as part of the 2011 season!

And because we want a season of events that will appeal to many people, we book (pun intended) a balance of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and programs that combine art forms in creative and unexpected ways. In February we’ll feature Eric Siblin, author of The Cello Suites, who will share the story behind Bach’s missing manuscript, its rediscovery, and his own infatuation with this music. To give this evening added flair, we’re partnering with the Dallas Bach Society, and their cellist Gyongy Erody will perform musical excerpts to bring this story to life.

Our next step is to send out proposals to the publishers and anxiously await their responses. The process is like putting together a complex jigsaw puzzle—discerning which authors and performers are available and when. There’s been many a time when a requested author wants to come to Dallas, but he’s scheduled to be on the West Coast at the same time we want him to be here in Texas.

Katie Hutton (Interim Head, Arts & Letters Live) at The Library Hotel's rooftop bar after a long, but fruitful day of meetings with publicists in New York. The team enjoyed "Red Badge of Courage" cocktails!

Throughout the summer and early fall, we also spend at least one day every week vetting short stories for our Texas Bound series, where Texas actors read short fiction by Texas writers. Lone Star State–connected authors from all over the country submitted nearly two hundred stories for consideration. Our team reads them and brings the strongest contenders to read-aloud sessions with our director Raphael Parry, who many people know as the Executive and Artistic Director of Shakespeare Dallas. We debate the merits and potential shortcomings of each story. Does it hook the audience’s attention and follow a cohesive narrative arc, or does it lag in the middle? What actor do we imagine bringing the story to life? Constructing a program of three or four stories is like creating a chef’s tasting menu—a short, funny appetizer followed by a hearty, more serious entrée, and finally, a dessert.

Arts & Letters Live will celebrate its 20th anniversary season in 2011! I’ve been with the series nine of those years. It’s heartwarming to hear vivid recollections from many of you—what an author said to change your perspective or transport you out of the everyday. Or the “aha” moment you had in the middle of a performance combining art, music, and poetry. I hope you’ll share your favorite Arts & Letters Live moments by commenting on this post. Check out our exciting 2011 season lineup here!

Carolyn Bess is the Director of Programming at the Dallas Museum of Art.