Bookstock: A Vermont treasure returns with its full festival experience
The Green Mountains around Woodstock, Vt. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
The written word contains a simplicity and a majesty all its own. Its impact spans the history of the human experience. Writing can inspire, and beyond just that, it can be the catalyst for needed change.
For all those reasons, books have held a special place in my heart, and I've celebrated their profound influence by enjoying many of them over the course of my life. But this week, the ultimate celebration of the written word returns to Woodstock, in person. That's Bookstock: the Green Mountain Festival of Words.
It was a special experience to write about the first Bookstock, over a decade ago, and it's a great honor to write about it now. Now, as then, something exciting is about to inspire us. For the first time in three years, writers, artists and book-lovers of all ages will gather in Woodstock Village for this special event, running from June 24 to 26. It means the large book sale under the tent will be back, right in the middle of Woodstock's historic Village Green, starting on Friday. And, a great selection of fine vintage books will be available at the nearby Norman Williams Public Library. Around the village at speaker events, authors, poets and artists will share their work with festival-goers, and hearts will be enriched, and minds expanded, from the abundance of ideas imparted.
It's really that act of sharing that makes Bookstock special, unique, and so engaging. That can mean a new idea from the words of an author, or a discussion with friends after learning a new concept, or picking up a new book and finding new inspiration in its pages. For all these reasons, events like Bookstock are vital. This festival celebrates not only Vermont’s rich literary culture — with Robert Frost, Rudyard Kipling, and many other greats calling it home over the decades — but also humanity itself and the rich palate of expression that defines our world, and pushes us to understand it better.
It goes to the very heart of sharing our deepest thoughts and experiences with each other. It marks our commonalities, the things that bring us together as people. In the era of podcasts and ubiquitous digital content, it is still important to read and celebrate the written word and to interact with its creators. That experience of learning loses something without that personal interaction, that face-to-face connection with no screen in between. So what a treat it will be, to have Bookstock back in person.
At the end of the day, the literary gem that is Bookstock benefits humanity as a whole. It adds profound meaning to the myriad hues of the human experience. Through our love of the written word, it encourages us to take a moment to open one more door in our busy minds, and to think about ideas in deeper ways. And those ways help us learn, they enrich us, and we grow. What a treasure to share with the world.
— Gareth Henderson
Find the event schedule and full details for Bookstock 2022 at www.bookstockvt.org.
