Writers and Are You Famous?

I spent the weekend in the Berkshires at Wordfest.  It is a biennial gathering of writers at the Mount.   This year the roster of participants  was amazing.

I went specifically to hear:

Francine du Plessix Gray

Read "Them:  A Memoir of Parents" to know why she talked about her family's history with "Vogue", and her escape from the Nazis.


Then,

John Berendt
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

And I thought I collected eccentrics - he is the master.  He is currently conducting research for a book on New Orleans.  We will have to stay tuned.


I also heard Adam Gopnik, Roxanna Robinson, Matthew Pearl, Suketu Mehta and others.  A fabulous event!


Meanwhile, Edith Wharton was a woman after my own heart

Dog cookies at the dining table

One of the dog beds

At one of the presentations, there was a group of twittering folks behind me.  One woman eventually approached.  Apparently, they could not decide if I was:

Laura Linney, or

Laura Dern

This was absoulutly mortifying and the disappointment I caused when I said I was niether was awful.

Then after the John Berendt talk, an official from the Mount itself chased me up the drive to ask if I was:

Elizabeth Gilbert
author of
"Eat, Pray, Love"

This time a bit annoyed and had the creeps.  Why do people ask such things?  Yet, that night, Mr. Weston and I had a hysterical laugh over G&Ts via cell phone.  He was at home, while I was still in the Berkshires.