Richard Thompson will make an appearance at the second Hoboken Literary Weekend, April 3.
Surrounded by shelves of books and colorful cards, Richard Thompson will appear at the second Hoboken Literary Weekend, April 3 at 5 p.m. at Little City Books on 100 Bloomfield St. His appearance can also be seen via a livestream; tickets are available at eventbrite.com.
Musician and owner of the nearby Guitar Bar music store James Mastro will interview the legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist about his well-crafted and gripping memoir “Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice, 1967-1975,” previously discussed in an in-depth NJArts.net interview with Thompson. Thompson also will play a few songs, according to Little City Books co-owner Kate Jacobs.
Over the years I have heard many musical performances and authors’ readings on Little City Books’ stage. It’s a warm and welcoming environment.
As a co-founder of the band Fairport Convention in the ’60s, Thompson helped create British folk-rock, merging traditional tunes with ‘60s folk and rock. Given his wry and understated manner, and Mastro’s gift for humor, the conversation should be engaging.
The cover of Richard Thompson’s book, “Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice, 1967-1975.”
“ ‘Beeswing’ reads more like a novel than an autobiography” said Mastro. “Richard Thompson’s story of his first few decades on this planet tells of a fantastic tale only the most imaginative of writers could conjure.”
But the story is true, Mastro said.
“It has it all: mystery, drama, comedy, and a travelogue all supported by a beautiful soundtrack. And narrated with a rich voice that I look forward to hearing in person for our little chat about this big life.”
The Literary Weekend will take place from April 1 to April 3.
The first Literary Weekend was in 2019, and a second one was planned for 2020, but couldn’t go on as planned because of the pandemic.
“I don’t think we absolutely cancelled until about March 10 (of that year), so in denial were we,” said Jacobs.
There was no festival last year, either, as the pandemic continued to make such a gathering impossible.
“This year seemed like time for a coming-out party,” said Jacobs. “It’s a beautiful collection of authors — fiction, poetry, history, science, YA (young adult), memoir with music, and comedy. Our only regret is that we can’t have our usual open bar. We really do want everyone to keep their masks on.”
April 1 at 7 p.m., Hugo Award winner John Scalzi will discuss his pandemic-set novel, “The Kaiju Preservation Society.”
April 2 at 8 p.m., Colm Tóibín will discuss his poetry collection, “Vinegar Hill”; Kirstin Valdez Quade will read from her novel “The Five Wounds,” April 2 at 4:30 p.m.; Alex Wellerstein will discuss his “Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in America,” April 2 at 1 p.m.; Weike Wang will discuss her novel, “Joan Is Okay,” April 2 at 2:30 p.m.; and Fintan O’Toole will discuss his “We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland,” April 2 at 6:30 p.m.
April 3 at 3 p.m., David Levithan will lead a panel discussion of Young Adult authors, including Sayantani DasGupta, Sona Charaipotra, Ashley Woodfolk, and Saraciea J. Fennell.
April 3 at 7 p.m., comedy producer Leah Williams has assembled a lineup of comedians including Jes Tom, Nadia Pinder, Maria DeCotis and Jessica Henderson.
For more information and tickets, visit hobokenliteraryweekend.com.
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