NARROWSBURG, NY — This year’s Deep Water Literary Festival—Friday, June 16 to Sunday, June 18—features a dynamic program of visiting and local authors and artists who will gather to examine the timely and enduring work of George Orwell.
Visitors can explore the continuing relevance of Orwell’s vision and the impact he maintains on our literature and society.
Among the luminaries present will be writer and environmental activist Rebecca Solnit; writer Marlon James, winner of the (then-named) Man Booker Prize; artist and writer Lucy Sante; composer and broadcaster Jad Abumrad; and Orwell’s only son, Richard Blair.
This year’s line-up also features seven panels of visiting writers and multiple performances and art installations, as well as writing and creation workshops for middle and high schoolers and several family-friendly events.
Across three days, audiences will be able to consider Orwell’s profound contribution to literature and journalism through the diverse perspectives of the festival guests.
Just a sample: Abumrad will investigate the ways different generations read and interpret “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” with his 14-year-old son as a case study.
James will join moderator Hafizah Augustus Geter for a discussion of dystopian fiction by writers of color.
Blair will offer a personal perspective on Orwell, when he talks with biographer D.J. Taylor about his father’s life and legacy.
And much more. The mission of the festival, the organizers said, “has always been to bring high-end arts programming to this corner of New York State, whilst celebrating the artists and writers who live and work in our midst.” Local work will be featured too.
The festival is curated by co-directors Aaron Hicklin and Lucy Taylor.
For more information, visit www.deepwaterfestival.com.