KAREN STENSGAARD

If you are interested in libraries, authors, books, and what’s new, this photo-blog is for you. I’ve been lucky to combine annual family visits to San Antonio with the Annual Book Festival. They pack so many panels and discussions with authors into one day, I’m always excited to attend. The enchilada red main library’s building is a work of art on the outside and inside.

The festival is free, and you don’t have to buy a book, unless you want to. A tent to buy books discussed and to get it signed by the authors happens right after their discussion.

Even if the book festival isn’t going on, this library, and many others, has a used bookstore in the basement. The selection is extensive, and it’s always worth a visit.

The inside of this library has a beautiful Chihuly chandelier commission by the famous glass artist Dale Chihuly based in Seattle. So impressive, it’s a challenge to photograph! This is a must see in San Antonio and whenever I visit the library. Take the escalator up one level and you can’t miss it. Other beautiful artwork is displayed in the lobby.

Next year, San Antonio’s 13th annual book festival takes place on Saturday, April 12, 2025, and I plan to be there. So if you decide to attend, let me know. It will be another full day of events, but I’d be happy to meet and say hello. 

This year I attended six author events with only a quick break for ice cream with my mom. I have comments from four events with seven authors about their new books. So that’s plenty! The packed nonstop schedule had events in tents outside and rooms inside the library. Advance planning and coordination are musts to pick which author events and panels to attend.

Sandra Cisneros, the author of the well-known novel, THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, moderated a three-author panel (Paul Alexander, Jan Beatty, and Richard Blanco) named Writing from the Taboo.

She made some insightful comments throughout the panel discussion, including: All writers are essentially poets and the hardest and most essential will keep you from losing your mind. Write a poem a day and it will make you a kinder human being. And my favorite, poetry takes the shrapnel out of your heart.

Paul Alexander is from Alabama and now lives in New York. His latest book, BITTER CROP, is about the singer Billie Holiday reads like a novel. Her song “Strange Fruit” was an anti-lynching song from 1939 that broke taboos. His advice: Write about what is deep inside and be protective of your time.

Jan Beatty is a poet who has published eight books. Her new book THE BODY WARS is about abortion rights, a taboo still today for many. She worked in an abortion clinic for 12 years. Her advice: Keep barreling in and pushing against what’s being censured. She also founded a unique writing group called “Madwomen in the Attic” 50 years ago. Based in Pittsburgh, it also has online events. https://madintheattic.org/about/

Richard Blanco is a poet based in Miami. He was a poet in President Obama’s Inaugural ceremony. His recent book is HOMELAND OF MY BODY. He mentioned facing the taboo of being gay in a Cuban family living in exile in the USA. He didn’t come out as gay until his third book. When he got his MFA (Master of Fine Arts), he tried to become a highbrow poet. But now he wants to write poems that his bus driver will understand. Writers also get more interesting after 50.

Another panel called Writing, History, & The Lone Star State, focused on two experienced Texan writers:Elizabeth Crook and Lawrence Wright.

Elizabeth Crook’s sixth book is THE MADSTONE. This novel focuses on a woman from Comfort Texas travelling to the port of Indianola port by wagon in 1868. She rides with others including a black Seminole Indian. They face problems from a real Swamp Fox gang and there’s some mystery with a hidden treasure. Writing is like living with her characters all day long. Before writing, she reads history books set in that time period for ideas and uses an authentic tale as background. She doesn’t write about real people but sets her characters within the context of history. 

Playwright and author Lawrence Wright’s new book is MR. TEXAS. This book is about a Texan rancher and his wife who live in West Texas and deal with issues such as the drought, lobbyists, and politics. He said the Texas House of Representatives is a reduction of Texas and a representative body, unfortunately. His first idea for the story was as a TV series, but when that didn’t pan out, he wrote it as a book. Previously, he won a Pulitzer Prize for THE LOOMING TOWER, and he’s both disgusted and enchanted by Texas politics. His writing approach is based on his past work as a reporter with legal pads used in interviews, and he enjoys mixing reality with non-reality. 

Another panel covered The Life & Legacy of Larry McMurtry. A new book, PASTURES OF THE EMPTY PAGE, edited by George Getschow, includes commentary on Larry McMurtry from other writers, including two on the panel: Kathy Floyd and Sherry Kafka Wagner. Larry McMurtry is the well-known author and screenwriter of LONESOME DOVE and many other books and movies. He died in 2021, and the panelists talked about his fascinating life and legacy.

Larry McMurtry served as the President of Pen American and fought against censorship. He opened a bookstore in Archer City and a writing workshop or writer manifesto. The bookstore closed after his death, but the writing workshop still exists. Royalties from this book will go to a nonprofit to help keep it going.

Larry McMurtry grew up on a ranch outside the small town of Archer City, Texas. He was a cowboy for 18 years. When he almost drowned after falling off a horse in a storm, he lost the romantic notions of the life of a cowboy. He grew up at the ranch without books until his cousin dropped off a box of books before leaving for World War II. He wrote about Texas and its history in a contemporary way. Many of his characters feel trapped and yearn to go somewhere else. He also faced these issues and moved around but came back. 

LONESOME DOVE, about driving cattle across the frontier, is often called the MOBY DICK of the West, but this wasn’t his favorite. He often suggested other books when asked, often based on his mood. DUANE’S DEPRESSED was written after a massive heart attack and is autobiographical. The panelists knew him and mentioned how he, and other good writers, pay attention to what is around them. Larry often asked personal questions. He was a master of character development and known for his ability to portray women characters. Fiona Woods in LONESOME DOVE is a favorite character for many of his fans. He also wrote screenplays for other authors’ books such as BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. 

The final panel I attended was an interview with just one author: Lauren Groff and her new book THE VASTER WILDS. Her latest novel is about the Jamestown colony in the 1600s. The lead character is a young girl and orphan brought from England to work as a servant in the wild and dangerous settlement. 

Lauren Groff likes to play with genres which is often an industry no-no. The main character in this book goes downward in the material world but upward in the spiritual world. Every book she writes is about a lack of community. She tries to not let it happen but believes we are social animals. Sadly, snobbery exists within the MFA world about historical fiction since it’s genre fiction and not literary enough. But that’s what she, or the mysterious creative force within her, wants to write. 

Lauren Groff lets her books be what they want to be and doesn’t impose her ego on books she’s writing. She views novels as a ball of snakes and tries to get to the center. She believes in play and suggests creative people should play more like kids. Within every book, she has a character with the same last name, but it’s a secret. She suggested when writing endings to think of it as opening a window that the reader didn’t know existed.

After the festival, Time Magazine included Lauren Groff in their list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2024. I’m reading an earlier book of short stories called FLORIDA and am so glad I got to hear her discuss her book and writing in person. This was a fantastic ending to a perfect day of books and conversation by a diverse group of authors. 

Also, Lauren Groff’s new bookstore in Gainesville, Florida, called THE LYNX just opened. Here’s a link: https://bookshop.org/shop/TheLynx  

If you are interested in buying a book mentioned in this blog or elsewhere, I bet they’d be happy to handle your order. Bookshop.org is used by many small local bookstores, including stores in your area. I plan to upload my three novels there soon.

Karen Stensgaard is the author of three novels – AQUAVIT, BLUENESS, and PROJECT ONION. Her next novel, PROJECT PEPPER, was too long but worked well being split into a duology. Both books should be published in 2024.

Here’s one last view of the book festival at San Antonio’s main library, just a short walk to the historic riverwalk. Hope to see you in San Antonio at the next book festival on April 12th.