Arts

Stories of Howard Frank Mosher spotlighted at two events

Latchis screens Where the Rivers Flow North, Landmark College hosts Mosher for a reading from his new book

On Sunday, April 12, at 4 p.m., Latchis Arts will present Where the Rivers Flow North, a film by Jay Craven, based on the novel by Vermont author Howard Frank Mosher.

Admission is by donation, and proceeds will benefit Latchis Arts and the Next Stage Arts Project.

The screening of Where the Rivers Flow North is presented in conjunction with Howard Frank Mosher's appearance as part of the Landmark College Speaker Series on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m., at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill Road in Putney.

Produced by Bess O'Brien and Jay Craven and starring Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Bill Raymond, Michael J. Fox, and Treat Williams, Where the Rivers Flow North is the first of four movies Craven has produced and directed based on the novels of Howard Frank Mosher.

Set in 1927, the film tells the story of an old Vermont logger (Rip Torn as Noel Lourdes) and his Native American mate (Tantoo Cardinal as Bangor) who face the extinction of their way of life, when the building of a giant hydroelectric dam threatens to flood them off their land.

Lord and Bangor face emotional and physical challenges as they struggle with the power company, Vermont's unforgiving terrain, and one another in this frontier film and unconventional love story. National Public Radio's Bob Mondello hailed the 1993 film as “breathtakingly beautiful.”

For the Landmark College Speaker Series appearance at Next Stage on April 13, Howard Frank Mosher will read from his most recent book, The Great Northern Express, and speak of his journey as a writer.

The author of 10 novels and a travel memoir, Mosher was born in the Catskill Mountains in 1942 and has lived in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom since 1964.

He has won many awards for his fiction, including Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Literature Award, the American Civil Liberties Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the New England Book Award and, most recently, the 2011 New England Independent Booksellers Association's President's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.

Carl Hiaasen said, “Mosher calls to mind the best of Mark Twain - mischievous, touching, and very funny,” and Richard Russo said, “Howard Frank Mosher is, for my money, the most natural storyteller around.”

Booklist wrote of The Great Northern Express: “Hilarious, poignant, and honest, this bittersweet memoir is a sheer delight to read.”

Admission on April 13 is free to Landmark College students, faculty and staff. For others, there is a $10 suggested donation to support the renovations of Next Stage, including becoming fully accessible.

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