Bears Invade Aspen, Colorado: A Brief Round Up

Despite a hushed murmur, most of the crowd nodded in mutual approval. Beah continued. “It’s exhausting to write and talk about myself all the time.” The Doerr-Hosier Center was filled with a consortium of accomplished authors, curious wordsmiths, book buyers, and retired benefactors who appeared to be hanging onto his every word. As a public speaker, Beah’s 1000-watt smile, electric charm, and enduring message can regal almost any crowd, be it college students or hard-line international diplomats. However, he’s not in Aspen for the summer to necessarily focus on humanitarian issues around the globe or to entertain; he’s here to write.

As the first ever writer-in-residence for the Aspen Writer’s Foundation, Beah is spending the summer in Aspen to get serious about writing a novel.

Aspen Summer Words: An Interview with Ishmael Beah

In the context of ski town slang, “Go big” is the type of gnarly, half-baked euphemism usually reserved for adrenaline-fueled physical prowess on the slopes or throwing back one more shot-and-a-beer before last call. Yet the Aspen Institute’s annual Ideas Fest elevates the collective IQ of this cliche snow-shredding colloquialism. Every July, a sundry assumable of corporate bigwigs, accomplished cultural icons, foreign diplomats, professors, scholars, experts-in-the-field, and media savvy opinion-makers gather in Aspen to discuss big ideas during a week of cerebral stimulation. On the surface, the overall purpose of this event appears to have ambiguous auspices: a dialogue-driven presentation of original ideas celebrating multiple points of view, often without a common aesthetic thread, in an idyllic alpine setting. Nonetheless, Ideas Fest brings inside-the-Beltway discussions to a town known for absurd affluence and endless recreation. Many audience members willingly dole out big bucks for the opportunity to witness the lively discussions, heated debates, and forums on ambitious umbrella topics dominating national policy discussions like education, clean energy, Darwin, and the future of Middle East policy. These conversations are shepherded by prestigious social, environmental, economic, political, and media power players, with audience members getting an opportunity to mingle and participate by asking questions.

Aspen Ideas Festival: A Guide to Who Said What at the

2009 Aspen Ideas Festival

Here in the remote alpine resort town of Aspen, a confluence of factors like astronomical real estate prices, short attention spans, and an inflated cost of living makes the town – for better or worst – unpractical for prize-winning authors or best-selling novelists looking to establish and settle down in a comfortable stomping ground. Even degree-holding newspaper writers are pigeonholed into employee-mandated housing because of sky-high rents. Nonetheless, the river of literary tradition and cultural significance in our quirky mountain community of 6,000 runs wide and deep – perhaps just as deep as any significant college town chockablock with erudite scholars, a research library, and bookish intellectuals with bombastic vocabularies.

Aspen Literature: Ten Great Books putting Aspen on the American Literary Map

I’m mighty proud of this piece. It received an honorable mention in the Travel Channel’s illustrous World Hum blog. Eva Holland wrote:

When most people think of Aspen, Colorado, I doubt if the words “literary pilgrimage” pop all that promptly into their heads. But that’s going to change—at least if Aspen.com’s Brandon Wenerd has anything to say about it.

It also received a nod from the Elegant Varitation, a great literature blog that I read almost daily.