Mid-Shore Arts: Shore Lit After Year One: A Chat with Kerry Folan

Shore Lit recently marked its first-year anniversary, and founder/director Kerry Folan couldn’t be happier with their progress. The organization has successfully hosted eight community author events, creating a vibrant space for literature and conversation on the Eastern Shore.

But what sets Shore Lit apart is the quality of its literary events and the sense of community it fosters.

Folan, a professor of writing and literature at George Mason University in Virginia and a six-year resident of Easton, took the initiative to create the authors’ reading series to bridge the gap between art and culture and foster a greater sense of community.

“I feel like one of the reasons I moved here to the Eastern Shore is because, despite us having a very small, tight-knit community, we have incredible cultural resources,” Folan says. “That was really exciting to me but one piece I found to be missing was adult literary programming.” 

To that end, Shore Lit partners with the Easton Academy Art Museum, the Talbot County Free Library, Adkins Arboretum, Washington College’s Literary House, and more. These partnerships allow for diverse events that combine literature with other cultural elements, like Shore Lit’s Pride Pop-Up Bookshop during Easton’s Delmarva Pride Festival in June.

 “Gathering is how we actualize as a community. Community is a concept until you actually come together and sit in a room with somebody who may have different ideas or a different experience from you and listen.”

Upcoming events will include author readings by Tania James on September 15 and CJ Hauser on October 13, both at the Academy Art Museum. 

The Spy recently connected with Kerry via Zoom to talk about Shore Lit’s first year and her vision for the future.

To stay updated on Shore Lit’s events and literary happenings on the Eastern Shore and to register for upcoming readings, go here.

 This video is approximately nine minutes in length.