Toadstool Bookshop to host Fritton’s book launch event

The Toadstool Bookshop, 12 Depot St., will host the launch of “My Fingernails Are Fresnel Lenses” on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event features author Chris Fritton and illustrator Mary Goldthwaite in conversation.

The handmade, 5-by-5-inch book combines a nine-stanza poem with 10 illustrations across 24 pages. It is letterpress-, linocut- and risograph-printed and was produced at Directangle Press in northern New Hampshire. The project marks the first collaboration between Fritton and Goldthwaite.

A reimagining of Fritton’s 2008 book, the new edition explores memory, loss and connection, beginning with the line: “In 2005, Japanese scientists confirmed a long held suspicion that the human body emanates detectable light.”

The program will open with a reading by Fritton, followed by a discussion with Goldthwaite and an audience Q&A. Books and other works will be available for purchase.

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