Advertisement
Please join us September 21st, 2025 at 11:30am for a poetry reading and conversation with Chris Fritton and Mary Goldthwaite centered around their book:"My Fingernails Are Fresnel Lenses",
which starts with the line: “In 2005, Japanese scientists confirmed a long held suspicion that the human body emanates detectable light.” What follows is a heartbreaking assessment of what it means to remember, what it means to forget, and how you share that with the people you love. A pocket-sized treatise on the neuroscience of memory, the physiology of photons, and the inevitability of loss: it’s the romance of science and the science of romance. It features ten stark, visceral, emotive two-color illustrations by Mary Goldthwaite and a single poem in nine stanzas by Chris Fritton. It was letterpress-, linocut- and risograph-printed, and handbound with a 5-hole chain stitch of yellow Irish linen thread in a limited edition of 250 at Directangle Press (Bethlehem, NH) with technical assistance by Josh Dannin.
About the Book
The first edition of My Fingernails Are Fresnel Lenses was originally published in 2008 by sunnyoutside in Buffalo, NY. 250 copies were letterpress printed and handbound by David McNamara and Chris Fritton. The second edition of the book reenvisions its essence and embraces an imaginative series of illustrations that serve to enhance the poetic narrative.
About the Artists
Chris Fritton is a poet, printer, and artist based in Buffalo, NY. He’s the former Studio Director of the Western New York Book Arts Center, and he’s best known for his decade-long traveling project and subsequent book, The Itinerant Printer. He’s been a visiting artist and instructor at hundreds of institutions, including RISD, MICA, VCU, The Center for Book Arts, and others. His work is held at The Library of Congress, the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry at University of Iowa, the Letterform Archive, and more.
Mary Goldthwaite is an artist and educator based in Peterborough, NH. Her work explores the themes of home, identity, grief, and change. In 2008 she co-founded Broke: The Affordable Arts Fair (2008-2021) which championed making handmade artwork accessible in her community. She has been nationally recognized for her contributions to art education by Art21 Educators (2019) and as a PBS Digital Innovator (2017). She was a finalist for the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Fellowship (2018). My Fingernails Are Fresnel Lenses is her first fully illustrated complete text, and she is currently in the process of developing a graphic memoir.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
12 Depot Sq, Peterborough, NH, United States, New Hampshire 03458
