Wordfest brings literary performance to Metuchen Twenty authors and one old theater welcome lovers of the written word BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer METUCHEN - Paul Watkins came to Wordfest 2007 to ward off schizophrenia. The acclaimed author of "Stand Before Your God" and "The Ice Soldier" joined 18 other authors, poets and musicians at the annual literature event May 5 to read from his newest work and support the burgeoning Metuchen arts community found orbiting around the Raconteur Book Store. Watkins, who lives an admittedly monastic life, said that coming to Wordfest gave him a chance to break away from the myopic task of writing day in and out without outside contact, and allowed him to be among the readers and the other writers. "I spend more time with people I've invented than with people that are real," Watkins said. "I use these things like pressure valves and I go back to work with a clearer head." The second annual Wordfest is a literary festival aimed at giving the public a chance to hear, and enjoy the latest works of contemporary writers and up-and- coming talent. Sponsored by the ever-eclectic Raconteur Book Store in downtown Metuchen, Wordfest is the cornerstone of artistic events the bookstore uses to support and enhance the area's arts community. Wordfest called the Forum Theatre in Metuchen its home for the second straight year. The vaudevillian-like venue, with corresponding cracks running down opposite walls, served as the setting for a four-hour literary bonanza with authors from around the world and around the corner sharing a love for the spoken and written word. While the stories of the authors weaved in and out of the theater's ancient rows, the spotlight shone brightly on center stage, reminding the viewer that the art of storytelling is not dead. The readings were as diverse as the patrons, ranging from stories about digging up the wrong grave of a former lover to retrieve some ill-given poetry, to the first-person narrative of a man watching this wife disappear behind the veil of Alzheimer's. For Alex Dawson, the proprietor of the Raconteur and the driving force behind Wordfest, the night was a chance to do many things at one time. On the roster of authors were many heavy hitters in the literary community, people that Dawson said, could often be seen at similar events in major cities. Wordfest was a chance to bring that to Central Jersey. "We wanted to take an event you'd expect to see in Manhattan or Philly and put it in our backyard in Metuchen," Dawson said. The event also gave people a chance to be exposed to new authors and possibly even galvanize prospective writers into honing their own craft. But most of all, Wordfest was for the community. Dawson said that the smaller events he holds at the bookstore each week are just as satisfying as the larger ones such as Wordfest. "Because I get the same gratification," Dawson said, "I do these almost exclusively for the community." Dawson said that, barring Rutgers University, there is a lack of cultural centers in Central Jersey, and he hopes the 3-year-old Raconteur can provide that service for the former city-dwellers moving into Metuchen but holding onto their progressive roots. "There is a hole that needs to be filled," Dawson said. "It's sort of the mantle we wear to offer progressive entertainment." Also accompanying Wordfest is the Raconteur's first foray into the publishing world. Many of the authors that night will be featured in the "Raconteur Reader," an anthology of short works to be put out by the bookstore. Dawson said there is a good chance that there will be a Wordfest 2008, though he does not know if the ailing Forum Theatre will see it. Right now, however, he's focusing on his next big project, the annual film festival in September, and cultivating the relationships with the authors he was able to make through Wordfest. For other authors Elizabeth Gaffney and Sigrid Nunez, it was more than just a stop on a book tour or a date on the calendar; it was a chance to take part in something different and reunite with old friends. "This is a unique thing," Nunez said. "When you're in a bookstore, reading, you're usually by yourself. This has a social aspect."