Berkshire County Historical Society Taps Two New Writers in Residence

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead has appointed two new writers-in-residence for the remainder of this year. 

Robin Catalano will be the summer writer, and Kevin O'Hara will take over in the fall. 

Catalano has an extensive background in writing, having written for magazines, books, blogs, websites and having published more than 75 articles and 1,000 blog posts. Her work has appeared in publications such as Travel +Leisure, the Boston Globe, Gourmet, Travel Awaits, Berkshire Living, and Berkshire HomeStyle. She is also a three-time speaker at the Women in Travel Summit. 

A resident of nearby Stephentown, N.Y., Catalano said she hopes to gain much from her experience as a writer-in-residence with Arrowhead. 

"Being part of the rich literary legacy of Arrowhead, including the writers-in-residence who have come before me, is an honor," she said. "As a travel writer, I'll be drawing from Melville's tradition of adventure to continue my work on a series of exploratory travel narratives. Whether I choose to publish them in book form, in literary magazines, or on my new narrative travel blog, Once More to the Shore, I look forward to the uninterrupted time and creative space the residency affords for advancing the craft of travel writing." 

The fall writer-In-residence, O'Hara, is the author of two critically acclaimed books: "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims: A Man's Journey Through Ireland" and "A Lucky Irish Lad," a story of growing up in Pittsfield during the 1950s and 60s. O'Hara is also a featured columnist for The Berkshire Eagle, and was awarded the Key to the city of Pittsfield in 2010.

Born in England, O'Hara is a long time Pittsfield resident. He said is looking forward to writing in the same space Herman Melville did this coming autumn. 

"During my eight-week tenure at Arrowhead, I plan to put together a collection of my favorite Christmas stories that have been published in The Berkshire Eagle over the past 30 years. Once complete, I hope to self-publish this collection, and make it available for the holidays," he said.

Precision Brows Opens on North Street in Pittsfield

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:26PM / Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Deidre Rosado offers mcroblading and threading of brows and hopes to soon include lip blush and more services. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Deidre Rosado is ready to give your brows the perfect sculpted look. 

 

The permanent-makeup artist opened Precision Brows at 644 North St. with a grand opening on Wednesday 

 

The studio offers threading and microblading, which is described as a semi-permanent solution to define eyebrows.

 

"Microblading is basically a form of tattooing that is done differently than actual tattooing. We use a pen with a flex blade and a pigment versus ink that will eventually change color overtime," said Rosado.

 

She explained that she picks the color based off someone's natural hair color and shapes the eyebrows based on bone structure.

 

"I've always been into stuff like this and microblading was really interesting to me, so I just kind of did it. It's been a lot of hard work," Rosado said.

 

Threading is the use of twisted cotton thread to pluck out hair from the root and can be used alone or with other brow treatments like microblading.