Join us on Saturday, June 16th at 2 pm for an author reading and discussion of A Ramble Through Small-Town New England: Volume One, by Richard Marshall. Read his statement below for more information!
The idea of writing a book about towns along the southern New England border came while sitting on my deck in Whitingham on a beautiful sunny day. I was looking at a Vermont map and saw all the towns stretching from Brattleboro to Bennington. Why not go to each town, meet the people there and write about my impressions of what I saw and heard and, where possible, have people write their own stories? I interviewed artists, farmers, store owners, entrepreneurs, factory owners and many others.
Often I went to the town clerk and asked, “Whom should I see and how do I contact them?” The number of people to be contacted multiplied rapidly through recommendations of those interviewed. Everyone was photographed as well as interesting events in the towns. The photographs are as important a part of the story as the text. The people I met were fascinating and I became more and more drawn into each community.
Originally the book was to cover both Massachusetts and Vermont but the publisher told me I had to stop at 140 pages if I wanted good paper, so it is now is in two volumes. Volume one–Vermont, has been completed.
Where possible, those who wrote articles will be asked to read what they wrote. The towns covered include Brattleboro, Marlboro, Wilmington, Jacksonville, Whitingham, Readsboro and Bennington. 10 people in the Brattleboro have been interviewed, 3 of whom have contributed articles. In addition to writing about the people interviewed there is information about efforts at urban renewal, especially in Bennington.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Richard Marshall has published 11 books, mostly about New York City, Vermont and Hungary. He was formerly general director of the Charlotte Opera and then founder of the Center for Contemporary Opera, a company dedicated to performing new American operas, which he ran for 25 years conducting many of its productions.
Upon retiring he moved to Whitingham, Vermont and began photographing the area. His photographs have appeared in Vienna, Austria; Szged in Hungary; Avignon in France; New York City, Brattleboro and Bennington and were a regular feature of the publication Opera Today.
