Death, Enchantment, and Hiking in Dogtown, Massachusetts

August 23, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

You'll find words of inspiration, eerie tales, and New England history on the Babson Boulder Trail on Cape Ann, Massachusetts — You’ll find words of inspiration, eerie tales, and New England history on the Babson Boulder Trail, Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Bars and counters are my favorite places to sit in restaurants. There’s something about the combination of close proximity and food that fosters great conversations among complete strangers. And, if I see you sitting next to me with a book, you won’t have time to read it because I’ll won’t be able to stop myself from asking what you’re reading, what it’s about, and do you recommend it.

That happened a couple of springs ago when my husband, Scott, and I were in Rockport,

The New York Times called this is "a true-crime story, an art appreciation course and an American history lesson stitched together, and it succeeds as all three, albeit with a few seams showing." — The New York Times called this is “a true-crime story, an art appreciation course and an American history lesson stitched together, and it succeeds as all three, albeit with a few seams showing.”

Mass., (on Cape Ann, about an hour north of Boston) while I was researching my book, Off The Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs and Girls on Getaways. There was still a chill in the the air and we were happily slurping down huge bowls of fish chowder at the Red Skiff, a tiny restaurant on Rockport’s aptly named Mt. Pleasant St. (The relaxed pace and the chance to hang out and chat with locals on both sides of the lunch counter without a line if diners behind you, and of course lower prices, are a few of the many charms of off-season travel.) I noticed that two of our lunch counter companions were discussing a book, so I had to barge into their discussion and ask about it, which led to questions about where we were from and what brought us to Rockport. Turned out the two gentlemen were members of the local sheriff’s department enjoying their day off. When one heard about my project, he grabbed the book from his friend’s hands and said, “You’ve got to read this book.” It was Elyssa East’s Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town. He said with an air of mystery that Dogtown has had a very strange history. “Say no more,” I said.

That lunch counter encounter was enough to launch me into reading not only East’s non-

Anita Daimant's The Last Days of Dogtown is a fictional novel based on the colonial settlement in Massachusetts. — Anita Daimant’s The Last Days of Dogtown is a work of historical fiction based on a colonial settlement Massachusetts.

fiction book about a murder in Dogtown, but also Anita Diamant’s fictional work The Last Days of Dogtown (you may have read her best-seller, The Red Tent) and Thomas Dresser’s Dogtown: A Village Lost in Time. After reading those books, I had to go see the place for myself.

Dogtown is a 3,600-acre tract of juniper, bog, and granite with a beautiful reservoir at one end. Early settlers–really early, like the mid-1600s–put down roots in Dogtown, though it couldn’t have been easy among so much rock. A century later as many as 100 families lived in the Dogtown area. But after the Revolutionary War, people figured that fishing might be a better way to make a living than tilling around giant boulders. It’s surprising that it took them that long. By the early 1800s, Dogtown was deserted, but for a few impoverished widows who, like Tammy Younger, the “queen of the witches,” intimidated passersby enough to make them pay her to leave them alone. A few dogs remained, too, which according to some people is the reason for the area’s name.

One thing that’s unnerving about Dogtown is that’s it’s rather hard to find your way around, giving the feeling that at any turn you could become hopelessly lost and eventually end up like Tammy and her warty friends. To explore Dogtown Commons, buy a detailed trail map at Toad Hall Books in Rockport or bookstores in Gloucester and bring along your GPS. You can also take a tour with an expert Seania McCarthy at Walk the Words. With a bit of looking, you can still find the holes that were the cellars of the first Dogtown homes.

But my favorite hike is the Babson Boulder Trail. During the Depression, millionaire

Intelligence gathering along the Babson Boulder Trail.

philanthropist Roger Babson, the founder of Babson College, hired unemployed stonecutters to carve 24 inspirational words on Dogtown boulders, many on what is now the Babson Boulder Trail. It’s fun, but a tad eerie, to encounter giant boulders at various points on the trail with inscriptions such as “Industry,” “Kindness,” “Be On Time,” and “Keep Out of Debt.” My favorite: “Help Mother.”

All of this history and mystery made Dogtown a favorite source of inspiration for the painter Marsden Hartley who captured the place in powerful, primal paintings such as “Rock Doxology.” He said, “A sense of eeriness pervades all the place…. [It is] forsaken and majestically lovely, as if nature had at last formed one spot where she can live for herself alone.” Read the books and go see for yourself.

Dogtown was the subject of many works by painter Marsden Hartley. You can see "Rock Doxology" in the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Mass. — Dogtown was the subject of many works by painter Marsden Hartley. You can see “Rock Doxology” in the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Mass.

New Mexico

Strolling on Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico

August 8, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

Santa Fe is one of my favorite places. Fabulous art, Native American crafts, great food, shopping, music, and outdoorsy pursuits abound. If you’re traveling with a group, it’s hard to keep everyone together because everything you see makes you want to stop and stare, from the wisteria draped adobe architecture to the fabulous Native American jewelry and even the distinctive high desert sky.

Santa Fe’s sky and special light–clear and stunningly bright–is one reason Santa Fe and nearby Taos have attracted writers and artists for decades. Author D.H. Lawrence fell in love with the place. He wrote in “New Mexico,”

The moment I saw the brilliant, proud morning shine high up over the deserts of Santa Fe, something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend… In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico one sprang awake, a new part of the soul woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new.

Willa Cather found a similar fascination with the New Mexico sky. In Death Comes for the Archbishop she says

The plain was there, under one’s feet, but what one saw when one looked about was the brilliant blue world of stinging air and moving cloud. Even the mountains were mere anthills under it. Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.

While Lawrence and Cather painted New Mexico with words, stroll through Santa Fe and you’ll see how countless artists have portrayed the area in oil, clay, bronze and more, which has made Santa Fe the second or third largest art market, depending on who you’re talking to. The city was designated a UNESCO Creative City in 2005, the first U.S. city to be so honored and currently one of only a handful of Creative Cities in the world. In 2009 the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Santa Fe one of the Trust’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

You’ll find a concentrated dose of art on the city’s famous Canyon Road, with over one

hundred galleries, specialty shops, and restaurants. It’s a visual fiesta at just about every turn, and if you look carefully you’ll find something for every budget. Though the galleries would love to have you purchase a work of art, you’re welcome to come in and simply savor what you see for a while.

Just looking? Santa Fe is also a city of museums with more than a dozen different facilities including the Museum of International Folk Art, The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico Museum of Art, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe Children’s Museum, New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, and one of my favorites, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Chicago

Ernest Hemingway in Oak Park, Before The Paris Wife

July 18, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

Get a quick education on Ernest Hemingway with a visit to Oak Park, Illinois.

Ernest Hemingway’s personal life was as interesting and adventurous as his fiction. So, while I was in Chicago recently I took a side trip to the lovely suburb of Oak Park, where I visited the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum. For Hemingway fans or if you enjoy books about Hemingway such as The Paris Wife, you’ll find a stroll in the author’s old neighborhood is delightful.

In previous posts, such a the one about A Skeptic’s Guide to Writer’s Houses, I’ve discussed the fact that authors’ homes aren’t as interesting as the places where their books are set. Still, it’s fun to see how an author lived and maybe hear a few stories about family life that may have shaped his world view. For example, when you take the guided tour in the home, you’ll see the little dining room where Hemingway’s grandfather sat with the children for breakfast and encouraged all of them to tell stories. He didn’t long enough to see what sprang from such encouragement.

So, if you’re in Chicago, make a trip to Oak Park to visit the Hemingway family home. Start at the museum at 200 Oak Park Avenue 708-524-5383, www.ehfop.org The home where Hemingway was born is one block north.

Ideas for Book Clubs

Dog Stories That Are an Inspiration for Life and for Travel -Part One

July 3, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

Slugger, a natural traveler, loved to be on the move--across town or across the country. Here, he's waiting for his next adventure. — Slugger, a natural traveler, loved to be on the move–across town or across the country. Here, he’s waiting for his next adventure.

I’m the world’s biggest dog lover, but I generally avoid “dog stories” because I invariably wind up sobbing. They’re always sad. I’ve never really recovered from reading Old Yeller in grade school. But, I recently discovered author Leigh Brill Singh, a fellow dog lover who has her own dog story, A Dog Named Slugger, about how her service dog transformed her life as a person with cerebral palsy. When I heard how much she travels from her Virginia home to promote her book, “ability awareness,” and the Saint Francis Service dogs that have changed her life, I had to share her story on Off The Beaten Page Travel. Our interview will appear in two parts, so stay tuned for Leigh’s ideas and tips about traveling with pets, whether they’re service animals or not. Before you read this post, grab your Kleenex and check out a video about Leigh and her canines. http://vimeo.com/12630552 And, be sure to check out part two of our Q and A.

Okay, Leigh, I’m tearing up just looking at the cover A Dog Named Slugger, so tell me a bit about your book and why it’s worth getting dehydrated to read it.

A Dog Named Slugger is more than “a dog book.” The story offers an intimate look at what it means to live with a congenital disability. It goes on to reveal how my own life was shaped by cerebral palsy and ultimately re-shaped through my partnership with an amazing Labrador. My first service dog, Slugger, taught me to define myself not by what I had to overcome, but by what I had the courage to become. His message to me was, “I’m here for you. No matter what.” That message inspired me. It gave me hope. Given the challenges so many folks face these days—from economic worries, to the multi-level stressors of war, to threats to health and well-being—we all need hope. That’s a big part of why I wrote A Dog Named Slugger. It’s one way I can pass along some of the many gifts that my big yellow Lab first offered me. Just like the remarkable dog who romps through its pages, the book proves that a gift is most beautiful when it is shared.

Do you have other books in the works?

I’ve been very honored to hear from readers throughout the world who have described A Dog Named Slugger as an eye-opening, entertaining, and uplifting read, one they’ve read over and over until the spine is creased and the their favorite pages are “dog-eared.” Readers ask, “What happens next?” and I am hard at work on the answer. My second book will pick up where the first ended and I’ll also be introducing some new friends, both human and canine. But, my well-trained service dogs could tell you I’m not always good at executing a “sit/stay” at my writing desk; these days my sweet Lab Kenda and my hard-working Golden, Pato are helping me improve that skill. In addition to writing the sequel to Slugger, I’m exploring some ideas for a fictional children’s book series featuring a young girl who solves mysteries with the help of her service dog. It will likely be a while before the project is ready to launch, but it sure is fun.

I understand that the book has become a springboard for your efforts to promote the importance of service dogs and “ability awareness.”

I serve on the board of directors for Saint Francis Service Dogs and volunteer in a variety of ways to further the foundation’s mission. I especially enjoy talking with other service dog partners and lending support to new teams. My dogs and I often provide ability awareness presentations, that is, teaching people about the abilities of people with special needs rather than their disabilities. Whether we are teaching elementary school youngsters about diversity or assisting with fundraising efforts for Saint Francis Service Dogs, my canine partners and I love every opportunity to spread a positive message.

Recently, my efforts have reached even further than I could have imagined. I was contacted by the Centre for Learning Resources (CLR), in India. CLR’s mission includes broadening educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth living in rural India. Now, after months of hard work and collaboration, an adaptation of my book will be included in the centre’s ESL (English as a Second Language) materials to help inspire and educate youngsters there.

I often encourage people to read books, then go do something related to the topic/story of the book. So, if one were to read A Dog Named Slugger, what would you suggest doing as an activity? For example is there someplace to visit or volunteer where they train service dogs? Maybe have a fundraiser for the cause?

I love the concept of reading a book and then following up with a related activity. That

Trained to climb into her car when asked, Pato waits for Leigh Brill Singh to give him the "load up" command. — Trained to climb into her car when asked, Pato waits for Leigh Brill Singh to give him the “load up” command.

would likely add to the “take home value” of both the book AND the experience. That pairing could also lead to unexpected treasures—a new hobby, greater understanding… the possibilities are endless. Readers of A Dog Named Slugger might enjoy learning about service dog organizations. I encourage everyone to find out more about Saint Francis Service Dogs. Tours, and special events at the training center in Roanoke Virginia are a great way to get involved. Assistance Dogs International also provides a helpful list of other service dog organizations throughout the nation and beyond. In my experience, most service dog organizations are thrilled to have volunteers—the work of raising, training, and placing service dogs offers lots of opportunities for folks to use individual talents and interests.

I also hope that people who read my book will incorporate new awareness into their everyday lives. Perhaps the story I’ve shared will enable readers to have greater insight into what it means to deal with a disability. Hopefully my work will also illuminate the important roles that service dogs play in the lives of their human partners. Here’s one example: If you are traveling and you happen to see a beautiful dog assisting a disabled person, DO NOT PET the dog. I know that for many dog-loving folks (including me), petting the animal feels like an automatic response, but it’s not the wisest one. It is far better to ask a working dog’s handler if petting is permitted. If not, it isn’t because the handler is being unfriendly or snobby; it is simply because petting a service dog who is working can distract the animal and cause problems for the dog’s partner. Such service dog etiquette is helpful for service dog teams everywhere no matter where you roam.

Any other great dog books you love?

I love good books of all descriptions! Some of my all time favorite dog-themed books include:

Amazing Gracie: A Dog’s Tale—by Dan Dye

A Big Little Life—by Dean Koontz

The Art of Racing in the Rain—by Garth Stein

A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans—by W. Bruce Cameron

Where the Red Fern Grows—by Wilson Rawls

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle— by David Wroblewski

To find out more about Leigh and her dogs at http://authorleighbrill.com

Memphis

Go Off The Beaten Page in Memphis

June 24, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

Off The Beaten Page on Beale Street, Memphis

In my opinion, if you’re looking for one place where you can go to get an understanding of the United States–its culture, its history and its struggles–it’s Memphis. Robert Gordon says in It Came from Memphis, “No city has had more of an impact on modern culture.”

Those are pretty big statements, but after visiting Memphis, I think it’s true. I had never been there until I went on a “reconnaissance mission” while writing Off The Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs and Girls on Getaways and by the time I left I felt a tie with Memphis that makes me want to go back to this gritty city on the Mississippi over and over.

It’s not a fancy place, like, for example another Southern city I love, Charleston. But, Memphis moves you. The Memphis mojo makes even the most reserved person want to snap her fingers and start dancing with abandon. In fact, go to the Stax Museum, “Soulsville, USA,” and hit the dance floor there which is surrounded by a video wall. Or, visit Sun Studio where a few guys named Elvis, Johnny, and Jerry Lee recorded their hits. Try to stand still; I dare you. I predict you’ll be rockin’ before you even notice it.

But it’s not all so happy-go-lucky. Memphis was a hub for the civil rights movement and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated there at the Lorraine Motel, which is now

The Lorraine Motel, and the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis.

the National Civil Rights Museum, another “moving” place. This is mecca for anyone interested in the civil rights movement. It’s undergoing an extensive renovation and is currently featuring the exhibit, “Freedom’s Sisters.” Before you go, read Hampton Sides’ Hellhound on His Trail for background and to feel a very close connection to those events.

Then get rollin’ on the river with Mark Twain. His classic Life on the Mississippi outlines not only his experience as a young riverboat pilot but also his observations from a later trip on the river where he observes the cotton culture, the people and many other aspects of life on the Big Muddy. Take a short riverboat cruise and you’ll feel the river’s power and learn a little more about its history and integral role in the development of the country.

Need more excuses to visit Memphis? Check out a few of the city’s upcoming events including Elvis Week, the King’s birthday celebration (this year from August 10-17), and of course Graceland. The Memphis Music and Heritage Festival takes place every year on

You'll also want to visit the gift shop at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis — You’ll also want to visit the gift shop at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis

Labor Day weekend. It’s organized by the Center for Southern Folklore. And, now through October you can visit Mud Island Park to see “Discovery: A Journey of Exploration and Imagination of America’s Waterways,” a traveling exhibit of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and the National Rivers Hall of Fame.

Ideas for Book Clubs

Books, Travel, Friendship: Inspiration for Girls’ Getaways

June 13, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

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Reading and travel make a dynamite combination. Camaraderie is also a key attraction of literary getaways. Traveling to a literary destination with friends allows you to get away, at least for a while, from the pressures and distractions of work, motherhood, soccer practice, and so many other responsbilities. You gain just a little time to explore new places and ideas, try new things and expand your personal horizons. If nothing else, lit trips offer the chance to have a lot of fun in each other’s company.

If you’ve considered taking a trip with your book club or any other group of friends, you’ll want to take a look at Have Tote Will Travel, the work of Oregon-based Nicole Meier. She says, “I’ve got two incredible, older sisters with whom I love to travel. I hope my blog inspires other women, whether they are friends or sisters, to take the time to travel together and create amazing girls’ trip experiences of their own.” Meier recently posted her interview with me about literary travel and my book Off The Beaten Page in her “Travel Reads” section. She has tons of gals’ travel ideas, so if you’ve been thinking about a trip with your book club or a getaway with mothers, daughters, sisters or a group of friends, check out Have Tote Will Travel.

And, a reminder, if you have had a great lit trip experience, please tell me about it at tsmith952@comcast.net. I love sharing those stories. You’ll find them on the “Book Club Travel Tales” section of this blog.

Uncategorized

Celebrate Dad with a Literary Adventure Together

June 7, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith 4 Comments

Looking for a creative Father’s Day gift? Think books-and-adventure.

SONY DSC — Scott and Mike Smith prepare for a Father’s Day father/son skydiving adventure at West Side Skydivers. westsideskydivers.com

Say “literary travel” and people usually conjure up images of following in the footsteps of the Bronte sisters in England, visiting Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West, or perhaps tracing the route of the fictional Robert Langdon through Florence in Dan Brown’s latest, Inferno. Those are great ideas, but for most of us, such excursions mean a major investment of time and money. Instead, I maintain that you can concoct a lit trip just about anywhere if you find the right book and activity combo. A short lit trip doesn’t have to take a huge chunk of your budget or your schedule. And it doesn’t require plowing through high-brow literature. The idea here is to have fun.

Like moms, fathers love spending time with their kids. Unlike moms, “together time” for dads may involve watching golf or ESPN. A lit trip with dad provides just the right catalyst to propel everyone away from watching sports on TV to watching events in person or better yet, participating. Reading the same book (fiction or non-fiction) just naturally brings people together over shared stories and ideas. A literary adventure, near or far, extends the pleasure of sharing a book by adding an experience to the mix, creating an opportunity to live the book. So, it a lit trip doesn’t have to be a scholars exercise, just a way to try out new ideas, activities, and even meet new people.

At almost all of the events and appearances I do for my book Off the Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs and Girls on Getaways, men come up to me and say I should do a book for guys. Often, the books and itineraries in my book can be enjoyed by both men and women, so I imagine an Off The Beaten Page, Men’s Edition would offer much of the same sort of content but with a bit of fine-tuning… more NASCAR, less shopping. Here are a few ideas for literary adventures for guys, dads and otherwise.

A Flying Leap

Is there something on dad’s bucket list that he just needs a little encouragement to try? Sky diving was on my husband’s list for ages and he finally talked one of our sons into going with him as a Father’s Day treat for himself.

Read: Above All Else: A World Champion Skydiver’s Story of Survival and What It Taught Him About Fear, Adversity, and Success by Dan Brodsky-Chenfield. (Okay, I’m thinking you may want to go skydiving first, then read the book.)

Go: skydiving

How to Be Manly

Not so hot on extreme adventures like skydiving?

Read: Man Made: In Which a Dad Learns to Be a Man for His Son by Joel Stein. In hardback, this book had a title I liked better, A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. Stein confesses that he’s not a “manly man” and so undertakes an investigation of how to become one in this very funny book. Chapter One: “Surviving Outdoors”

Go: camping or simply take a hike.

America’s Game

“Baseball travel” is a favorite form of travel for many guys, with groups traveling across the country to tick off visits to both major league and minor league stadiums. (Read my post on Major League Vacations.)

Read: Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age by Allen Barra. This new book had been well received by critics.

Go: Take in a baseball game together.

The Scene of the Crime

It’s no wonder that crime is one of the most popular literary genres.

Read: Revisit the classics, books like Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon or Raymond Chandler’s Farewell My Lovely. You just can’t beat those hard-boiled gumshoes. Or, pick up more recent classics like Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer or Walter Mosely’s newest Easy Rawlins mystery, Little Green.

Go: visit the people in blue at your local police department. Even small-town police departments offer some amazing behind-the-scenes tours and some even give you a look at offer their crime labs, ala CSI.

Grill n’ Chill

Cooking is a great creative outlet for just about anybody and there’s plenty of great food writing to go with it.

Read: Calvin Trillin’s The Tummy Trilogy or MFK Fisher’s classic The Art of Eating.

Go: take a cooking or grilling class together.

The sky’s the limit. Just think book and “field trip.” For any dad, the memories of a literary adventure with his kids will stay with him far longer than a Hallmark card. If the kids are too young to share adventures with dad, you’ll want to check out the funny “Literature For Dads” video from The Dad Lab. They suggest avoiding Cormac McCarthy’s The Road–not an uplifting father-son travel idea.

AND–if you have any other book-and-travel pairings that a dad would like, please send them to me. You can comment below, send links to favorite travel blogs, or email me at tsmith952@comcast.net with your ideas. I’ll add them to this blog. But be quick. Father’s Day is June 16.

Charleston

Spoleto Fests Large and Small in Charleston

May 31, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

DSCN0906 — A carriage ride is a great way to get your bearings in Charleston.

“We just love the way y’all talk,” a Charleston carriage driver comments on my Midwestern accent. He says it, no doubt, with a bit of irony because so many Midwesterners say the same thing to him. Our banter is all in good fun. As we roll through some of Charleston’s most historic and elegant neighborhoods, I feel the warm, humid breeze from the bay blow over me and start to settle into the friendly, genteel hospitality of Charleston. It’s clear that the city still holds the same appeal that it did for Rhett Butler in the closing lines of Gone With the Wind. He tells Scarlett O’Hara that he’s going back home to Charleston, where he can find “the calm dignity life can have when it’s lived by gentle folks, the genial grace of days that are gone. When I lived those days, I didn’t realize the slow charm of them.”

Charleston is one of America’s oldest cities and many of its old guard trace their roots to English colonists, who laid out its series of broad, elegant boulevards. But while the city works hard to preserve its colonial and antebellum historic sites, it is by no means stuck in the days of tight corsets and hoop skirts. The city is home to charming shops (see upper and lower King Street and Broad Street) and restaurants such as Husk that I dream about long after I leave. Most notably, Charleston displays its vibrant cultural life with the Spoleto Festival USA which runs until June 9 and fills the city’s historic theaters, churches and outdoor spaces with performances by world renowned artists as well as emerging performers in opera; theater; dance; and chamber, symphonic, choral and jazz music.

Spoleto brings in artists from around the world. It’s the big boy in town. But if you’re

looking for a taste of regional arts and culture head for Piccolo Spoleto, which focuses primarily on artists of the Southeast region with an emphasis on events for children and families. There’s also a piccolo literary festival. Piccolo Spoleto offers performances and event either free of charge or at prices that are more affordable than its big brother.

No matter which Spoleto you choose, or if you prefer to simply stroll Charleston’s streets or visit nearby plantations, you’ll feel as at home here as Rhett Butler did. Heading for Charleston? Here are a few don’t-miss books to read before you go:

Pat Conroy- South of Broad, The Prince of Tides, Beach Music

Dorothea Benton Frank – Bulls Island, Folly Beach, Lowcountry Summer

Gloria Naylor, Mama Day

Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family

Alphonso Brown- A Gullah Guide to Charleston: Walking Through Black History.

Looking for an itinerary for your visit to Charleston? The city is a featured destination in Off The Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs and Girls on Getaways.

South Dakota

Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background, South Dakota

May 30, 2013 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

Hiking with the Nature Conservancy in the Samuel H. Ordway Memorial Preserve in South Dakota

On the prairie, the background is the story. More than most other places, the vast grasslands of the Dakotas make us stop and look for a moment at open spaces and realize that they are far from empty.

Gretel Ehrlich says in The Solace of Open Spaces, “We Americans are great on fillers, as if what we have, what we are, is not enough. We have a cultural tendency toward denial, but being affluent, we strangle ourselves with what we can buy. We gave only to look at the houses we build to see how we build “against” space, the way we drink against pain and loneliness. We fill up space as if it were a pie shell, with things whose opacity further obstructs our ability to see what is already there.”

Travel to the places you read about. Read about the places you travel.