Beth Kanell's Blog, page 31

More Stories That Matter: Local News

Here's a photo of the construction team headed to work on the rooftop skylight of the St. Johnsbury (Vermont) Athenaeum today (cell phone photo, so a bit fuzzy!). Problem: Skylight work means the Athenaeum's noted art gallery is closed for the season. Opportunity: Another part of the building, Athenaeum Hall, has a glorious history including visits from President Benjamin Harrison, Henry Stanley ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"), receptions for other speakers like "Mrs. General Custer," Frederi...

Chinatown, Boston: Today and 1921

How can I walk back through time to discover Boston's Chinatown in 1921?

One way is through the Chinese Historical Society of New England, which graciously allowed me to join a group tour earlier this month in order to hear about the district and how it has changed, along with the memories of CHSNE members and details from their studying and collecting. Thank you, Caroline, Nancy, and more.

Most important details learned in terms of 1921: no New Year's parade or festivities outside the home at...

History Sleuthing

When I'm working on an action novel or mystery set in another time period -- like THE LONG SHADOW, set in 1850 during the Underground Railroad in Vermont -- I'm in full detective mode. I carry a small pocket notebook, file cards, pens, camera, and sometimes even a magnifying glass. And I hit the road for almost as many hours as I'm at the desk.

Most critical in triggering THE LONG SHADOW was a visit to Rokeby, the best documented Underground Railroad station in Vermont. If you'd like to visit,...

Summer Afternoon

Photo: Our strawberry bed, last week of May. In the middle, an apple tree -- produced by grafting, during a Ken Parr workshop at the Fairbanks Museum.

Mixed Motives: American Eugenics and Women's Campaigns

Discussions with Vermont librarians about the Vermont Eugenics Project -- the bitter historical reality underlying The Darkness Under the Water -- often come, with sorrow, to Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Author of Understood Betsy and many other well-loved children's books, Fisher also wrote abundantly for adults. She campaigned for sensible future plans for her adopted home state (like many another "flatlander" turned Vermont taxpayer). In the early 1900s she saw the potential for...

Poem from "Mud Season at the Castle" (by me when I was E. L. Dugger)

Initiation
Across the heat of June hayfields
the clouds rolled up all black and silver
flashing forth ancient tongues
and came the rain:
Gray slaps and sluices sweeping down hillsides
stealing vistas
pounding the earth into puddle holes
and whipping the rutted road.
It was the longest day of summer,
yet the green ridges shivered purple
and the birds hid.
Late afternoon the wind arose
tore off the sky's low sagging veil
and spread blue innocence
from hill to gleaming hill.
To the mountaintop I scrambled

Historical Research in Progress

Ever wondered what it's like to search out the pieces of the puzzle for a specific historical question? Bob Joly, Shara McCaffery, and I are working on a question about lectures given at a community gathering spot in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the late 1800s: at "Athenaeum Hall." To see how the digging begins as wide and scattered data, then gradually narrows with confirmation, toward a presentation, take a peek at the workspace blog for "Our Distinguished Guests": http...

Another Reason for Reading Historical Fiction

"Never again" -- we share the history and literature of the Holocaust with teens as well as adults, knowing that the health and heart of our world depend on learning the lessons of our past. Teens today often work their own way through Holocaust fiction as well as memoirs, seeking insight.

Many New Englanders have now forgotten that in the United States in the early 1900s, the scientific enthusiasms of genetics had branched into eugenics.  Social and political movements embraced the pos...

New Book Trailer for THE DARKNESS UNDER THE WATER

Wow, what a learning curve, to create a video and post it on YouTube! I've also entered this in the ForeWord Book Trailer contest; hope you'll take a look, and leave a "like" vote if it pleases you (you can only vote AFTER watching it). Thanks! http://www.youtube.com/group/booktrailercontest -- look for Darkness Under the Water.

Author Get-Togethers via Skype

Like most authors, I spend hours and hours at my desk -- or doing research -- or taking a walk to get the writing muscles loosened up and thinking about getting back to the desk. So when it's time for an author event, it's great to be able to talk with others who care about books and the way that they change our lives.

Sometimes I can be there in person, in a classroom, library, discussion group. But sometimes I've got to stay close to the desk and can't drive or fly to another location. Thank...