Books
Walking Woodstock
Journeys into the Wild Heart of America’s Most Famous Small Town
by Michael Perkins
and Will Nixon
Illustrated by Carol Zaloom #1 Paperback Bestseller of 2009, Golden Notebook, Woodstock, NY
The Pocket Guide to Woodstock
An Insiders' Guide with Suggested Hikes, a Walking Tour of the Historic Village, Maps, Photographs, and the Best Tips for a Memorable Visit
by Michael Perkins
and Will Nixon
Illustrated by Carol Zaloom #1 Paperback Bestseller of 2012, Golden Notebook, Woodstock, NYBooks
Books
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
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Quotes
“Are you familiar with the writing of Woodstock poet Will Nixon? If not, you should be because of his funny, wistful, poignant poems.”
-- Catskill Mountain Region Guide“The Hudson Valley has produced some of the great peregrinations of our time, most notably by John Burroughs, an inveterate walker. Add Michael Perkins and Will Nixon to the list—these are charming essays, some of them with a bit more bite than you'd guess.”
-- Bill McKibben
Monthly Archives: September 2011
“From Bread Loaf to Sugarloaf” by Jo Pitkin
(My thanks to Jo Pitkin for this guest blog. And let me recommend her wonderful chapbook, The Measure.) In 1977, summer jobs for college kids were scarce in my Hudson Valley hometown. In previous years, I had been an arts … Continue reading
A Poem for the Woodstock Scarecrow Fest
On Saturday, October 1st my friends at the Woodstock Land Conservancy and the Woodstock Farm Festival will host a Scarecrow Fest at the Zena Cornfield, one of the prettiest spots in town. (If you’ve seen a profile photo of Overlook … Continue reading
On Not Becoming a Chinese Poet
On an early October day, on the cusp of the autumn color invasion when the forest looks darkest green from a summer of soaking up sunlight, I helped lead a “Hike & Write” up to Giant Ledges as part of … Continue reading
Alan Casline, Watershed Poet
Where do you find your life story? In Sigmund Freud’s Oedipal conflicts? Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey? A good portion of mine made more sense after reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. But seated on logs for a trail break in … Continue reading
Trees, by William Weaver Christman
(In 1934, on the verge of turning seventy, Christman published this essay in a local literary magazine called Trails. A lifelong farmer in Duanesburg just west of Albany County, he’d always enjoyed literature; earlier in his life, he’d corresponded with … Continue reading
William Weaver Christman: Return of a Forgotten Poet
A century ago, the hilly rims of the Hudson Valley held farmlands and pastures spread far up their slopes, a history easily forgotten but for the stone walls still running through the woods. Born in 1865, William Weaver Christman inherited … Continue reading
How I Found Woodstock
(Salvage, a former newsprint literary journal from Troy, New York, published this poem in 2005.) The Five O’Clock Log — Woodstock, Catskills Behind the ice cream parlor closed for winter lived Alvin, the Astrologer, whom I visited while searching for … Continue reading
Let Haiku Be Haiku
Once again a writing handbook tells us that haiku need not be haiku. “Some people believe (mistakenly) that a haiku must have seventeen syllables arranged 5 / 7 / 5 in lines 1, 2, and 3. The fact is that … Continue reading
“Peonies” by Debbie Millman
(The Phoenicia Pharmacy window, an eclectic gallery that ranges from a Three Stooges photo to a forgotten film developing sign, displays a chalkboard filled with hand-chalked print that begins, “When I was a little girl, visiting my father’s pharmacy was … Continue reading
“Tenderness” by Christine Boyka Kluge
(Christine Boyka Kluge’s blogs always give me a wondrous uplift with her combination of equisite nature photographs, choice quotations from poets, and smart reflections about life. And her book of prose poems, Stirring the Mirror, is one of the more … Continue reading →