And here, in Alcott's parlor, with its window seats, arched fireplace and decorative niches, the best-selling author entertained guests with impromptu stage performances. Apparently she excelled at portraying witches and swashbuckling heroines. I can almost see her now.
Concord , where Alcott's house lies, is a serene town-and-country area, and like Little Women 's March sisters, it has many appealing attributes. Less than one hour from the bustle of Boston , this small town is home to Walden Pond , a perfect spot for picnicking, swimming and ice-skating. You can canoe down the Concord River here, or just stroll along the downtown streets. In a charming throwback to old times, you can still park on Main Street for free (which I certainly did). Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were drawn to this pastoral patch for the same reason that one of my best friends lives here today: Concord is New England .
On realizing that this town has many charms to inspire authors, I began to wonder about other Massachusetts towns, and the writers who rested their pens there. Would touring these places spark my inner muse — or for that matter, my inner Kerouac? I hit the road to discover the stomping grounds of our literary luminaries, to uncover the surroundings that touched them — and might also move me.
I Came, I Saw, I Concord
If Alcott's parlor inspired her, Ralph Waldo Emerson's study, now located at the Concord Museum , likely awakened the giant within him. Emerson was the most influential American intellectual of the mid-19th century, and as I stood in the doorway I saw the only known photograph of him in his study, sitting in a rocking chair. Meanwhile, in front of me sat the author's actual artifacts, among them Emerson's black horsehair couch with its oversized wooden feet that guests inevitably tripped over, though he never moved it. “Almost never has gentleman or lady sat on that sofa and risen to bid goodbye without falling prey,” wrote his daughter Ellen. Emerson's mischievous nature still lives in his work, as well as among this collection of effects.
Upstairs the museum houses exhibits devoted to Henry David Thoreau and his book Walden . Last year Walden celebrated its 150th anniversary, and the museum contains the world's most comprehensive collection of artifacts associated with the naturalist. As I gazed upon his simple green desk and humble bed, I imagined the writer enjoying his evening by candlelight after a day spent walking, thinking and writing the book that continues to inspire. At his desk, I could almost see him, quill pen in hand. If he saw the newfangled flexi-grip pen that I use to take notes, I wonder if he would laugh, or maybe even disapprove.
Dead Poets Society
Boston wasn't dubbed “The Athens of America” for nothing. In search of the world-class-writer's karma that has imbued this mecca for the intelligentsia, I visited the Omni Parker House — America 's longest continually operating hotel, founded in 1855.
A wealth of authors gathered here on the last Saturday afternoon of each month, charging America 's literary renaissance with jovial readings and cultured exchanges. Emerson, Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell enjoyed copious amounts of food, grog and gregariousness at the famous “Saturday Club.” Longfellow drafted his poem Paul Revere's Ride here, though he purportedly joined the club only because he wanted to meet Charles Dickens, who slept at the hotel when visiting Boston .
I walked into Parker's Restaurant, and though it's been renovated and remodeled, my heart still skipped a beat. Here, the wordsmiths dined on egg-drop soup and schrod (a moniker that the hotel invented for cod) while discussing things like the Atlantic Monthly , of which Lowell was the first editor. Then I wandered the hallowed halls, viewing the portraits of the writers and trying to channel their spirits.
Next, I strolled to the Longfellow Bridge . The famous construction was named for the author and links Boston with Cambridge , home to the Longfellow National Historic Site, where the poet lived while a professor at Harvard. His numerous houseguests included Oscar Wilde, and his study contained so many volumes that he had to convert one of the room's windows into bookshelves. No doubt, while seeking inspiration in gazing out the window, he must have realized that while our hours here are fleeting, our words can last forever.
How Sweet It Is
After all that bookworming, I needed a sugar rush. I headed to America 's oldest candy business, Salem 's Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie. The company was established in 1806, and it's possible that Nathaniel Hawthorne enjoyed a Black Jack molasses stick here too. He was born in 1804 at the now-famous Hawthorne House, and his 200th birthday was celebrated all year long. Just about everything in Salem hearkens back to Hawthorne , including The House of the Seven Gables , which so inspired him that it became the title of one of his books. Built in 1668, it is New England 's oldest surviving 17th-century wooden mansion. It sported three gables during Hawthorne 's time, but after his death, the owner added four more to match the title of the novel. Here I saw the desk that held the original manuscript to The Scarlet Letter .
The Peabody Essex Museum houses the largest collection of Hawthorne artifacts, and The Custom House, where Hawthorne was employed as a surveyor, offers tours. My walk along Salem 's waterfront, with its lovely shops and restaurants, and along beautiful Chestnut Street , spurred me to think about writing The Great American Novel. I can attest, ye olde inspiration is alive and well in Salem .
Plath's Path
I read The Bell Jar as a teenager, and was stunned when I later discovered that its author, Sylvia Plath, was 8 years old when she had a poem published in The Boston Herald , and that her Collected Poems earned her a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1981.
Plath moved to Wellesley when she was 10 years old, studied at what is now Wellesley High School , and wrote for her town paper, the Wellesley Townsman . Her home is now a private residence, and since I couldn't visit it, I walked the sprawling campus at Wellesley College instead. The school gave Plath a full scholarship, though she declined and attended Smith College in Northampton . But her legacy remains here, 15 miles west of Boston , among beautiful, well-groomed neighborhoods, a thriving art community and excellent restaurants. Some say that The Bell Jar is the female companion to The Catcher in the Rye , causing me to ask myself: What would Holden Caulfield do in a place like this? Perhaps dive into a plate of Pan-Asian fusion food at Blue Ginger on Washington Street , then look for inspiration somewhere else.
The Road I Traveled
A few days later, at a table in the Café Azteca across from the Campagnone Common in Lawrence , I sought sustenance about Robert Frost. Here's the place to hear the music, listen to the conversations and simply feel the pulse of the city — just as Frost, the city's pride and joy, might have done. Everything about this rich urban environment whetted Frost's appetite to explain the truths of humanity, so I took the self-guided Robert Frost Trail walking tour to find the significant sites of the young poet. The old Lawrence High School once stood at 183 Haverhill Street , until a fire destroyed it in 1910. Frost's first poem , La Noche Triste , was published there in the school newspaper, and he was the co-valedictorian, with his future wife, of his graduating class of 1892. Later, he trimmed the wicks of gas-lit lamps while working the night shift at what is now Malden Mills.
Acquainted with the Night , one of Frost's poems, describes one “luminary clock against the sky.” That symbol in his verse could have been the large Ayer Mill Clock, the world's largest mill clock — rivaling that of London 's Big Ben — which is located on the south side of the Merrimack River . It's more likely that Frost was alluding to the moon, and as I looked into the sky, I realized he probably gazed from the very same spot, before starting his shift at the mill. Nearby, Kathleen Nackley, marketing manager of the Canal Street Antiques Center , told me stories of her grandfather who attended school with the poet. It was my brush with greatness, twice removed.
Whittier 's Words
A few days later, while driving through the winding roads of Haverhill , I was struck not only by the natural beauty of the area but also by its diversity. Haverhill boasts the Bradford Ski Area, four golf courses, numerous jogging paths, sledding and skating at Winnekenni Castle , as well as terrific downtown restaurants. (The homemade ketchup alone at The Peddler's Daughter made the drive worthwhile.) In addition, the Merrimack River can be explored by land or boat, by walkers, joggers, bird-watchers and boating enthusiasts.
The town's most famous son, John Greenleaf Whittier, undoubtedly enjoyed the natural thrills that are still available here. It was Whittier 's keen observation of a storm in 1820 that enticed him to write Snow-Bound. Among other things, he also wrote a love sonnet, In School Days , for his childhood sweetheart Lydia Ayer, who died as a young girl. Today, her grave at Walnut Cemetery is a popular stopping point for lovers.
The farmhouse where the writer was born is open to the public for viewing such memorabilia as the desk where he wrote his first and last poems, his stovepipe hat and a prized volume of Robert Burns poetry. Visitors are encouraged to picnic in the apple orchard. I sat outside on the sun-dappled grounds and drank in the serenity as gentle breezes caressed my hair. To make the experience more enjoyable, all I needed — to be honest — was a good book.
The Beat Goes On
Restless, and endlessly curious — these characteristics define most writers, but none more so than Beat-generation author Jack Kerouac. As I sipped espresso in downtown Lowell 's funky Evos Art Institute and Tavern (one part bar, one part art gallery), I realized that, were Kerouac alive today, this might be one of his favorite hangouts.
Lowell has experienced an incredible rejuvenation since America 's Industrial Revolution began here. The city has done such an amazing job preserving the mills, canals, cobblestone streets and architecture that it has been designated one of America 's National Parks. It overflows with ethnic restaurants, boat races, collegiate and professional sporting events, and the largest free folk festival in the United States . The 50-unit Ayer Lofts are fueling a renaissance in art, mostly because of the artists who live, work and display their art in the building's gallery. They frequently open their doors to the public to showcase and sell their creations.
These are the same roads where Kerouac roamed. The writer became an instant celebrity in 1957 with the publication of his classic On the Road , but was already well-known as a high school football star and as a reporter for the Lowell Sun .
Numerous sites in Lowell appear in his books, like Pollard Library and the clock on Kirk Street , a popular meeting spot. The author was buried in Edson Cemetery , and fans from all over the world beat a path to his final resting place. You'll know which grave is his; the grass doesn't grow there anymore because so many people come to pay their respects.
Kerouac's Underwood manual typewriter is displayed at Mogan Cultural Center . As I viewed the keys, I thought of his hands tapping all the letters. The wonder of creation is fingers moving where the imagination wanders.
We're all on the road, I think to myself. As my car lurches forward, I consider where my own writing will lead me, those unwritten words and stories I have yet to tell. But as Kerouac wrote, the destination isn't important. It's the journey, which makes life — and travel — worthwhile.
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