Dear friends of Word House,

This has been an exciting year of growth for Word House. This July we held our first Word House Summer Writing Retreat at the Farmhouse, my family house up the road from the original Word House writing cabin. Eight writers came from New York, Boston, and across New England to share meals, share work, and, most importantly, devote sustained time to their creative projects.

My grandparents, John and Margaret MacArthur, bought this 1803 farmhouse in 1950, and spent the rest of their lives there, filling the rooms with artists, environmentalists, academics, books, eclectic artwork from around the world, and conversation. It is a great joy to fill this house again with creativity, delicious meals, art, and revelry.

IN CONVERSATION

I have also been busy coordinating a new reading and dialogue series here in Marlboro, in partnership with The Campus at Marlboro Music. This series, IN CONVERSATION, brings acclaimed Vermont writers to this beloved hillside and campus in Marlboro.

Each event will begin with a short reading, followed by a moderated conversation and audience discussion, followed by a wine and cheese reception. More than a traditional reading series, we hope these events will create space for thoughtful, generous exchange around the role of literature and art in shaping our understanding of history, memory, ethics, civic life, environment, and place.

The conversations will take place in the historic Whittemore Theater, a space that has long hosted artists, writers, and community gatherings on this hillside. At a moment when Vermont continues to lose educational and cultural institutions, it feels especially meaningful to create opportunities for literary and humanistic dialogue in a rural setting like this one.

I am thrilled by the lineup, and can’t wait to bring these writers and friends to this beloved campus, and to my beloved town.

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Sunday, September 20, 4pm: Jill Lepore and Dan Chiasson

Sunday, November 1, 4pm: Bianca Stone and Mark Wunderlich

Sunday, December 13, 4pm: Bill McKibben and Tim Weed

Sunday, February 7, 4pm: Major Jackson and Ellen McCulloch-Lovell

more to come in the spring

IN CONVERSATION is supported by a generous grant from the Vermont Humanities Council. Bartleby’s Books will be there selling books before and after the event.

Registration is required for all events. You can RESERVE A SEAT HERE.

As many of you know, these have been some challenging years in my little town of Marlboro, Vermont. In 2020 Marlboro College, founded in 1946, closed its doors, leaving behind a gorgeous campus empty for most of the year. (My great-grandparents moved here in 1946 to found the science department at Marlboro; my grandfather taught there for over sixty years.) This spring, due to low enrollment, our beloved public elementary school closed. My work at Word House is a humble attempt to continue fill these hills and backroads with the rich opportunities, voices, creativity, ideas, and conversations that have flourished here for so long. My aim is to make this a more vibrant place to live for our local community, and a place where others can visit and thrive. Thank you for being part of this community, this work, and this vision. We look forward to sharing space with you soon.

With care,

Robin Marie MacArthur

Director of Word House

www.wordhousevermont.org

Word House has fiscal sponsorship from The Marlboro Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit founded in the wake of the closing of Marlboro College, which aims to supports educational spaces, events, and programs based in Marlboro, Vermont and the surrounding bioregion, thereby nurturing resilient creative communities that are responsive to the challenges and opportunities of our time and place. To support Word House’s programming and events, you can make a tax-deductible donation here: https://www.marlborofoundation.org/support.