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Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A tale of camaraderie lost to politics
Night after night they let him sit nearby, watching and listening as they talk about the weather, the Swedish immigrant farmers, the cattle, the planting, the chanciness of farming, whether they prefer 'Richard the Second' or 'Hamlet,' the transit of Venus, and eclipses of the sun and moon. The story takes on an elegiac tone as the now grown-up narrator remembers those nights, the two men sitting in the shadows, the pinkish-brick wall behind them, the moonlight drenching the scene. 'They seemed like two bodies held steady by some law of balance, an unconscious relation like that between the earth and the moon. It was this mathematical harmony which gave a third person pleasure.' Advertisement But then politics enters the equation and the harmony is shattered. Up until now the fact that one man is a Democrat and the other a Republican hasn't really mattered. Their differences have been tolerable, even something to joke about. But the story takes place during the turbulent 1890s, when political allegiances suddenly became much more polarized and political passions turned to hate. Dillon becomes deeply involved in electioneering for his party's charismatic candidate. Trueman loudly expresses his contempt for the ideas Dillon is espousing, calling them naive and dangerous. The friendship quickly and permanently falls apart. One man dies of pneumonia soon afterward. The other leaves town and dies a few years later in a San Francisco hotel. Without the equilibrium of the friendship, both men founder. 'Two Friends' is a compassionate but also dispassionate story. By the time Cather wrote it, the political figures and the entire political landscape of the 1890s had faded. She was not trying to rile us up about politics; she's looking at the way riled-up politics can poison personal relationships and entire communities. Yet she was not advocating for reconciliation at any cost or suggesting that we should abandon our principles in order to preserve a dishonest calm. She's not trying to teach a lesson or to tell us what to do. She's just observing, the way her narrator did as a boy and does again as a man looking back with the benefit of hindsight. At the end of the story the narrator brings us back to the memory of those moonlit nights. Writing of the rupture between the two friends, Cather has him say, 'It lost me my special pleasure of summer nights: the old stories of the early West that sometimes came to the surface; the minute biographies of the farming people; the clear, detailed, illuminating accounts of all that went on in the great crop-growing, cattle-feeding world; and the silence — the strong, rich, outflowing silence between two friends, that was as full and satisfying as the moonlight. I was never to know its like again.' Advertisement Joan Wickersham's latest book is, 'No Ship Sets Out To Be A Shipwreck." Her column appears regularly in the Globe.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Author Jane Smiley to keynote Cather conference
A crowd gathered to photograph the bronze statue of author Willa Cather after a dedication ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall on Wednesday June 7, 2023. The Cather statue is Nebraska's second added to the National Statuary Hall Collection. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) LINCOLN — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley will be the keynote speaker at the annual Willa Cather Spring Conference Friday and Saturday in Red Cloud. Smiley, author of several novels including 'A Thousand Acres,' which is set on an Iowa farm, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a book signing. Her free address is entitled 'Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer.' The theme of the 70th annual conference is 'Cather's House: Examining Built & Natural Environments in Her Work.' The event is also the culmination of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read of 'My Ántonia,' a grant-funded NEA program in partnership with Arts Midwest. The conference began at 1:15 p.m. Thursday with a talk by Professor Ann Lundberg, 'Cather at Mesa Verde.' Other activities include a stargazing walk on the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie and an artist talk and reception with Steve Tamayo. The event also includes an annual Saturday morning service at Grace Episcopal Church and 'The Passing Show: What Makes a House a Home' panel discussion with scholars Claire Schmidt, John Swift, and Tamayo. The conference concludes with an 8 p.m. Saturday performance by The Killbanes at the Red Cloud Opera House. The indie-folk music and storytelling duo will share excerpts from their forthcoming stage musical adaptation of 'My Ántonia.' More details about the gathering can be found on the website — SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Boston Globe
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
New Hampshire is lit!
Fall view near Jaffrey, N.H., with Mount Monadnock in the background. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Jaffrey This scenic town with majestic views of Mount Monadnock was a special retreat for author Willa Cather. Cather, one of the renowned American female writers of the 20th century, spent the fall months in Jaffrey, from 1917 to 1940, where she found the quiet and solitude she needed to write. She stayed in the Shattuck Inn (sadly no longer here) and wrote from a tent pitched on the grounds of a friend's nearby summer home, with views of the mountain range. She completed 'My Antonia' here and wrote portions of many other books. Cather's other works include 'O Pioneers,' 'Song of the Lark' and 'Death Comes for the Archbishop.' Cather held a special place in her heart for Jaffrey and asked to be buried here. Head to the Advertisement Willa Cather with Mount Monadnock in the background, taken by her companion Edith Lewis. Willa Cather Archive, U. Nebraska-Lincoln History buffs, take note. The graveyard, originally laid out in 1749, is also the burial site of Amos Fortune. Fortune was a former slave, who purchased his freedom, and later settled in Jaffrey. He became a successful tanner, bookbinder, and philanthropist. The Old Burying Ground is open 8 a.m. to dusk; pick up a map and brochure at the entrance, noting significant sites. While in Jaffery: Hike the trails at Red floors like the ones in the Frost farm house were common in New Hampshire, because red paint was cheap, which is also why there were so many red barns. Frost's poem, "Home Burial," which he never read in public, is a dialogue between a rural couple who have lost a child, and takes place when the husband sees his wife descending the stairs. The oldest Frost son, Elliott, died before he was 4 years old, shortly before they moved to this farm. Michele McDonald Derry and Franconia There's Dan Brown and John Irving and Jodi Picoult, but we'd argue that New Hampshire's most famous author is Robert Frost. Head to Derry to visit the Advertisement Head to Franconia to visit While in Franconia: Visit The Victorian Children's Garden at Strawbery Banke Museum. Strawbery Banke Museum Portsmouth Thomas Bailey Aldrich, a poet, short story writer, and later the editor of the Atlantic Monthly, was born in Portsmouth in 1836. His grandfather, a Portsmouth merchant, purchased a house in the city during the first quarter of the 19th century. Aldrich visited his grandfather's home often, and Portsmouth, or 'Rivermouth,' is featured in many of his stories, including the location where he set his novel 'The Story of a Bad Boy.' When Aldrich passed away, his widow purchased the home to create a memorial for her husband, restoring rooms using imagery from 'The Story of a Bad Boy.' The home is now located at Advertisement Bibliophiles may also want to visit While in Portsmouth: Two other sites The famous American poet, painter, and author E.E. Cummings was a notoriously private man so it's no mystery why he enjoyed the solitary summers he spent in Madison on Joy Farm. The time-worn, abandoned house and barn sit down a quiet back road, with views of Silver Lake and Mount Chocorua. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, but it's currently not open to the public. But we do like that one of the most famous authors in America spent time, from 1898 to his death in 1962, in one of the smallest towns in New Hampshire. While in Madison: Go picnicking and swimming at nearby Poet Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, born in Newport, N.H., is probably best known for her nursery rhyme 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.' She was editor of the Boston Ladies Magazine, American Ladies Magazine, and Godey's Lady's Book. She was also a strong advocate for the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. She pushed President Lincoln and leading politicians to designate a national celebration of Thanksgiving and is largely credited for making it happen. (Consider toasting to Hale at your next Thanksgiving!) The Sarah Josepha Hale Memorial Park in Newport features an historic monument honoring Hale. While in Newport: Check out performances at the historic Advertisement Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at
