In Vermont, we read a lot of poetry about Vermont. From Robert Frost to David Budbill to current poet laureate Sydney Lea, poets have found rich and rare material in the state’s landscape, culture and contradictions. But Vermonters — even poets — occasionally do go elsewhere. In recent collections, two writers at different stages of life tell us what they found there.... Read more

In a recent New Yorker piece about a boutique coffee grower in El Salvador, the writer cites a single source for his recap of the global history of coffee: a book written by Mark Pendergrast of Colchester.

Pendergrast specializes in thoroughly researched histories of public-health topics with international reach — from Coca-Cola to, in his 2010 book, the globe-trotting Epidemic Intelligence Service.... Read more

We found her beneath the old footbridge at the western crook of our farm, diary splayed over one knee, scribbling away as she watched the water. Mute and ecstatic was the way a poet might have described her. Me, I thought she looked kind of dead. Every freckled inch of her was hidden beneath a black dress, the kind I’ve heard some call “Victorian” — lots of pleats and frills and such. I’d never seen this particular one before, but God knew that costume trunk was huge.

Clem looked at me. I looked back at Clem.... Read more

On December 13, Slate published a story titled “Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller.” Two days later, Salon countered with a piece called “What Slate Doesn’t Get About Bookstores” — namely, that communities need them, and not just for books.... Read more

Vermont is not exactly a major sports hub. Aside from occasional national tournament appearances by our college teams, a Minor League Baseball team and, of course, the winter sports industry, athletics tends to be a secondary pursuit in the Green Mountains. But that doesn’t mean writers from Vermont, or with ties to the state, can’t publish sports books — four of ’em, in fact, have come out since late 2010.

Here’s a quick look back at each of those tomes — three of which were previously noted in Seven Days. ... Read more

Last month, an anonymous poster on reddit.com announced that he was making as much as $1000 a day selling his self-published fiction online. His claim quickly drew hundreds of eager queries — What was his secret? Could he explain his marketing? ... Read more

Next April 14, on the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Rebecca Rupp plans to prepare a feast based on the ship’s final menu.

“That’s a gruesome party, Beck,” says her husband, biotechnologist Randy Rupp, when she makes this suggestion.... Read more

Lovers of libraries come in all stripes. Little kids like them for story hours and other fun pastimes. Parents like them for the same reasons — call it educational babysitting. Older kids and adults like, of course, to check out books, CDs and DVDs. Some folks appreciate hanging out in a cozy reading room, perusing newspapers, using communal computers or borrowing the Wi-Fi. And then there are fans of New England architecture who just like to look.

With so many reasons to love libraries, you’d think a calendar devoted to them would be selling like hotcakes.... Read more

You may think you know Lake Champlain — its crisp, icy-blue stillness at sunrise, and its warm orange glow against the familiar backdrop of the Adirondacks as the sun descends in the evening.

Countless artists have tried their hand at capturing our lake’s striking beauty. But what lies beneath? Daniel Lusk, a poet and senior lecturer in the University of Vermont English department, was inspired by the stories resting unseen beneath the otherwise familiar scene.... Read more

The word-puzzle focus group went down last summer under the fluorescent lights of a conference room at the Colchester Hampton Inn. Jim Rader was at the helm, soliciting feedback from friends and fellow puzzlers on the mind bender he invented four decades ago.

All those years, Rader had kept the puzzles primarily to himself. Sure, his wife, Meg Pond, had tried her hand at them. And he’d often surprise friends with puzzles embedded in birthday messages. But it wasn’t until this past summer, with a series of focus groups, that Rader finally put his puzzles to the test. ... Read more