We won!

Doctor & Author, Abraham Verghese

In case you haven’t already heard, the Snapdragon Literary Club was chosen by NPR books to have Abraham Verghese join our conversations sometime this week as we discuss his book “Cutting for Stone”. We are still verifying the time so our regularly scheduled meeting is still on for tomorrow night at 7PM and then we will meet back up later this week when he is able to call or video chat in. Yay!!!!

Check out this link for more information!

Now I am off to finish the book. I don’t want it to end so I’ve been stringing it out as long as possible.

Snapdragon Inn:Reborn Episode Five

Marv Klassen-Landis lives in Windsor, Vermont and recently visited Snapdragon Inn on a snowy morning (you can see and hear the snow plows working) to discuss poetry, art, education, and his passion for the creative. There was no way to capture the diversity of Marv’s work in one short video, but we hope you enjoy some of his wonderful poems and thoughts on art. To learn more about Marv visit his children’s arts program page here and see his full artist profile at Vermont Arts Council here.

Bald eagles in our backyard

Photo via Mary Holland

It is quite a striking sight to see a Bald eagle soaring in the blue sky above you. Not to mention two! This has become a common occurrence in Windsor and Paradise Park, just a steps behind the Snapdragon Inn.

We never seem to have the camera (or good enough lens) to capture the majestic bird(s) but Vermont naturalist, photographer and author Mary Holland caught this photo the other week here in Windsor of Bald eagles courting and mating. From what we’ve heard, they are nesting in some tall trees down by the Green Mountain Smokehouse (very yummy stop by the way) which edges up next to the Connecticut River. Thanks for capturing this picture Mary! She also has a wonderful book on sale, Naturally Curious- A Photographic Field Guide and Month-by-Month Journey Through the Fields, Woods, and Marshes of New England

Bald eagles, once on the brink of extinction, have made a come back in all states including Vermont (since 2009) but are still considered endangered here. It almost feels like an honor to have sucht beautiful birds calling Windsor home (for now).

Abraham Verghese at our book meeting?

Happy Friday everyone! Is it possible that we are already here? Time flies when you are reading a good book. Several of us our currently engrossed in this month’s book, “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese.

It turns out, the NPR book club is also reading “Cutting for Stone” and you can register your meeting online at the chance to have Verghese “drop” into your meeting via phone or video chat to talk with the group. We are a little late to the game but thought we would sign up anyway. If you are planning to attend our meeting, please follow this link to sign in and show you are indeed attending. We need to have 10 attendees which we have but need them all to sign up today! Hey, it’s worth a shot.

How are we connected to this iconic kissing scene?

We wanted to start a Literary Club at the Inn because we have such an incredible literary history in the building and keeping this alive is extremely important to us. It is the perfect setting for a literary gathering, don’t you think? But how is this connected to kissing on the beach? Well…

The last 2 books have been published recently but we think we’ll choose one of the books Max edited in the coming months. A little Hemingway or Fitzergerald to spice things up? Or what about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings‘, “The Yearling” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938. Perhaps “From here to Eternity” by James Jones which was of course adapted into film and went on to win 8 Academy awards including best picture in 1953 which answers how we are indeed connected to possibly the most iconic kiss on the beach ever! It’s fascinating to see the ways in which Max Perkins is connected to so many creative projects.

We love it.

Our March Literary Club Meeting is just around the corner. If you haven’t been able to read “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese, you still have a week. It is a beautifully written story that traverses time and county. We will be meeting in the Maxwell Perkins library at 7 PM next Thursday. It may seem late but it’s after dinner and kids are on their way to bed so we can slip away.

See you there!