Prologue | Summer-Fall 2023

“The Mount was my first real home… its blessed influence still lives in me.”

- EDITH WHARTON

Meet the Writers

Learn about the nine emerging writers selected for the 2023 Mount-Straw Dog Writers Guild 2023 Residency.

The Gatehouse Transformation

Read about the recent renovation of The Mount’s Gatehouse, the former home of Wharton’s estate superintendent and current workspace for Mount administrators.

Program Guide 2023

From the popular annual Summer Lecture Series to children’s programming, there is something for everyone to enjoy at The Mount this summer!

New Season, New Exhibits

This year’s two new exhibits showcase vintage architectural photographs compiled by The Mount’s principal architect, and explore Wharton’s enduring legacy into the 21st century.

Edith’s Erechtheum

Artist Kathleen Jacobs chronicles Edith Wharton’s beloved trees in her multi-year on-site project.

Reviving Wharton’s Treasures

Wharton’s copy of Whitman‘s Complete Prose returns to her personal library (annotations and all!), and her fountain pen comes to life in artist Rachel Perry’s latest project.

Recreating The Drawing Room

Recent restoration work aims at recreating an authentic glimpse into Wharton’s original Drawing Room.

Tracing Wharton’s Footsteps Through Rome

The Mount’s Garden Interpreter, Bob Guarino, shares his journey through Edith Wharton’s favorite gardens and villas.

A Haven for Book Lovers and Locavores

Explore the newest offerings from our locally-sourced café and thoughtfully curated bookshop.

New SculptureNow Installation

This year we welcome 27 innovative sculptures to The Mount’s gardens and grounds.

Photography by Nicholas Smith-Koblitz and Lisa Vollmer Design by T Square Design Studio

Welcome to the premiere issue of Prologue.

Dear Friends,

Traditionally, our annual brochure has focused exclusively on upcoming seasonal events. But, this year we realized there is so much more we want to share! Prologue is our program brochure reimagined to allow for more storytelling around the vibrant year-round life at The Mount.

Expect to receive two issues a year; our Summer issue provides more forwardlooking content, highlighting the full slate of seasonal events ahead, while the Winter issue, Epilogue, will be a more retrospective glance at The Mount and will include our Annual Report, highlighting the generosity of our community.

I hope you will join us in celebrating the 30th year of The Mount’s Summer Lecture Series! In these pages, we share the dynamic lineup of speakers coming to the lecture tent this year. In addition to the 8-part lecture series, we will host a 2-day celebration on Friday, June 30 and Saturday, July 1. Favorite speakers from years past will take part in moderated panel discussions based on the themes of Wharton, Women, and War. And, on Friday evening, guests will mingle with noted biographers and historians before gathering in The Mount’s forecourt for a celebration dinner under the stars.

I hope that these pages offer a glimpse into the energy and passion that we all share for the work of carrying on Wharton’s ever-relevant legacy. From new exhibits to ongoing restoration projects, it’s truly an exciting time to be a part of The Mount!

With best wishes and deepest thanks,

Susan Wissler Executive Director 413-551-5103

swissler@edithwharton.org

Meet the Writers

For the second consecutive year, The Mount partnered with Western Massachusetts’ Straw Dog Writers Guild to host nine writers for the 2023 Residency for Emerging Writers. Among this year’s writers were a dancer-turned-oncologist, a public defender, and a prison abolitionist. The 2023 residents worked on developing their respective works at The Mount for one week each, between March 5 and March 25. Read on to learn more about each of the residents and their current projects.

CAT WEI

is a poet working in healthcare in Brooklyn and an active advocate for poetry in her community as the organizer of East Village Poetry Salon, a reading series that centers on female, queer, and trans poets of color. She is the recipient of a Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Contributor Award, an Idyllwild Writers Week Fellow, and a Tin House Workshop alumna. Wei’s writing was Best of the Net nominated and appears in Gulf Coast, Vagabond City, Sundog Lit, and Lantern Review

KEEONNA HARRIS

is a writer, storyteller, mother of five, and prison abolitionist. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University. Her dissertation, “Everybody Survived but Nobody Survived: Black Feminism, Motherhood, and Mass Incarceration,” used ethnography and autoethnography to document the experiences of Black mothers navigating the process of visitation and incarceration. Her memoir, Mainline Mama, forthcoming in 2024 from Amistad Press, draws from her experiences as a Black woman, a teen mother, and twenty years of raising children with an incarcerated partner, building community in the borderlands of the prison.

EMILY KIERNAN

is the author of the novel Great Divide (Unsolicited Press). Her work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Pank, The Collagist, Redivider, Quarterly West, X-R-A-Y, and numerous other journals. She has received support from MacDowell, the Ucross Foundation, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Tin House Summer Workshop, and the Community of Writers. She holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and serves as a prose editor at Noemi Press. Kiernan is revising her novel, All That is Solid, a queer love story encompassing four decades, two continents, and one failed communist revolution.

KATHERINE EASER

was born in Kansas City, Kansas, the daughter of a Chinese mother from Taiwan and an American father of European ancestry. After earning a BA from Smith College, she studied creative writing in The Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension. In 2011, her young adult novel, Vicious Little Darlings, was published by Bloomsbury. Her short story, “Parade of Cats,” a third-place winner in Glimmer Train’s 2017 Fiction Open, appeared in the journal’s Winter 2018 issue. She lives and writes in Los Angeles. Easer is currently working on a novel that explores the themes of immigration, alienation, identity, and what happens to people when the past catches up with them.

LINDSAY ROCKWELL

is poet-in-residence for the Episcopal Church of Connecticut and hosts their Poetry and Social Justice Dialogue series. She’s published, or forthcoming, in BlazeVOX, Connecticut River Review, Amethyst Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, and Willawaw, among others. Her first collection of poems, Ghost Fires, is forthcoming from Main Street Rag press. Rockwell holds a Master of Dance and Choreography from NYU’s Tisch School of Arts and is an oncologist. Rockwell is at work on her second collection of poems, which explores the tension stemming from the state of impending arrival, such as the imminent death of a terminally ill cancer patient, and humanity’s unknown future or the near extinction of a species.

EMILY ATKINSON

is a writer and public defender born and raised in Illinois; she earned her MFA in Playwriting from Smith College and a J.D. and M.A. in English Literature from Boston University. She is currently working on a novel workshopped at the Colgate Writers’ Workshop, two Tin House Summer Workshops, and a Tin House Winter Workshop. Atkinson’s published work appears in Electric Literature, PopMatters, and HuffPost

Atkinson’s project is a historical novel about one fictionalized possibility of the life and death of the 16th-century playwright Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare who was murdered at the age of 29.

MARIO GIANNONE

received a BA in English with a minor in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden and an MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell University. He served as an assistant fiction editor for Epoch Magazine and taught creative writing and composition for Cornell’s Department of Literatures in English. He teaches writing for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth. Giannone’s short fiction has appeared in Third Coast, Indiana Review, and Blue Mesa Review, and his story “Heaven is a Disk,” published in Indiana Review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The goal of Giannone’s current work is to create a space for narratives set in the South Jersey area, a region that has been largely overlooked when it comes to narrative fiction set in New Jersey. His novel-in-progress follows a convent of Catholic sisters in rural South Jersey.

MARTHA PHAM

is from Massachusetts. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Electric Literature, Nurture, FERAL: A Journal of Poetry & Art, Kitchn, and Serious Eats. She holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pham is at work on her first novel set during the war in Vietnam, which explores the secrets that can make and unmake a family as they navigate the devastations of war. At the center is a family with shadowy ties to the National Police and the CIA.

PARVATI RAMCHANDANI

is a recently retired physician and has published short fiction and creative nonfiction pieces in literary magazines, including Peregrine, Asian Pacific American Journal, and Bucks County Writer. Two of her creative nonfiction pieces relating to her medical work are slated for publication in an anthology of writings by women physicians titled This Side of Doctoring, to be published by Oxford University Press in 2023. Ramchandani is working towards compiling a collection of creative nonfiction pieces for a memoir related to her twin passions: food and cooking.

This is the ninth year The Mount has offered writers an opportunity to create at The Mount and its second year partnering with Straw Dog Writers Guild. The revamped residency now focuses on writers who are developing their craft. There is no prerequisite for being published. Applications open in September each year on edithwharton.org.

The Gatehouse Revival

Tucked on the northwest corner of Edith Wharton’s Lenox property is a stately 1902 Georgian-Revival house, which originally served as the living quarters for Wharton’s longtime estate superintendent, head gardener, and friend, Thomas Reynolds. Visible from the stoplight at the intersection of Route 7 and Plunkett Street, the Gatehouse is sometimes mistaken as the main residence by first-time visitors.

Today, the Gatehouse accommodates many of The Mount’s administrative offices. With generous support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Lenox Community Preservation Fund, and several private foundations, the Gatehouse recently underwent extensive renovation to the exterior, which included important ADA upgrades, stucco and roof repairs, the rebuilding of all original windows, installation of new drainage systems, and extensive repairs to all marble and gutters. In addition, the restoration continues on the house’s entry portico.

With the exterior work almost complete, updates began in the interior to restore the building’s original shine and bring current systems into conformity with modern standards. Replacing original knob-and-tube electrical wiring, all the switches and plugs were updated. Energyefficient light fixtures and new thermostats were installed throughout the building. The Mount’s facilities team removed decades of paint layers from all original door hardware, revealing gleaming brass underneath. Fresh coats of plaster and paint and hardwood floor refinishing completed the dramatic refresh.

The Mount’s Master Plan envisions turning the Gatehouse into lodging space for year-round writers or artists residencies. But, for now, staff are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful new light-filled workspaces!

The Gatehouse in 1942. Photo courtesy Lenox Library Association

After a two-year process, the work will be completed in early summer of 2023.

The Gatehouse in February 2023, mid-restoration

Gleaming interior spaces with plaster repairs, new paint, and refinished floors

Now in its 30th year, this popular series brings leading biographers and historians to the Berkshires.

The 2023 Summer Lecture Series kicks off on June 30 with a two-day celebration! Favorite speakers from years past, including award-winning journalist Kati Marton, will be returning for a stimulating lineup of moderated panel discussions on the timeless themes of Edith Wharton, Women, and War. On June 30, The Mount will host a gala under the stars with award-winning biographers and historians celebrating 30 years of memorable lectures.

30th-Year-Kick-Off Celebration Lineup: June 30-July 1

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 4 PM

Wharton Panel

Wharton specialists and literary experts Jennifer Haytock, Sheila Liming, and Nathan Wolff share their views on why Edith Wharton’s writings remain relevant today, moderated by Wharton scholar and Barnard College American Studies Chair Jennie Kassanoff.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 5:30 PM

Celebrating 30 Years of Memorable Lectures at The Mount

Enjoy cocktails in the garden, followed by dinner under the stars in The Mount’s forecourt with award-winning biographers and historians.

SATURDAY, JULY 1, 11 AM

Women Panel

Sylvia Plath, Louisa May Alcott, and Gertrude Stein authorities Heather Clark, John T. Matteson, and Barbara Will compare notes on the challenge and pleasure of writing the lives of women ahead of their time, moderated by former host of WAMC’s The Book Show and Guggenheim fellow, Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina.

SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2 PM

War Panel

Washington Post columnist Max Boot, international affairs correspondent Anne Nelson, and New York Times contributor Ted Widmer share their war-reporting experiences and observations on ongoing global conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, moderated by former ABC news bureau chief and Angela Merkel biographer Kati Marton.

2023 Summer Lecture Series: July 10-August 29

MONDAY, JULY 10, 4PM

TUESDAY, JULY 11, 11AM

WILLARD SPIEGELMAN

Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt

Spiegelman is the Hughes Professor of English, emeritus, at Southrn Methodist University. He was the first Amy Clampitt Fellow in residence at the Clampitt cottage in Stockbridge, where he assembled the edition of the poet‘s letters. His book is an evocative portrait of the beloved and acclaimed poet, whose late-in-life success took the literary world by storm.

Sponsored by The Amy Clampitt Fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

MONDAY, JULY 24, 4PM

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 11AM

ZHUQING LI

Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden

Zhuqing is a professor at Brown University and a faculty curator at the University’s Rockefeller Library. Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden follows the extraordinary lives of her two maternal aunts, women whose experiences traced China’s journey through war and upheaval across three-quarters of the last century.

Sponsored by Bobbie Hallig & Enid Michelman

MONDAY, JULY 17, 4PM

TUESDAY, JULY 18, 11AM

SALLY BEDELL SMITH

George VI and Elizabeth:

The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy

Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies on the Royal Family and American political figures. Her latest book is the definitive biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother and father, and is based on exclusive access to their letters and diaries in the Royal Archives that was granted to the author by the Queen.

Sponsored by Mary Copeland & José A. Gonzalez, Jr. and Carol & Eric Haythorne

MONDAY, JULY 31, 4PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 11AM

PAUL FISHER

The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World Fisher is a biographer and chair of American Studies at Wellesley College, whose books bring to life American literary and artistic expatriates of the Belle Époque. His most recent biography treats Sargent’s life in its larger cultural context, especially his contradictions of gender and sexuality.

Sponsored by Robert A. Ouimette

MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 4PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 11AM

JOSEPH LUZZI

Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance

Luzzi is a literature professor at Bard College and the author of five books. His most recent work, Botticelli’s Secret , shows not only how the Renaissance came to life, but also how Botticelli’s art helped bring it about―and, most important, why we need the Renaissance and all that it stands for today.

Sponsored by Naomi Gordon

MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 4PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 11AM

GENE ANDREW JARRETT

Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird

Jarrett is dean of the faculty and William S. Tod Professor of English at Princeton University. His third book is a comprehensive biography of the legendary African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. It offers a revelatory account of a writer whose Gilded Age celebrity as the “poet laureate of his race” hid the private struggles of a man who, in the words of his famous poem, felt like a “caged bird” that sings.

Sponsored by Sheila Parekh Blum & Chistopher Blum

MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 4PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 11AM

DAVID KERTZER

The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler

Kertzer is the Paul Dupee University Professor of Social Science at Brown University and Professor of Anthropology and Italian Studies. Based on newly opened Vatican archives, The Pope at War is a groundbreaking book about Pope Pius XII and his actions during World War II, including how he responded to the Holocaust.

Sponsored by Barbara Cooperman & Robert Salerno

MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 4PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 11 AM

MICHAEL FRANK

One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for the Lost World

Frank is the recipient of a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship. His most recent publication is the remarkable story of ninety-nine-year-old Stella Levi, whose conversations with the author over the course of six years bring to life the vibrant world of Jewish Rhodes, the deportation to Auschwitz that extinguished ninety percent of her community, and the resilience and wisdom of the woman who lived to tell the tale.

Sponsored by Cris Raymond

Explore Edith Wharton’s Historic Home and Gardens

Our daily house tours reveal the history of The Mount and chronicle Wharton’s life and legacy through the spaces she inhabited. Self-guided or docent-led options are available. As guided tours frequently sell out, advance purchase is recommended.

Recurring Partner Programs

Bird Walks with Mass Audubon

EVERY TUESDAY, 8-10 AM | MAY-JULY; SEPTEMBER

Learn the skills for birding by sight and song as we look for numerous bird species, including bobolinks, bald eagles, vireos, and wood warblers. Visit MassAudubon. org/programs to register.

Guild of Berkshire Artists Plein Air

EVERY SATURDAY, 8 AM-1 PM | MAY-SEPTEMBER

Bring your art supplies to The Mount for a day of outdoor creativity. Lunch at noon (buy or bring a lunch) is followed by a positive critique. Hosted by the Guild of Berkshires Artists. Sign up at berkshireartists.org.

Outdoor Yoga with Lenox Yoga

EVERY TUESDAY, 8-9 AM | MAY-AUGUST

Join us every Tuesday for an outdoor, all-level yoga class. Instructors from Lenox Yoga will guide you through a gentle morning practice as you immerse yourself in the beauty of The Mount‘s gardens and grounds.

Le Café Français

EVERY TUESDAY, 9-10:30 AM | JUNE-SEPTEMBER

Parlez-vous français? Enjoy French conversation on the Terrace Tuesday mornings in honor of Edith Wharton‘s life-long love affair with France!

SculptureNow Exhibition and Tours

JUNE-OCTOBER

Explore the new exhibition of outdoor sculptures installed throughout the grounds of The Mount. Each month, an exhibiting artist will guide you through this show of juried, large-scale sculptures, sharing the artists’ statements and stories and answering your questions about the work.

Poetry and Other Literary Events

Roots, Shoots, and Leaves with WordXWord

MAY 21, 3-4PM

It’s spring, roots are stretching, shoots are popping, leaves are returning from the south, and poets are al fresco. A “moving” event, we will walk the grounds of The Mount, from poet location to poet location.

Wharton on Wednesday

JUNE-OCTOBER, 5:30-6:30PM

Join us on the first Wednesdays of the month at the Terrace Café to hear quintessential Edith Wharton short stories brought to life by local actors.

June 7: Mae Hedges Boyce

July 5: Elric Walker

August 2: Anne Undeland

September 6: Mary Anne Grammer

October 4: Tod Randolph

Summer Lightning book launch, Roberta Silman & Matt Tannenbaum

JUNE 9, 5-6PM

Meet Berkshire author Roberta Silman in conversation with The Bookstore‘s Matt Tannenbaum on The Mount’s terrace to discuss the making and impact of Summer Lightning, Silman’s fifth novel.

The Writing of Fiction Series

JUNE-AUGUST, 6-7PM

What do capitalism, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and occultist painters have in common: this summer, we explore these subjects with our favorite fiction authors in this three-part series.

June 23: Hernan Diaz, Trust

July 21: Mariah Fredericks, The Lindbergh Nanny

August 18: Claire McMillan, Alchemy of a Blackbird

Poetry Writing Workshop & Voices of Poetry Reading

JUNE 25; WORKSHOP FROM 10AM-3PM; READING FROM 5-6PM

Join us for this annual poetry event presented by Voices of Poetry at The Mount with founder and Frank McCourt protegee Neil Silberblatt.

Masters Series

FRIDAYS, JULY-AUGUST, 4-5PM

Join author André Bernard, vice president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, in conversation with three masters of the nonfiction narrative, all unquestionably at the top of their literary game!

July 7: Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, whose recent titles include The Perfectionists, Land, and the newly released Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic, an all-encompassing look at learning and the human mind.

July 28: David Michaelis, author of six books, including the national bestsellers N.C. Wyeth, Schulz and Peanuts, and, most recently, Eleanor, a breakthrough portrait of America’s longest-serving First Lady and one of the most widely admired and influential women.

August 11: Stacy Schiff, hailed as “perhaps the most seductive writer of nonfiction prose in America,” her six biographies include Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, Cleopatra: A Life, and Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, a revelatory biography of arguably the most essential Founding Father that was named one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best 10 Books of 2022.

Very Large Poems with WordXWord

JULY 16, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30PM

Following in the footsteps of 2022’s World’s (Possibly) Largest Poem, WordXWord returns with a suite of Very Large Poems. The title references the physical size, not the length, as the poems are created and curated by dozens of poets in collaboration. Performed outdoors along the pathways of The Mount, the audience moves (walks!) through the poems.

Walkin’ with WordXWord

JULY 23, 30, AUGUST 6, 5-6PM

Wear your walking shoes and follow along as poets offer a moving exploration of selected works in the SculptureNow exhibition. Using sculpture, poets are challenged to offer new ways of “seeing” what’s before us.

Housatonic Heritage Walk

SEPTEMBER 10, 3PM

Join director of visitor services, Anne Schuyler, for a 1.5hour exploration of The Mount’s gardens and woodland trails. Open to people of all ages.

Floral Design Through The Ages

SEPTEMBER 13, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

A presentation by Jane Godshalk, an internationally acclaimed floral designer, teacher, and artistic judge for the Garden Club of America, on historical designs and a handson demonstration of five contemporary interpretations. Presented by the Lenox Garden Club.

CATA Poetry Reading

SEPTEMBER 20, 5PM

Join Community Access to the Arts for a reading of poetry and prose celebrating the work of writers with disabilities. Through heartfelt, thought-provoking, and often humorous work, CATA writers express their unique perspectives and reveal common experiences that connect us all. For more information, visit CATAarts.org.

Wharton’s Woods, Wetlands and Meadows: Human History and Ecology at the Mount

SEPTEMBER 30, 9-11AM

Take a walk on the wild side with Mass Audubon at The Mount. Explore the intersection of human history and ecology while enjoying the beautiful woods, meadows, wetlands, lake views, and the expanse of Edith Wharton’s original estate, including recently conserved trails leading to Edith Wharton Park on Laurel Lake. Registration recommended: www.massaudubon.org/programs.

Children’s Programs

Live Music

Edith’s Ensemble

Join us in the gardens for live orchestral music from Edith’s Ensemble, a new group composed of local teen musicians. The ensemble will give free pop-up performances throughout the season, so keep an eye out for our weekly e-blasts!

Pride Month Concert

JUNE 4, 5:30-7:30PM

Pamela Means (Jazz) Project performs originals, jazzed-up classic covers, and Great American Songbook jazz standards from the 1930s-1950s for a slinky set including Lester Young, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Billie Holiday, and more.

Juneteenth Concert

JUNE 19, 5-6PM

Join us for a concert in the Forecourt with John Hughes, an innovative kora (West African harp) player, percussionist, and vocalist. His style ranges from elegant and stately classical West African harp music to jazzy, hypnotic grooves crossing cultural boundaries.

StoryWalks® with South Berkshire Kids

MAY-OCTOBER

Each month, South Berkshire Kids and The Mount welcome you to enjoy a STORYWALK; read a picture book while meandering a path through the woods! Join us on each opening day from 10am1pm and get a free learning packet from South Berkshire Kids.

Opens May 18: If You Give A Moose A Muffin, Laura Numeroff

Opens June 8: What Can You Do With A Paleta, Carmen Taffola (English/Spanish)

Opens July 9: How Many Squirrels Are In The World, Ben Gundersheimer

Opens August 10: Emma’s Poem: The Voice of The Statue of Liberty, Linda Glaser

Opens September 14: My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz, Monica Brown (English/Spanish)

Opens October 12: Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun‘s Thanksgiving Story, Danielle Greendeer

MISTER G Bilingual Family Concert

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 11AM

Latin GRAMMY Award-winning musician, activist, author, and educator MISTER G fuses music and storytelling in a fun-filled live experience for kids of all ages! Bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds before or after the concert.

Elijah T. Grasshopper Children’s Concert

AUGUST 13, 12:30PM

Elijah T. Grasshopper & Friends return to The Mount for a lively interactive concert of musical storytelling. Learn funky dance moves and celebrate nature in all its forms!

Ghost Tours

Adult and Kid Ghost Tours

JULY-OCTOBER

It starts with the sounds—creaking floors and slamming doors, fading footsteps down empty halls—coupled with hair raising taps on the shoulder and spectral shapes crouched in corners or before fireplaces long gone cold. Tricks of the imagination in an old house once inhabited by a skilled writer of ghost stories… or something else? Take a ghost tour and decide for yourself!

On the Trail of Ghosts

THURSDAYS: JUNE 29, JULY 27, AUGUST 31,

SEPTEMBER 28, OCTOBER 26, 7-9PM

Are ghosts roaming The Mount? Join paranormal investigator Nick Smith-Koblitz for a special tour of Edith Wharton’s home; learn how to use real investigation tools and explore the history and methodology of psychical research.

NightWood

NOVEMBER 16 - JANUARY 6

NightWood is an innovative and immersive sound and light experience set against the backdrop of Edith Wharton’s historic home. Wander the illuminated 3/4-mile route through the woods and gardens for an otherworldly experience that evokes wonder and awakens the imagination. New encounters are added each year!

WAM Theatre’s Fresh Takes Play Reading Series

SUNDAYS, JULY 16, 23, 30, 2PM

July 16: hollow roots by Christina Anderson, directed by Trenda Loftin. Performed with live musical accompaniment, this dynamic and poetic solo play questions the notion of a “post-racial” society by looking at one woman’s quest to understand her identity.

July 23: Port of Entry by Talya Kingston, directed by Amy Brentano. In a New England international airport in 2016 on the day the “Muslim Ban” came into effect, it‘s up to a couple of gatekeepers to decide whom to let into the country.

July 30: In Her Bones by Jessica Kahkoska, directed by Estefanía Fadul. This play explores the complicated legacy of crypto-Judaism in the Southwest, illuminating an unlikely, alpine tale of secrecy, faith, fear, and how we pass culture on when written records are too dangerous to keep.

Representation and How to Get It

AUGUST 25-27, 7 PM FRIDAY, 11 AM SATURDAY, 2 PM SUNDAY

Poet and visionary Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,“ was famous as a charismatic human rights activist. Now, In this moving call to arms, she speaks passionately to our own time. Representation and How to Get It is a new solo show presented by Great Barrington Public Theater, created collaboratively by playwright Joyce Van Dyke, actor Elaine Vaan Hogue, and director Judy Braha.

The Hoppin Albums:

Building The Mount

The Hoppin Albums: Building The Mount is a continued exploration of the vintage photo albums The Mount purchased in 2021. These albums, compiled by Francis L.V. Hoppin, The Mount’s principal architect, and containing over 350 photographs, were featured in a 2022 program supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. This year, we will focus on two never-before-seen photographs of The Mount under construction.

Photographs of workmen on the job at grand houses from this period are extremely rare and illustrate the massive labor involved in building these great estates. This exhibit will use these photos and period newspaper articles to give us a glimpse of what life was like for the estimated 400 workers who built The Mount, and whose stories are rarely heard.

This exhibit provides a closer look at Wharton’s literary works and examines why we should still read her today. Planned for the gallery-like space of the 3rd floor hallway, it is the first phase of a larger exhibit planned for 2024, which will expand and deepen our interpretation of Wharton and her literary world.

In 1925, Wharton wrote to a friend, “As my work reaches its close, I feel sure that it is either nothing, or far more than they know….And I wonder, a little desolately, which?”

Our hope is that after viewing this exhibit, visitors will be inspired to read Wharton’s works and answer this question for themselves.

“The Stuff of Life”: Reading Wharton in the 21st Century

Edith’s Erechtheum

Artist Kathleen Jacobs Chronicles

Edith Wharton’s Trees

In the summer of 2022, Berkshirebased artist Kathleen Jacobs sat under the lush canopy of trees surrounding Edith Wharton’s beloved gardens, creating an illustrated inventory of the forest—birch, pine, maple, oak, and black-cherry—many of which were cultivated by Wharton when she purchased the property in 1902.

Jacobs selected twenty-two of these centenarian trees as the subjects of her new large-scale installation, Erechtheum, a multi-year project that is a true collaboration between the artist and nature. As summer transitioned into fall, Jacobs and her team spent weeks neatly wrapping the selected trees in gessoed French linen, a breathable canvas that has since formed an organic patina as the natural elements of wind, moisture, sun, and the forest ecosystem continue to transform each canvas. Jacobs employs a frottage technique that involves using linen strips to create rubbings that reveal each tree‘s unique silhouette.

Visitors to The Mount this summer will notice the trees still snugly wrapped in their linen coverings, which will remain in place until late 2023, when they will be removed and stretched in Jacobs’ studio. As a final step, Jacobs applies a monochromatic

Visitors this summer can experience artist

Kathleen Jacobs' latest onsite project.

palette of muted blues and grayish whites to enhance the details and depth of each piece.

Erechtheum aims to create a living link to Edith Wharton on multiple levels, echoing her appreciation of the natural world, her aesthetic sensibilities aimed towards simplicity, and a deep appreciation of how physical space impacts our lived experience.

Kathleen Jacobs is an artist and world adventurer seeped in a range of creative disciplines, from calligraphy to printmaking and painting. A trained pilot and experienced surfer, her work is informed by her observations of the sea and sky from her specific vantage point. Like Wharton, Jacobs’ art is a commentary on the power of space and the interconnectedness of all that surrounds us.

Clockwise from top left: Jacobs and her team, Jacobs demonstrates her technique, Linen-wrapped trees in winter

Photos by Lisa Vollmer

Wharton’s Whitman Returns

In July 2022, Mount librarian Nynke Dorhout journeyed to antiquarian booksellers Maggs Bros. in London on a delightful mission: the purchase of Edith Wharton’s copy of Walt Whitman’s Complete Prose (London: Appleton and Co, 1920).

Maggs Bros. was the first bookseller to acquire part of Wharton’s library in the 1980s. This collection was bought and further expanded to its current 2,700 volumes by the late bookseller George Ramsden of York, England, and sold to The Mount in 2005. Despite George Ramsden’s 15 years of meticulous research and recollecting, occasional volumes from Wharton’s library have surfaced throughout the years.

Whitman’s Complete Prose had recently come into the hands of Maggs Bros., and they were thrilled to have the book returned to Wharton’s library. The volume is a valuable and exciting addition to our library, and Wharton scholars have already traveled to The Mount to examine the book.

Wharton deeply admired Whitman; Leaves of Grass was one of her most beloved and most annotated books. She heavily marked this recently acquired volume as well; the underscored sentence below is an example; Wharton later used it as the epigraph for her book A Son at the Front (New York: Scribner’s, 1923).

Example of Edith Wharton’s markings on Whitman’s Complete Prose

Wharton’s Prolific Pen

Conceptual artist Rachel Perry is known for using drawing, photography, video, collage, sculpture, and performance to address “the fleeting nature of experience, the elusiveness of desire, and the persistence of objects in a throwaway culture.”

The Mount acquired the pen from Sotheby’s in 2003.

Edith Wharton’s marbled, celluloid fountain pen is the subject of Perry’s latest creative endeavor: a series of “chiral,” or imperfect, mirror-image drawings that involve the careful layering of freehanddrawn lines to create an image that “records the history of mark making and re-animates a central tool of Wharton’s work.” The fountain pen, manufactured in 1931 by Conklin in Toledo, Ohio, was designed specifically for the French export market.

The Mount acquired the pen from Sotheby’s in 2003.

While Perry’s chiral series first began as an attempt to use every writing utensil she could find within her own home, it evolved to her use of the writing instruments of significant contemporary and historical figures to document personal histories through art. Enter Edith Wharton’s pen.

Perry worked closely with The Mount’s librarian, Nynke Dorhout, and noted pen restorer David Nishimura to ensure that Wharton’s instrument could be safely used for Perry’s purposes. Most recently, Perry spent several days in The Mount’s sewing room developing her drawings, periodically dipping Wharton’s pen in a cobalt ink, a deep hue not dissimilar to what the writer herself would have used. She will return to The Mount for additional work sessions throughout the season until her collection is complete. Though still in progress, Perry’s drawings with Wharton’s pen impart an undulating sense of ease, balance, and harmony, valued aspects of

Wharton’s own aesthetics. Perry explains, “Each subsequent line follows the previous, and as the drawing builds, the lines begin to tremble with a seismic quality.” Her drawings are diptychs. As hands themselves are an example of chirality, Perry uses her left hand to create the left panel and her right hand to create the right panel. For Perry, the pen offers revealing insights into Wharton’s own writing preferences and habits; she can feel how Wharton had used the pen through variations in Perry’s own sensations on the page when she is using her left vs. her right hand (Wharton was right-handed.)

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Rachel Perry’s work is held in numerous museums and private collections around the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Ford Foundation, and the List Visual Arts Center at MIT. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times and Vogue

Chiral drawing detail

Rachel Perry at work in the Mount’s sewing room

Recreating Wharton’s Drawing Room

As part of a multi-year project, the Drawing Room walls and ceiling have recently been repaired and freshly painted. Following the installation of the custom-made, historically authentic Austrian Savonnerie rug last November, Mount supporters and design experts Pauline C. Metcalf and Michael Simon worked closely with contractor Michael Renzi Painting to choose the right colors for the walls and ornate plasterwork

“Pale tints should be avoided in the selection of carpets. It is better that the color-scale should ascend gradually from the dark tone of floor or carpet to the faint half-tints of the ceiling.”

THE DECORATION OF HOUSES, 1897

ceiling. Following Wharton’s advice in The Decoration of Houses, her influential 1897 book on design, four different tints were used to create the desired effect.

New fabrics and furnishings will be the next steps in this extensive project. Aided by detailed historical photos, the recreation will give visitors an authentic sense of Edith Wharton’s Drawing Room.

Repainted plasterwork and detail of new Savonnerie rug. Visit The Mount this season to see the full reveal!

Tracing Wharton’s Footsteps Through Rome

Bob Guarino, Garden Interpreter

There is nothing in all Italy like Caprarola.

So wrote Edith Wharton in Italian Villas and Their Gardens, published in 1904. She was describing the magnificent Villa Farnese at Caprarola that she visited in 1903. What must this estate be like to earn such singular praise?

Villa Farnese was just one of the 75 villas that she explored as research for a series of articles on Italian estates that would accompany drawings by artist Maxfield Parrish. This unequivocal statement was from an author whose first novel, The Valley of Decision, set in 18th century Italy, demonstrated her extensive knowledge of Italian culture and history.

Such was the inspiration for my trip to Rome last November: I would follow her footsteps and visit some of the same villas that she had

toured some 120 years before. I felt I was reasonably familiar with Edith Wharton, having read almost all of her works, some more than once. I certainly liked her, and in some ways, I felt like I knew her. So, armed with her unparalleled praise for the Villa Farnese, I knew that this would be the first stop on my itinerary.

Caprarola is about 25 miles northwest of Rome. As I made the drive, I recalled Edith’s vivid description of her expedition by car many years before. She recounts the wind in her face and the bumps in the road.

As I traveled the same route, I sensed the same wind and endured the same bumps–almost as if we were riding together. But it wasn’t until I approached the massive villa directly above the town, that I truly experienced the excitement she must have felt. As I entered the gardens and ascended toward the reclining mighty river gods, I knew my connection with her was complete.

My mission was accomplished: to see the villa and its gardens from Edith’s point of view; to explore the same stately rooms, enjoy the

same sweeping views, wander the same shaded paths, marvel at the same imposing statues, and try to appreciate fully her love of what she called Italian “garden magic.” It was an extraordinary visit and, with her book in hand, I eagerly looked forward to following her to the next villa.

Ceiling detail Villa Farnese

Scan to see Bob’s photos and video footage from Villa Farnese in Caprarola.

Our indefatigable Garden Interpreter, Bob Guarino

Not Your Average Bookstore

Described as “one of the best Museum gift shops“ by our regional public radio host Joe Donahue, The Mount’s Bookstore features local, handmade, and unique items as well as an extensive inventory of Wharton titles and books on gardens, architecture, and the Gilded Age.

The Bookstore is open to the public and all Mount members receive 10% off purchases.

Wharton’s Ruling Passions guide us in curating our clever and creative inventory. Find treasures for your friends and family, or treat yourself to something special, all while helping Wharton’s beautifully restored home to thrive.

Wharton's Ruling Passions: Justice & order, dogs, books, flowers, architecture, travel, a good joke

Mention Wharton’s Ruling Passions and receive a complimentary magnet with any purchase!

Wharton mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

The Terrace Café

With its breathtaking view and locally-sourced spirits and fare, our Terrace Café has become a favorite Berkshire gathering place. We are looking forward to serving guests throughout the season and have once again partnered with Mike Mongeon from KJ Nosh Catering to offer seasonal sandwiches and salads. The café will continue to highlight and celebrate our local business partners, including Six Depot, Berkshire Cider Project, High Lawn Farm, SoMa Catering, Berkshire Mountain Distillers, and Big Elm Brewing.

The Terrace Café will be open 11am to 3pm Monday to Wednesday, and 11am to 4pm Thursday to Sunday. Visit edithwharton.org to see a sample menu or just stop by!

Mount Members Make The Difference!

Mount members enjoy many benefits, including unlimited visits throughout the season, and advance discounted ticket sales to our popular Summer Lecture Series. Best of all, members have a stake in The Mount’s historic past and exciting future.

All Memberships include:

 Unlimited general admission

 10% discount at The Mount’s Bookstore

 Discounts on programs and special events

 Advance ticket sales to the Summer Lecture Series

Our National Committee is comprised of supporters from across the country who give $1,000 or more annually to honor Edith Wharton’s legacy and ensure The Mount’s continued success.

Join or renew today at edithwharton.org and see how Members Make the Difference!

The Terrace Café is open to the public; ticket purchase not required

SculptureNow

at The Mount

2023 marks The Mount’s 11th year of partnering with SculptureNow for the annual sculpture exhibit! This year we welcome 27 new sculptures that will be installed throughout The Mount’s grounds.

The sculptures are crafted from a variety of materials, including stone, steel, bronze, and wood, and range in size from intimate to monumental.

SculptureNow was founded in 1998 and has presented annual exhibitions at venues throughout the

Berkshires, including The Norman Rockwell Museum and the Berkshire Botanical Garden.

Ann Jon, SculptureNow’s executive director, shares “After 11 years, The Mount feels like home. The beautiful grounds create ‘green galleries’ for the sculptures where visitors can enjoy this perfect combination of nature and art.”

Join us on SculptureNow’s opening day, June 18, from 2pm to 5pm to explore the new exhibit and meet the artists.

Sanctum Sanctorum V by Ann Jon

“Hands

Allegrone Co. is proud to support The Mount and their mission to provide meaningful cultural opportunities for our community.

PO Box 974, 2 Plunkett Street

Lenox, MA 01240

EdithWharton.org