On Whitcomb Hill: Land, House, and History in Rural Vermont

What does it mean to love a place? Is it simply a matter of delighting in the beauty of a specific parcel of land–for author E. J. Myers, land in rural Vermont? Or is loving a place some kind of deeper commitment, of deeper exploration, that goes beyond aesthetics? Living now in an 1840’s-vintage farmhouse on ten acres of meadow and woods, Myers believes that he has inadvertently grasped the thread of this specific place and, by pulling it, has found his property connected to everywhere else. In his new book On Whitcomb Hill, he explores how the historical, ethical, and spiritual aspects owning his property inspire a sense of stewardship not only of his ten acres but of the wider world.

On Hyland Hill is a tightly woven collection of twenty chapters that explore interconnectedness in the age of environmental crisis. Topics include (among others) the landscape, ponds and streams, traditional tools, meadows, local mammals, moths, cold weather and heat sources, and the complexities, contradictions, and ironies of Vermont history and culture. Written in the spirit of Thoreau’s Walden and in the style of contemporary environmentalists such as Edward Hoagland, Gretel Ehrlich, and Wendell Berry, these essays stress that the commitment to one specific place must be a gateway both to insights about oneself and to a greater awareness of the wider world.