Sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, “Write what you know” is an old adage for fiction writers. The phrase probably wasn’t meant quite so literally as it is sometimes taken. Writers need not limit themselves to only their personal experience—that’s sort of where the “creative” in creative writing comes in.
Nevertheless, writers often draw on their own experiences when it comes to place and setting. Twain himself was a river city boy, his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, forming the basis for “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.” And it was the Irish writer James Joyce who once said of his novel “Ulysses,” “I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth, it could be reconstructed out of my book.”
That authentic connection to place is perhaps why it is so powerful to see, for example, the actual desk where Louisa May Alcott penned “Little Women” within the bedchamber of her Orchard House estate in Concord, Massachusetts. Guests often find themselves “emotionally overwhelmed” when they enter the room, says Jan Turnquist, executive director of the Orchard House. “Visitors perceive a reverential awe in this room that makes them feel incredibly fortunate to be able to viscerally connect with the physical environment in which their favorite book was written.”
The Orchard House, which dates to circa 1650, roughly 200 years before it became home to the Alcott family, is of course a must-see destination for “Little Women” fans. But it also is one of the most authentically preserved homes in the U.S., sure to be a hit with history buffs as well. In addition to tours of the grounds, the site holds special events throughout the year, such as living history programming in December and Revolutionary era learning opportunities to tie in with Concord’s Patriots’ Day parade.
Concord is rich with literary history; it also was home to renowned poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose cultural influence extended to his leadership in the transcendentalist movement and as a lecturer, essayist, and thinker. Emerson’s home is now open for guided tours from April through October, looking much the same inside and out as it did during Emerson’s life, offering an opportunity to connect authentically with his life and work.
“The study where he did his writing, the room where he greeted visitors, as well as the Emerson bedroom—the contents of the home are original,” says Marie Gordinier, the house’s director of visitor services. “All the furniture, memorabilia, wall art, books—people are awed by that.”
Credit: Emily Dickinson Museum/Lynne Graves
Heading west across Massachusetts to Amherst, your group can engage with another of America’s most famous poets at the Emily Dickinson Museum, housed in two historic homes, one of which was where Dickinson was born, raised, worked, and died. “Visitors, after touring the houses, really have a sense of the day-to-day of the Dickinson family,” says Brooke Steinhauser, the museum’s senior director of programs. “There’s arguably no writer more closely associated with home than Dickinson. So, I think a lot of folks really come here seeking that understanding of what her life was like here in these spaces.”
Steinhauser says that while the homes are small, the museum enjoys getting creative to fit in groups regardless of size. That might include organizing a talk or discussion of Dickinson’s poetry in their office space. There also is restoration work going on in the homes, allowing visitors to share in new discoveries happening all the time.
“We get really excited when a visitor says, ‘Oh, I’m going to go read that book, because I’m fascinated by this mystery that is Emily Dickinson,’” says Steinhauser. “Sparking that curiosity is what we really hope to see.”
An easy drive south from Amherst takes you to Springfield, hometown of literary legend Theodore Geisel—though you might know him best as Dr. Seuss. Geisel was born and raised in Springfield, and The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, dedicated to him, opened in 2017. “Colorful, engaging, and uplifting,” says Director of Education Larissa Murray, the museum offers something for visitors of all ages, from interactive play spaces to historic archives from the Geisel family collection, allowing tourgoers to learn more about “Ted” as well as Dr. Seuss.
Work your way south—maybe including a stop in Hartford, Connecticut, at the home Twain lived in later in life—to a place known both as the setting of a legendary story and also as the final resting place of the story’s author. Immortalized in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow, New York, is where Irving was buried in 1859. His is perhaps the most famous grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, though by no means the only one. Businessman William Rockefeller, labor leader Samuel Gompers, architect Joseph Urban, and many others also lie buried here—in what continues to be an active cemetery, so all tours must be guided and prearranged. But, for lovers of Irving’s story, his grave is the main attraction.
“A lot of senior groups come through in the fall, and in the fall, it’s all about ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and the Headless Horseman,” says Christina Orban-La Salle, director of visitor services and sales at the cemetery. “But it’s not strictly biographical information that’s being shared. We touch on artistic movements. We touch on architecture. We look at interesting cemetery symbolism. So, there’s kind of a little something for everybody.”
Main Image: Orchard House, Concord, Massachusetts; Credit: Trey Powers
