Here at Eagle Pond [Paperback]

Donald Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2000

HERE AT EAGLE POND is Donald Hall's remarkable collection of essays about the permanent and transparent memory of place and of his coming home to Eagle Pond, New Hampshire, where he grew up and returned to live with his wife Jane Kenyon at the age of 45, where he began writing poems at the age of twelve, and where his ancestors made their livings by free-lancing as farmers. In these tender essays, Hall tells of the joys and quiddities of life in the ancestral New Hampshire place formerly worked as a dairy farm by his grandparents; of the comforts and discomforts of a world in which the year has four seasons -- maple sugar, blackfly, Red Sox, and winter. These essays are also Donald Hall's letters to friends, answers to such life-altering questions as: "What would our lives be like, living here at Eagle Pond, in solitude among relics and memories, in a countryside of birches and GMC pickups?" And they are ghost stories as well: vivid descriptions of Hall's intimate connection with the land and with his family past. Most importantly, HERE AT EAGLE POND is Donald Hall's coming home to language.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A companion to Seasons at Eagle Pond , these witty and perceptive essays capture the essence of New England, past and present. From his ancestral home in Wilmot, N.H., poet Hall reminisces about his childhood, family history and the pleasures of country life. In "Rusticus" he discusses rural culture and its independence, conservatism and sense of continuity. How do New Hampshire citizens feel about their presidential primary? See "Living Room Politics." Hall takes jabs at neighboring Vermont; he ruminates on the weather--the seasons are maple sugar, blackfly, Red Sox and winter--and draws a composite picture of the countryfolk. Hall is to New Hampshire what John Gould is to Maine.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As an advocate for rural New England life, Hall has no equal. In this collection of essays, a successor to Seasons at Eagle Pond ( LJ 12/87), the prize-winning poet and one-time poet laureate of New Hampshire laments the encroachment of suburbia, the coming of the "condosaurus," and the influx of senior citizens into his home state. Ranging in subject matter from the joy of the woodburning cookstove to the rural American to the New Hampshire political system, Hall writes with grace and humor, capturing the spirit of those who make "Live Free or Die" their motto. Recommended for all who love New England and enjoy skillful writing.
- Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618084738
• ISBN-13: 978-0618084739
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,204,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite from Donald Hall, June 2, 2009

By 

HB (northern new hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here at Eagle Pond (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed many publications from Donald Hall. His childrens books are especially welcome in our house.

But, the combination of stories published in this edition left an unpleasant aftertaste for me. Was Hall maybe a bit too self-satified or a bit too curmudgeonly for me? Or perhaps I was in the wrong state of mind when I read it?

Whatever the case, I will continue to seek out his other books but I don't plan to re-read this compilation.

4.0 out of 5 stars Take A Walk in the New Hampshire Woods, April 19, 2009

By 

Naomi Bouy "MNM" (Westminster, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here at Eagle Pond (Paperback)

This is a great book for those who love to idle down a country road and find life as it should be lived. Simpler, more meaningful times. Love the style and tempo of his writing. And thanks for sharing and bringing the reader to a feeling of inner calm and Life has meaning!!