Reawakening the spirit of Frost

Author: Aylie Baker

Robert Frost's cabin is going to have a new resident.

In the Breadloaf Inn, he regales visitors from his frame above the mantel. On weekends, Fire and Ice becomes the local haunt for college students and towns people alike. Indeed, in a town which was once the summer stomping ground of acclaimed poet Robert Frost, Middlebury's announcement of the Robert Frost Writer-in-residence seems no big surprise.

The new position, to be filled in 2009, comes on the heels of the vandalism of Frost's cabin in Ripton, Vt. last winter - a case which shocked locals and drew international press attention. The cabin, which is located on the property of Frost's Homer Noble Farmhouse and is now designated a National Historic Landmark, was Frost's summer home from 1939 until he died in 1963. It was damaged last December by a group of local high school students who had selected the cabin for a party.

As part of their sentencing for the vandalism of the cabin, the 28 offenders were required to take part in one of two classes taught by Professor of English and Creative Writing Jay Parini in a May workshop.

"I'm not under any illusion that this will transform their lives," remarked Parini prior to the course, "but I do have a particularly strong faith in the power of poetry to transform minds."

When Parini led a workshop for the students this past spring, he referenced one of Frost's most famous poems, The Road Not Taken. The first stanza brings readers deep into a yellow wood, where a fork arises in the path and the traveler is forced to choose between the two. To extend the metaphor, Parini insists that many high school students are at a point in their lives where they too find themselves in the woods. It is important not to dwell on the past, but rather to abandon any tendencies towards myopia for a more positive outlook towards the future.

"I agree with Robert Frost - poetry can be restorative," said Parini. The workshop was a chance for the students to reflect on their lives. "I think poetry clarifies experience," said Parini, who loosely defined poetry as "a language adequate to our experience."

While the vandalism certainly contributed to the establishment of the fund, talk of adding a position for a poet was long in the works, explained Parini, who is also a Frost biographer. In its most basic function, the fellow would act as a caretaker of the property, preventing any future intrusions. But the fellow would also serve as a living presence in the house, said Parini, helping to reinvoke that very feel of Frost.

"Frost is the presiding genius of the area," expressed Parini, quickly adding, "I mean that in the Latin sense of the word - he is the presiding spirit in these parts, in all of the North Country."

While he was undoubtedly "the dominant voice for Vermont ... he was also an immensely gifted naturalist." A true field guide to the region, Frost's poems contain references to various landmarks as well as local flora and fauna.

Given Frost's legacy, the post has generated a lot of excitement.

"I think it will be a tremendous addition to the Creative Writing department," said Parini.

The selection committee is currently looking for a poet - preferably someone only just embarking on his or her literary career who will act as the cabin's caretaker and will teach classes at the Breadloaf campus. But most importantly, in a place that once inspired Frost, the hope is to inspire creativity in generations of future poets, young and old.