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Founded in 1941, The Thoreau Society, Inc. is the largest and oldest organization devoted to an American author. The Society has members from more than twenty countries around the world, the Penobscot Nation, and all fifty U.S. states. The Thoreau Society is committed to diversity and inclusion, and welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, gender expressions and identities, origins, physical abilities, races, religions, and sexual orientations.

In Walden, Thoreau wrote, “I desire that there may be as many different persons in the world as possible.” The Thoreau Society likewise recognizes that the contributions of all will continue to result in a more vital organization and a more vital world.

Mission

The Thoreau Society exists to stimulate interest in and foster education about Thoreau’s life, works, legacy and his place in his world and in ours, challenging all to live a deliberate, considered life.

Vision

The Thoreau Society keeps Thoreau’s writings and ideas alive around the globe and across generations.

Organizational Goals

  • To encourage research on Thoreau’s life and works and to act as a repository for Thoreau-related materials
  • To educate the public about Thoreau’s ideas and their application to contemporary life
  • To preserve Thoreau’s legacy and advocate for the preservation of Thoreau country

Read the Thoreau Society By-Laws

Publications

The Thoreau Society Bulletin is a 20-page newsletter with bibliographic information and writings on the life, works, and legacy of Henry Thoreau.

The Concord Saunterer: A Journal of Thoreau Studies is an annual peer-reviewed journal of Thoreau scholarship that features in-depth essays about Thoreau, his times and his contemporaries, and his influence today.

Thoreau Society

Honorary Advisors

Terry Tempest Williams
Nature Writer and
Conservationist

James E. Francis, Sr.
Penobscot Nation
Tribal Historian

Officers

Rochelle Johnson, PhD – 2022-2024
Boise, ID
President

John J. Kucich, PhD – 2021-2024
Maynard, MA
Vice President

Michael Schleifer, CPA – 2023-2025
Brooklyn, New York
Treasurer

Geoff Wisner – 2023-2025
New York, NY
Clerk

Michael Frederick – 2006-Present
Concord, MA
Executive Director

Board of Directors

Kristen Case, PhD – 2023-2024
Farmington, ME

Theodore David, JD – 2021-2024
Ramsey, NJ

Rebecca Kneale Gould, PhD – 2021-2024
North Ferrisburgh, VT

Robert A. Gross, PhD – 2021-2024
Concord, MA

Richard Higgins – 2022-2025
Concord, MA

Christina Katopodis, PhD – 2021-2024
Brooklyn, NY

Dennis Noson, PhD – 2022-2025
Seattle, WA

Henrik Otterberg, PhD – 2021-2024
Gothenburg, Sweden

Beverly Pittman, PhD – 2023-2024
Philadelphia, PA

Catherine Staples, PhD – 2023-2024
Devon, PA

Robert M. Thorson, PhD – 2022-2025
Storrs, CT

Get news from the Thoreau Society and learn about ways you can help preserve Thoreau Country as part of our common heritage and as the embodiment of Thoreau’s landmark contributions to social, political, and environmental thought.

The Thoreau Society®, Inc.
341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742
P: (978) 369-5310
F: (978) 369-5382
E:  info@thoreausociety.org

Educating people about the life, works, and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, challenging all to live a deliberate, considered life—since 1941.

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Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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