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 – 2020-2022
Boise, ID
President
Michael Schleifer, CPA – 2021-2023
Brooklyn, New York
Treasurer
James Finley – 2020-2023
TX
Clerk
Michael Frederick – 2006-Present
Concord, MA
Executive Director
Board of Directors
Phyllis Cole, PhD – 2021-2024
Barrington, RI
Theodore David, JD – 2021-2024
Ramsey, NJ
James Finley, PhD – 2020-2023
San Antonio, TX
Jayne Gordon – 2021-2024
Damariscotta, ME
Robert A. Gross, PhD – 2021-2024
Concord, MA
Rebecca Kneale Gould, PhD – 2021-2024
North Ferrisburgh, VT
Richard Higgins – 2019-2022
Concord, MA
Christina Katopodis, PhD – 2021-2024
Brooklyn, NY
John J. Kucich, PhD – 2021-2024
Maynard, MA
Dennis Noson, PhD – 2019-2022
Seattle, WA
Henrik Otterberg, PhD – 2021-2024
Gothenburg, Sweden
Geoff Wisner – 2020-2023
New York, NY