Followed By the Lark: Author Helen Humphreys in conversation with Jeffrey S. Cramer

Inspired by the life, letters, and diaries of Henry David Thoreau, Followed by the Lark shows how strikingly similar the concerns of the early nineteenth century are to our own, and reminds us to listen for news of change: the song of spring’s first bluebird, reports from those who have heard it, and all the sounds and fearful wonders that come after.

A novel as wise as it is tender, a meditation on the miracle of friendship and the heartbreak of change, Followed by the Lark inhabits the life of Henry David Thoreau. Join author Helen Humphreys and curator Jeff Cramer in a discussion about Thoreau, writing, and exploring the past through fact and fiction.

Helen Humphreys is the award-winning author of four books of poetry, ten novels, and six works of creative non-fiction. Her work has been translated and published internationally, and has been optioned for film, television, opera, and the stage. Her latest book is a novel about Henry David Thoreau entitled Followed By the Lark, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2024. She lives and writes in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Jeffrey S. Cramer, Curator of Collections at The Walden Woods Project, is an independent scholar whose works include Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition (Yale University Press),The Portable Thoreau (Penguin), and most recently, Solid Seasons: The Friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson ​(Counterpoint Press).

This event is part of The Write Connection at Thoreau Farm, a program in partnership with The Thoreau Society. This event is co-sponsored by the Walden Woods Project. 

Helen Humphreys photo credit: Ayelet Tsabari.