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"Strangely
beautiful, haunting, a remarkable little city," says
Joe Manning, poet, composer, songwriter, photographer, and now author of this charming, nostalgic, and compelling portrait
of North Adams, a quiet mill town that sits almost unnoticed along the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. Steeples: Sketches of North Adams is
a unique snapshot of North Adams as it begins the transition from a declining mill town to a center for contemporary art.
Through a blend of oral histories, photographs, and poetry, the author portrays this quiet little city in the Berkshires,
as its people remember the good old days and await the opening of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA)
in 27 factory buildings left vacant in 1986 by the Sprague Electric Company. The story of the city and its immigrant people
is told through the oral histories, which will remain a valuable document as memories fade with time. The photographs show
the city as it was, as it is now, and as it may never be again. The poetry evokes the stillness and nostalgia of a quiet Main
Street and the beauty of the geographical setting in the Berkshire Mountains. Quotes From Reviews "Joe Manning goes right to the heart and soul
of a town. On the surface, Steeples is a book about North Adams; but it is much more. It is a book that honors
history, the people that live it, and the ways in which they are inextricably intertwined." -Elizabeth Winthrop,
author of fifty works of fiction for adults and children. Her books include Island Justice and In My Mother's House; and
for children, The Castle In The Attic and Shoes "Steeples
is a splendid book. Wise, engaging, and informative, it provides a wonderful bridge between North Adams as it was and the
place we see today. Manning has caught both the spirit and the richly complex character of its past better than anything that
has ever been written about the subject." -Robert F. Dalzell, Ephraim Williams Professor of History at Williams
College, and author of numerous books and articles on early American history "Every American
town should be fortunate enough to have a chronicler as devoted and creative as Joe Manning. After reading the funny, tragic,
and insightful interviews, you may feel that you know these people, almost as if they were your own neighbors."
-Roadside Magazine "I am
fascinated by Steeples. It gives me a real sense of North Adams and of a time that is all but forgotten.
Steeples is a treasure!" -David Plowden,
photographer and author "Steeples is an evocation of
something that has been lost in the heart of America. I find the interviews very moving. I am impressed with the photographs
and the richness of the urbanism that they evoke." -James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere
"Joe Manning uses interviews, his
own poems and photographs to tell the story of the city of North Adams and its struggle to maintain its history. The interviews
tell a very personal story, one which Manning obviously has invested himself in. A very original historical work." -Historical
Journal of Massachusetts "Steeples is a wonderful document
- one students could use as a model to preserve (or simply perceive) some of the wonders of their own localities." -Eric
Oatman, Editorial Director, Weekly Reader
Excerpts from "Steeples"
Order "Steeples"
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