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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"
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