The Brattleboro Words Projects receives Hathaway Award

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – The Vermont Historical Society recently announced the winner of the 2021 Hathaway Award: The Brattleboro Words Project.

Honoring the memory of Professor Richard O. Hathaway for his innumerable contributions to the study of Vermont history, this award recognizes one outstanding project in that field completed, released, published, or presented during the previous calendar year.

This year’s recipient, The Brattleboro Words Project, is a community collaboration initiated in 2017 between the Brattleboro Literary Festival, Write Action, Marlboro College, Brooks Memorial Library, and the Brattleboro Historical Society. With the leadership of Lissa Weinmann, Jen Austin, and Mary Ide, the organizations rallied around the goal of preserving and celebrating the legacy of written words, printing, and publishing in the region.

One of BWP’s efforts, an illustrated book tracing Brattleboro’s significance as a printing and publishing town, is the focus of this year’s award. “Print Town: Brattleboro’s Legacy of Words” is a 247-page collection of stories covering almost 300 years of local history. Many of the narratives will ring familiar with local history buffs, but the publication is peppered with lesser-known tales that contribute to the breadth and diversity of the finished product. Among the collection from over 30 local historians and published authors who engaged in three years of research are profiles of famous local authors such as Saul Bellows, Rudyard Kipling, and Clarina Howard Nichols, as well as information about lesser-known but equally important authors like 17th century African American poet, Lucy Terry Prince.

BWP gathered information, oral histories, and other leads through two years of monthly public Roundtable Discussions and Zoom events. BWP released “Print Town” in December 2020.

In addition to “Print Town,” BWP also launched the Brattleboro Words Trail, a website and mobile app complementing the publication.

The Hathaway award was presented to BWP at the Vermont Historical Society’s Annual Meeting in September 2021.

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