Literary Massachusetts

Literary Massachusetts

We divided the Author Adventures in Massachusetts into three trails. Together, they teem with historical authors, poets, and writers for children, spanning three centuries and all areas of the state. We know more exist than listed, but these are a start and open to the public.

You can mix and match these trails to customize to your own priorities. We started in Boston and poked around Cambridge, then took the train north to Salem, then drove south to Plymouth, and then west to the Berkshires toward Norman Rockwell’s place, returning eastward to Boston by way of Concord. (As we neared the Berkshires, we crossed the state line to Connecticut and visited the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe.)

Part 1 (Coastal Massachusetts):

Click any link below for author and place information. This trail runs north-south.

A. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Salem
B. John Adams, Quincy
C. President John F. Kennedy, Boston
D. Robert McCloskey, Boston
E. William James, Cambridge
F. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Cambridge
G. William Bradford, Martha Harding, and Mary Ring, Plimoth Patuxet

Part 1 appears below.

Part 2 (Central-Western Massachusetts):

Click any link below for author and place information. This trail runs east-west.

H. Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Springfield
I. Eric Carle, Amherst
J. Emily Dickinson, Amherst
K. William Cullen Bryant, Cummington
L. W.E.B. DuBois, Great Barrington
M. Norman Rockwell, Stockbridge
N. Edith Wharton, Lenox
O. Herman Melville, Pittsfield

Part 2 appears below.

Part 3 (Inland Northern Massachusetts):

Click any link below for author and place information.

P. Jack Kerouac, Lowell
Q. Henry David Thoreau, Concord
R. Louisa May Alcott, Concord
S. The Wayside: Home of Authors, Concord
T. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord

Part 3 appears below. This trail runs north-south. It begins in Lowell but all the other stops are in Concord.