Journal of nature, art, and inquiry inspired by Thoreau

Conceived in wintertime a year ago and brought to fruition this spring, the inaugural issue of the journal Wild Apples will be presented by its founders, a group of four artists and writers, at a party celebrating the magazine’s debut Thursday, May 1, at Fruitlands Museum. The journal, initially envisioned by founding editor Linda Hoffman, is a full-color collection of the work of local photographers, artists, poets, and essayists. Meant to inspire, educate, and uplift, Wild Apples “is something to savor,” said editor and poet Susan Edwards Richmond.

(Photo by Neal Menschal)

Inspiration for the deeply collaborative effort, whose founders also include poet Sophie Wadsworth and writer Kathryn Leibowitz, came about through a shared interest in finding new ways to think about living sustainably on the earth, Richmond said. The group’s natural creative impulses and desire to share its work naturally found expression in literary journal form, with focus provided by ideas put forth by Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Wild Apples.” That essay provided the seed of the idea that has since bloomed into the 48-page collection of work that both Hoffman and Richmond describe as a series of small chapbooks, pairing images with words. Subject matter is wide-ranging, including an interview with sculptor Joe Wheelwright and a look at seed-banking in a native New England wildflower garden. Images of Hoffman’s series of Buddhist-influenced bronze sculptures are paired with Richmond’s meditations on the idea of what it means to cross a river.

Inspiring a deep awareness and appreciation of the natural world is one of the goals of Wild Apples, both women agreed.

“We are all artists, and we all really care about our place and the environment,” Hoffman said. “We want our art to forward that and encourage others to live that way as well.”

The journal can also be a place to create a community of like-minded people, she added, and allows artists and writers who often create in isolation the opportunity to find kindred spirits.

The all-volunteer effort is a labor of love for all four women, and the group plans to go forward publishing the journal twice a year, in spring and fall. While writing and editing take a great deal of time, both Hoffman and Richmond emphasized how much the work means to all of them and their creative lives. And they hope Harvard will embrace the journal as well, seeing it as another expression of the utopian ideals the town has always been known for fostering.

“There’s something about Harvard that has grown the seeds—they were dormant in the ground perhaps—that have allowed this journal to grow and flourish,” Hoffman said. “It feels very right that Harvard is our home.”

The launch party for Wild Apples will be held Thursday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at Fruitlands Museum. To RSVP, send e-mail by April 24 to delicious@wildapples.org or call 978-456-8130. Subscriptions to the journal cost $30 per year ($18 per single issue) and can be purchased online at www.wildapples.org or by sending a check to Wild Apples, P.O. Box 171, Harvard, MA 01451.