Community Reading of Longfellow's Prelude

To celebrate National Poetry Month in April, The Wayside Inn Foundation (TWIF) organized a community reading of the Prelude in Tales of a Wayside Inn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in 1863. Volunteers recorded themselves reading a few lines from the poem that has come to define Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, the most recognizable and quintessentially “New England” of all the structures on TWIF’s historic 100+ acre site. “We wanted to bring people together during this difficult period of social distancing,” said TWIF Nonprofit Director Sally Hild. “So much of our scheduled programming had to be cancelled or delayed. This project allowed us to creatively find ways to engage the community in a manner that safely promotes our educational mission. ”

Individual recordings were edited by TWIF Trustee Katina Fontes into a single video of the entire 17 stanza “Prelude,” currently available for public viewing on the TWIF YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/preludevideo . “Plans are in the works to extend the project and record ‘The Landlord’s Tale,’ the next poem in Tales of a Wayside Inn,” noted Fontes. “The end goal is a series of videos that covers the entirety of Longfellow’s collection of Wayside Inn poems and includes as many members of the community as possible.”

“We cannot thank our readers enough for their enthusiasm with volunteering their time, their creativity, and for submitting all of the videos in a timely way so that we could share with the community,” said Hild. “One reader with Sudbury roots was even reading from as far away as Maryland!”

The readers, representing local and former residents, writers, teachers, philanthropists, businesses owners, and students, included Karen Bento, Danielle Bodley, Doris Christelis, Katina Fontes, Susan Frommer, Carol Gagnon, Alicia Hamilton, Amber Herting, Jackson Hild, Sally Purrington Hild, Anthony Howes, Nancy Hudgins, Philip Kafalas, Ann Kramer, Betty Ann Sharp, Amy Wilson Sheldon, and Anna West Winter.

“We do indeed have a special Wayside Inn community,” noted Hild. “We thank everyone for spending some time with us and our beloved H.W. Longfellow!”