The Thoreau You Never Knew: Boatman and Science Activist

Join OARS for a  presentation by Robert Thorson, author of The Boatman, on Thursday, June 1 from 7-9pm at the Concord-Carlisle High School auditorium.

The watershed of the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers was the largest and most wondrous thing in Thoreau’s life: a “vast amphitheater rising to its rim in the horizon,” a “seemingly concave circle of earth, in the midst of which I was born and dwell.” The epicenter of that landscape was the triple point at Egg Rock where these three streams touch. Though these claims are crystal clear from his life’s work, the Journal, it has been Walden, his literary masterpiece, that has defined our image of him.

The Boatman: Henry David Thoreau’s River Years (Harvard, 2017) explores this new perspective, prioritizes Thoreau’s lifelong love of his rivers, shares what he learned about them, and explains why his 19th-century understandings are critical for managing our rivers of today.  This illustrated presentation and reading by the author will be followed by a book sale and signing to benefit OARS.

The evening will begin with a short business meeting. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. Details at www.oars3rivers.org.