ROYALSTON – Author and longtime resident Allen Young will visit the Phinehas S. Newton Library on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. to share stories from his new book, “From the Octagon: People, Places, News, Views.”
The program is open to the public and will feature readings, conversation and refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. Signed copies will be available to purchase, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Friends.
“From the Octagon” is Young’s 15th book, gathering essays, features and opinion pieces written throughout his career. Many were first published in the Athol Daily News, Uniquely Quabbin magazine, The Rag Blog and the Christian Science Monitor. The 300-page collection, published by Haley’s Antiques and Publishing, the local press owned and operated by Marcia Gagliardi of Uniquely Quabbin, includes color photographs and several new stories.
The title, Young explained, comes from his octagon-shaped home on Butterworth Road, which appears on the book’s cover and where much of his writing was done. The collection blends essays and personal stories about life in the North Quabbin region, many centered on local residents and their contributions to the community.
“I think it’s important to realize that there’s a lot of interesting people around here,” Young said. “You might say we’re in the middle of nowhere, but in this middle of nowhere there are a lot of very talented artists, writers and people who have done interesting things in regard to the environment.”
Among the residents mentioned are retired Greenfield Community College Professor Larry Buell of Petersham, who founded the school’s outdoor leadership program; Walker Korby of Turners Falls, a former employee of the Trustees of Reservations and longtime firefighter; and Michael Humphries of Warwick, a retired woodworker.
The book also includes stories of Royalston residents Mark Shoul and Ruth Suyenaga, whose early life adventures took them to “a very isolated region on the Pacific Coast of Colombia.”
“There’s just little things that people have done that may not be generally well known,” Young said. “That’s, I think, what makes the book interesting.”
Young grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where he said country life sparked his appreciation for small towns and the outdoors. After studying at Columbia University and Stanford University, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia and spent three years in South America as a Fulbright Scholar. He moved to Royalston in 1973 and helped establish the Butterworth Farm intentional community, where he still lives today.
Earlier in his career, Young spent a decade as a reporter and assistant editor at the Athol Daily News and later served as director of community relations at Athol Memorial Hospital. His earlier works include “Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation,” co-authored with Karla Jay, “North of Quabbin Revisited,” and his memoir “Left, Gay & Green: A Writer’s Life.” His contributions to writing and community life have earned him honors from the North Quabbin Community Coalition and the University of Massachusetts English Department.
At 84, Young said “From the Octagon” may be his final book.
Throughout his career, Young has written often about the environment. He has served on the board of the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust and is a member of the North Quabbin Trails Association, Millers River Watershed Council and the Athol Bird and Nature Club.
“We have four outstanding environmental organizations in our region,” he said, “and I encourage people to learn about them and participate.”
Young is most looking forward to reconnecting with the people who inspired many of the stories at the event.
“It’s exciting to see people that are in the book come and see me and hear me read from the book,” he said. “A number of the people in the book are personal friends. Some of them are people that I don’t know very well, but I know about their contribution to the community.”
“From the Octagon” is available for purchase at upcoming library events, Haley’s Antiques and Publishing, and through online booksellers. Two additional book release events are planned for Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Warwick Library, and Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m. at the Athol Public Library.