At 78 years young, Marie Fuller of Ashfield has a lifetime of memories to share.
Fuller’s stories span generations, detailing the grit of dairy farming, the history of the Quabbin Reservoir and finding joy simply in a maple tree. Now her stories — and those of her fellow writers — can all be found in “Writing from the Center: Selected Memoir in Prose and Poetry,” a new collection independently published by the Shelburne Falls Senior Center’s memoir writing group.
The book includes poetry, prose and artworks from Nancy Brewer, Marie Fuller, Debra Hoyle, Ellen Kaufmann, Caroline Mack, Margaret Payne and Juliet Seaver. Fuller said that with varying writing styles and different life experiences, the contributors had a lot to offer.
“We’ve got whole lifetimes to write about,” Fuller said.
For years, writing group members have gathered to sharpen their skills and share their stories. Group leaders, previously Karen Earle and Faith Kindness, now Joan Livingston, provided members with a prompt to write about for 25 minutes, then another hour or so to read and discuss members’ work.
Livingston said that when she took over as the group leader in 2024, she was impressed by their work and, having self-published her own books, encouraged members to consider publishing their writing. She edited and laid out the book, which the group published in December.
“From the start, I was impressed by the quality of the writing the group creates,” she said. “I felt their works deserved to be shared with others, so I suggested creating this anthology.”
Juliet Seaver of Heath, 85, has had her work published in poetry magazines previously, and said it was a pleasure to work with the other members of the group, and see their different takes on the prompts.
“It’s a very interesting group of women,” Seaver said. “We’re all retired and come from different backgrounds … each person has such a different voice.”
Seaver said she was referred to the group a few years ago because she enjoys writing, which she uses to explore aspects of herself and the world.
“I love writing because when I sit down to write I often have a glimpse of an idea and as I write I explore the idea and come to a fascinating discovery,” Seaver said. “It’s very rewarding and fun.”
Through her writing, Seaver discovered she is an optimist who prefers to focus on the brighter side of things, often finding inspiration in the overlooked. For example, one of her poems included in the anthology, is dedicated to an onion.
“You can look at anything and spend a moment appreciating it, and suddenly you have a poem,” Seaver said. “It’s a whole poem about an onion. I realized I’d never read a poem about an onion, and I start every meal I make with an onion, so I decided to write a poem about it.”
Seaver noted that another of her poems focuses on a retired woman sitting on her porch. While it may seem like a small, unimportant moment, Seaver said she sees it as a window into our common humanity — an act that hundreds, if not thousands, of women are likely sharing at any given time.
“There’s all these ordinary human things we do, like sitting on your porch, that people all over the world are doing too,” Seaver said.
Fuller has been a member of the center’s writing group since it was first formed in 2015, but has been documenting her life stories in journals for decades.
“I’ve been writing in a journal for many, many years… I started keeping notes after high school, but after I got married, I started keeping a more thorough journal,” Fuller said. “It’s a way to remember things, by writing them down, and it’s just kind of fun.”
Some of her stories included in the book discuss growing up in Shelburne Falls and playing near the train tracks that once ran through the village and across what is now the Bridge of Flowers.
“The tracks were in between my mother’s garden and a neighbor’s garden… my sister and I played a lot there,” Fuller said.
Other stories detail life living on a dairy farm — where she and her husband made butter, whipped cream and ice cream — reflections on the changing of seasons, Christmas celebrations and enjoying a staycation.
Fuller said she would be interested in publishing more of her stories in collaborative efforts like this book and may print a few copies of just her stories to give to her kids.
Seaver said she would like to publish more of her work in the future, and that it would be nice to keep working with the women involved in the anthology and explore more of their stories.
“I definitely want to publish more, I want to have a whole book of just my poetry,” Seaver said. “It’d also be interesting to do a book just on the people, not just their work … It’s been a very colorful life and I love hearing what people write.”
The book is available for $10 on Amazon or at the Senior Center on 7 Main St.