The Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home on Ridge Road in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

Frost Place
The Frost Place in 2008
The Frost Place is located in New Hampshire
The Frost Place
The Frost Place is located in the United States
The Frost Place
Map
Interactive map showing the location of the Frost Place
LocationRidge Road
Franconia, New Hampshire,
United States
Coordinates44°12′46″N 71°45′27″W / 44.21278°N 71.75750°W / 44.21278; -71.75750
Area9 acres (3.6 ha)
NRHP reference No.76000126[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 30, 1976

History

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According to local family lore, poet Robert Frost spotted this property on the west side of Franconia's Ridge Road in 1915 while looking for a home in the area. He purchased it from farmer Willis Herbert, for whom he supposedly procured an adjacent property. The house is 1½ stories in height, with a long front facade covered by a porch. The facade affords fine views of the Franconia Range and Mount Lafayette.[2]

Frost and his family lived in the house until 1920, when it was sold back to the Herbert family. It remained a private residence until The Frost Place was founded in 1976 when the farm was purchased by the town of Franconia, restored, and given its name, opening as a museum in 1977.[3][4][5] Since 1977, the Frost Place has awarded a resident poet award to an emerging American poet, which includes a stipend and the opportunity to live and write in the house during the summer.[3][6]

From 2013 until 2022, The Frost Place offered an annual chapbook prize, with the winning chapbook published by Bull City Press.[3][7] Past winners include Jill Osier, Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet, Anders Carlson-Wee, Tiana Clark, Yuki Tanaka, Cassandra Bruner, Aa Hee Lee, and Ethan Chua.

Conferences

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In 2024, The Frost Place hired poet Patrick Donnelly to lead as Program Director. He continues to direct the annual Poetry Seminar. For many years, The Frost Place sponsored a Conference on Poetry, and a Conference on Poetry and Teaching. The Conference on Poetry was directed by poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi,[8] with poet Ross White serving as Associate Director. The Conference on Poetry and Teaching and the Writing Intensive was directed by poet Dawn Potter; associate director was poet and teacher Kerrin McCadden.

Management

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A board of trustees assumed responsibility for the management of the museum and associated programs, and Donald Sheehan served as executive director until 2005. In 2006, the trustees appointed Jim Schley to be Sheehan's successor.[9] From the fall of 2008 until April 2011 the trustees managed The Frost Place.[3] Maudelle Driskell was named executive director in April 2011 and served until 2023, when Stacy Holmes was hired as Interim Executive Director in the fall of that year. In 2024, Stacy Holmes was appointed Executive Director. Friends of the Frost Place is the nonprofit organization that manages The Frost Place house-museum and its programs.

Resident poets

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Year Poet
1977 Katha Pollitt
1978 Robert Hass
1979 Gary Miranda
1980 William Matthews
1981 Mary Jo Salter
1982 Cleopatra Mathis
1983 Denis Johnson
1984 Sherod Santos
1985 Kathy Fagan
1986 Christopher Gilbert
1987 Pattiann Rogers
1988 John Engels
1989 Julie Agoo
1990 Rosanna Warren
1991 Stanley Plumly
1992 Robert Cording
1993 Sharon Bryan
1994 Mark Halliday
1995 Luci Tapahonso
1996 David Graham
1997 Jeffrey Skinner
1998 Sue Ellen Thompson
1999 Mary Ruefle
2000 Mark Cox
2001 B. H. Fairchild
2002 Gray Jacobik
2003 Adrienne Su
2004 Major Jackson
2005 Laura Kasischke
2006 Robert Farnsworth
2007 Jody Gladding
2008 James Hoch
2009 Rigoberto González
2010 Adam Halbur
2011 K. A. Hays
2012 Paula Bohince
2013 Nicole Terez Dutton
2014 Rebecca Foust
2015 Todd Hearon
2016 Rose McLarney
2017 Christina Hutchins
2018 Nicole Homer
2019 Matthew Minicucci
2023 Jessica Jacobs
2024 Aurielle Marie

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "NRHP nomination for Frost Place". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  3. ^ a b c d "About". The Frost Place. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  4. ^ "Poetry Landmark: The Frost Place in Franconia, NH". Poets.org. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  5. ^ "The Road to the Frost Place". Sunday Morning, CBS News. 2000-07-06. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  6. ^ "Frost Place Resident Poet Award". Poets & Writers. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  7. ^ "Frost Place Chapbook Competition". Duotrope.com. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  8. ^ "Conference on Poetry Director: Gabrielle Calvocoressi", The Frost Place.
  9. ^ "Schley Named New Executive Director of Frost Place". Randolph Herald. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
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