John Mitchell

John Hanson Mitchell has concentrated much of his work on a single square mile tract of land known as Scratch Flat, located 35 miles northwest of Boston.  He has written four books dealing with the natural and human history of the tract, the best known of which is Ceremonial Time, a fifteen thousand year history of the area.  Other books, including Walking Towards Walden, Trespassing, and A Field Guide to Your Own Backyard, deal with the local environment and the nature of the idea of place, a favorite theme, of course, of Henry Thoreau.  His book The Wildest Place on Earth uses his own Scratch Flat garden to explore the curious relationship between Italian gardens and the invention of the American wilderness.

Mitchell’s most recent work, Following the Sun, (2002), departs from his usual themes.   It is the story of a 1500-mile bicycle journey he made from Cadiz, in southern Spain, to the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, tracking the myths, legends, and natural history of the sun all along the route.

Mitchell is also editor of Sanctuary magazine, published by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. In 2001, he won a Vogelstein grant for Following the Sun,  and in 2000,  he was granted  the New England Booksellers’ Award for the  body of his work. He is also winner of the John Burroughs Essay Award for his Sanctuary piece,  “Of Time and the River”.

Space is limited.  For reservations and directions call 781-259-4736 or email education@walden.org

The Thoreau Institute is located at 44 Baker Farm Road, off Route 126 just south of Walden Pond.

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