Wilbur was a words-smith extraordinaire, and I have a special fondness for his writing. At a time when lesser poets were beating the drum for free-form modernism, he was quietly perfecting the formal approach with its intricate rhymes and traditional structures. All this served up with wit and elegance.
Human beings are inclined to assume that our own lived experience reflects that of everyone else’s. We—the people who write and think about pot and have enough money to open stores that sell it—are blind to the “other” in our midst.
In his letter to the editor, a response to Maia Conty’s letter, Craig Okerstrom-Lange writes: “My family moved to GB in 1990 from NYC (we were originally tourists!). GB has evolved and changed in many positive ways since then."
In her letter to the editor, Maia Conty of Great Barrington writes: "Building an economic infrastructure dependent on imported wealth does not actually create a secure and sustainable local economy. It creates a servant/nobility-based economy."
In her letter to the editor, Maia Conty writes: “I am not in favor of the current hotel proposal because I believe we can foster and benefit from a tourist economy, while not surrendering the heart of our village life to it.”
In her letter to the editor, Patricia Ryan writes: "... a hotel will bring tourists and business people to our town, customers to our merchants and, above all, much needed revenue to the town coffers."
In 1899, a letter written to the editor of the Pittsfield Evening Eagle: “It is a reign of summer people. These patronizing pleasure seekers fence off our mountains and valleys and forbid natives to place a foot on them.”
