The Frost Place is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and nonprofit educational center for

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

located at

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

's former home on Ridge Road in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976.

History

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 The Franconia Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains of the United States, U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is the second-highest range of peaks (after the Presidential Range) in the White Mountai ...

and

Mount Lafayette Mount Lafayette is a mountain at the northern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. It lies in the town of Franconia, New Hampshire, Franconia in Grafton County, New ...

. 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. 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. From 2013 until 2022, The Frost Place offered an annual

chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...

prize, with the winning chapbook published by Bull City Press. Past winners include Jill Osier, Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet, Anders Carlson-Wee, Tiana Clark, Yuki Tanaka, Cassandra Bruner, Aa Hee Lee, and Ethan Chua.

Conferences

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, 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

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. From the fall of 2008 until April 2011 the trustees managed The Frost Place. 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

References

External links