Richard Smith is a

public historian Public history is a broad range of activities undertaken by people with some training in the discipline of history who are generally working outside of specialized academic settings. Public history practice is deeply rooted in the areas of historic ...

and writer known for his writings on New England history and for his

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

interpretations of

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

Personal life

Smith was born and raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. According to the ''

LA Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012 ...

'', "Richard grew up 'obsessed' with 19th-century American history, and his supportive parents took him to

battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

s and

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be i ...

s on family vacations." He graduated from the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

with a B.A. in history in 1985. After college, he continued to study " the spiritual teachings of Native Americans" and

Transcendentalists Transcendentalism is a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the New England region of the United States. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of ...

. In his spare time, he took part in re-enactments of the American

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and Revolutionary War, and performed with several

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

bands.

Career

Smith began his career as a public historian while working "as" an Ohio schoolmaster of 1848 for an

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

museum. After reading about the life and works of

, Smith decided to visit

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

, where he then moved a year later, in 1999. In addition to writing and giving talks about his historical research, Smith also performs as a living history interpreter. In period costume as

, he gives public readings from Thoreau's works and responds in character as Thoreau to audience questions. Explaining his interest in living history work, Smith told an interviewer (who wondered "if he might be the closest I'd get to a ghost") that "I want people to be aware of the fact that Thoreau was a living, breathing, funny, spiritual guy." Smith thinks of Thoreau not a peaceful

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

but as a rebel, or even "the first punk rocker. He didn't care what people thought. He questioned the government. Hippies tend to be peacemakers, peace and love. But Thoreau saw nothing wrong with someone like John Brown trying to violently end slavery." At Thoreau-related sites such as

Walden Pond Walden Pond is a historic pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. A good example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a ...

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Concord, Massachusetts) Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on Bedford Street near the center of Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States' greatest authors and thinke ...

, Smith sometimes does tour-guiding, often in character and costume. His talks and readings, either in costume as Thoreau or as himself, have taken place around New England and beyond, including work for

CSPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises proceedings of the United States federal gove ...

and Public Radio's ''

Living on Earth ''Living on Earth'' is a weekly, hour-long and award-winning environmental news program distributed by the Public Radio Exchange (on Public Radio International from October 6, 2006, show to December 6, 2019, show, and before that, NPR from 1991 u ...

''. He also expanded and presented his research on Native American history while he was scholar in residence at the Longfellow's Wayside Inn Museum. He is the author of eight books, including ''Quotations of Henry David Thoreau'' (2017) and ''A Short Biography of John Muir'' (2018). He contributed a foreword to ''The Other 'Hermit' of Thoreau's Walden Pond: The Sojourn of Edmond Stuart Hotham''.

References

External links

Richard Smith presenting "Thoreau on Slavery" (2001 CSPAN video)

"Thoreau in Winter" by Richard Smith. 2020

"Invested in treason" by Richard Smith, 2021

"A duty so severe" by Richard Smith, 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Richard Living people Historians from Ohio Writers from Ohio Writers from Concord, Massachusetts Henry David Thoreau Historically informed performance Historians from Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people) Public historians