This presentation suggests that Henry Thoreau did not "flee" to nature to escape the human world, but rather used his observations of patterns and phenomena in the landscapes around him to reflect upon the human condition.

Zoë Pollak received her Ph.D. in English from Columbia University, where she focused on 19th-century northeastern and pre-Harlem Renaissance nature poetry. She designs exhibits and interpretive materials for The Concord Free Public Library, the Robbins House Museum of Concord’s African American History, Thoreau Farm, and the Thoreau Society. Her writing has appeared in places like ELH, ESQ, Now Comes Good Sailing: Writers Reflect on Henry David Thoreau (Princeton), and Women’s Studies. Her 2024 essay “The Politics of Reverie in Olivia Ward Bush’s Driftwood,” published in Callaloo, was awarded the American Literature Society’s 1921 Prize for Best Essay.

The Thoreau Society received a Mass Humanities Staffing Recovery Grant (2023-2025) in support of our Membership and Program Coordinator. Funding from Mass Humanities has been provided through the Mass Cultural Council.

Registration is required.