Vermont Author Ken Cadow comes to Montgomery
Renee Reiner, who is co-owner of Phoenix Bookstores and sits on the Board of Directors of Cold Hollow to Canada, has been plugging the award winning book Gather by Ken Cadow since it came across her desk last year... and for good reason, as it is a personal and profound response to the historical landscape for anyone who lives in, is from, or can appreciate the complexities of Vermont's socio-economic conditions and the deep ties to tradition, land, and community that impact our population and history. Sold as a young-adult novel, this book is just as impactful of a read for adults as it is for the youth of our State.
"Gather is not only a wonderful story. I believe it is the most important book of our time. It is a story of rural Vermont: our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and the familiar challenges faced by many of us. It is a story of resilience and hope, grit and determination. It is a dog-saves-boy story. Vermont Humanites has selected Gather as this year's Vermont Reads; this means that Vermont Humanities wants everyone in the state to read this one book. And although it is a story of rural Vermont, Gather was also nominated for the National Book Award, which is a tremendous accomplishment made even more powerful because it is Cadow's first novel. Gather is considered a young adult novel, primarily because our protagonist Ian is 15 years old. I believe that Gather should also be read by any and every adult who works with young people in any capacity or who cares about what happens to all of us going forward. This book has the power and capacity to change lives for the better." --Renee Reiner
On May 23rd from 6-8PM join CHC for a public book reading and signing event at the Montgomery Center for the Arts. Ken Cadow will visit with attendees and read chosen passages from his iconic novel where the nuances from the story will no doubt resonate with the members of this community where our diverse population can unequivocally relate to the characters of the story in some capacity. We ask that you donate if you can to the MCA in lieu of a space-rental fee; you can do so on their website or in person on the evening of the event. Copies of Gather will be available for purchase at the event, provided by Phoenix Bookstores. A percentage of sales of the book will go towards Cold Hollow to Canada.
As a result of Renee's vehement support of this book, all of us at CHC have read and now own a copy of this poignant piece of recent Vermont literature. While the cultural aspects within the story are not necessarily forefront to the work CHC does, we are choosing to support this event because the portrayal of tradition and the multi-generational connection to the land that is articulated in the novel is pertinent to the work that we do. Sugarbushes, generational farmlands, undeveloped rocky ridgelines, log landings and timber forests, tumbling creeks and riverbeds...these are prominent features that are critically noted and relevant within the storytelling of this novel and so, too, to the mission of CHC. And while the adult landowners and conservationists that we work with currently are foremost in their authority over these landscapes, CHC recognizes that the youth that is connected to them is just as critical to the future of Vermont stewardship and conservation work.
Ken Cadow lives in Norwich, VT. Gather is his first published novel and follows the travails of Ian, a teenage boy who navigates the strifes that come with poverty and family addiction in rural Vermont. When Ian finds and adopts Gather, an oversized, loveable mutt, he discovers the companionship and sense of responsibilty that gives him a renewed purpose in an otherwise collapsing familial landscape. Gather depicts a foray of Vermont traditions, socio-economic conditions, and landscapes that is poignantly accurate and simultaneously sensitive to and critical of the state of our State.
Cadow is presently coprincipal at Oxbow High School following a lifetime of teaching that informed his authorial debut. Gather was a National Book Award finalist. We hope you can join us in welcoming Ken Cadow to Montgomery.
In November of 2023, Seven Days published a thoughtful biographical piece by Alison Novak characterizing Ken Cadow and the process that brough us Gather. You can read the article HERE.