My most recent IN HOUSE Radio interview had aired!
This week, author Elyssa East and I chatted about her book DOGTOWN: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, which was published to great acclaim last year and which has just recently been released in paperback. If you haven’t read Dogtown, I highly recommend it. Dogtown is about a very tragic murder that happened in the early 1990s in a part of Gloucester, MA with a rather dark and haunted reputation that dates back to colonial times. I used to live in nearby Marblehead and had heard about the murder so I was very interested in the book when it was first published and was delighted by Elyssa’s writing style and also by the many facts about that part of Cape Ann, that I had never known.
Elyssa grew up in the southern United States, and during our discussion we talked about her childhood home outside of Atlanta, about how the history of a house or a place really alters the way people feel when they enter it, and what initially drew her to New England.
And we also talked about dogs, believe it or not! There is a sad true story that involves a dog at the heart of Elyssa’s book, and, of course, it’s about a place called Dogtown. There have been quite a few areas in the United States that have been dubbed “Dogtown” by locals, and they are usually rundown areas that have become overrun by stray dogs. Gloucester’s Dogtown was once a village, but its population dwindled after the Revolutionary War, and only a small group of women – mostly widows and “outsiders,” remained. Some were considered witches because they concocted healing potions from herbs and they had many dogs that lived amongst them, for companionship and protection. Honestly, it sounds like the kind of place I would have loved to have live in at the time, given the alternative. I can see myself and all the other hags whipping up our brew and cackling at the antics of our pups while all the stern-faced goodly Protestant wives broke their backs churning butter and kneading bread all day.
But I’m getting sidetracked. Why not listen to my chat with Elyssa? It can be heard here.
Ann, very interesting. I just listened to it–thanks for providing the direct link.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, and to everyone at the blog.
I know many don’t like it as it’s somewhat manufactured, but to me, any day that includes expressions of love (to a partner, or a family member, or friends) maybe some flowers, some chocolate, is a good day. So, in that spirit, happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow, Wicked Good Lifers!
Another great interview, Ann. I haven’t read Dogtown, but I’m going to. I love ghost towns and stories about ghost towns and the things that happen there. When I lived in Montana, I would search them out. They were often abandoned mill or mining communities, but there was so much life left in them–histories, stories that vibrated, waiting to be told. I might have to start looking for these kinds of places in NE.
It sounds like a wonderful read! Off to find it. Ghosts and mysteries are right up my alley.
Really interesting interview. Sense of place is so important in making us who we are, whether we love it, hate it or aren’t even aware of it. Also interesting that Ann always seems to interview the most gracious people.
Ann, the Field Museum of Natural History here in Chicago has opened a new exhibit titled “The Horse” today, come visit us. How is the search for Lonie going?
I really enjoyed this book. I read and reviewed awhile before it came out in 2009 on my book blog Red Headed Book Child.
http://redheadedbookchild.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-18-dogtown-death-and-enchantment.html
Nice blog you have here.
Take care,
Michelle