I’m thrilled to have Elizabeth Gauffreau here to day to talk about her latest release, “Simple Pleasures!” Here’s my five-star review: LINK
Simple Pleasures Blog Tour
Thank you, Denise, for hosting me on my blog tour for Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right! For today’s stop, I’ll be taking your readers to Smugglers Notch, which is between Jeffersonville and Stowe Vermont. (In this context, “notch” refers to a pass between two or more mountains.)
Smuggler’s Notch originally got its name during the War of 1812 when it was used to smuggle goods to and from Montreal, Quebec after President Thomas Jefferson placed an embargo on trading with Great Britain and Canada.
There were plenty of large boulders and caves to provide smugglers with ways to evade detection. (Source: Vermont Historical Society)
In the 1850s, the Underground Railroad used the pass to smuggle runaway slaves into Canada. And, of course, Smuggler’s Notch was used to bring liquor across the border into the United States during Prohibition. (Source: Vermont Historical Society)
So, Smugglers’ Notch has earned its name! Today, a narrow, winding road with hairpin turns and jutting boulders makes vehicle passage a tricky proposition in places. Needless to say, the road closes in winter.
And you do not want to attempt to bring a tractor-trailer rig through there.
(Photo Credit: Vermont State Police)
It’s always a thrill to drive between two mountains. (A lot of sun glare that day!)
It’s good to get up close and personal with the forest–
–and take a hike. Once again, a kindly stranger takes our photograph!
The bird’s eye view:
CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO (Central Vermont Aerial Photography)
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be . . . .
~ Shaker song attributed to Joseph Brackett
The simple pleasures of our favorite places in nature are gifts of the spirit to be shared with others. In this collection of 53 haiku, each paired with a photograph, poet Liz Gauffreau invites readers to come with her to some of her favorite places in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Some places are long-time favorites going back years; others have become favorites by virtue of inspiring poetry.
Author Biography
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
She has published a novel, Telling Sonny, and a collection of photopoetry, Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance. She is currently working on a novel, The Weight of Snow and Regret, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband. Find her online at https://lizgauffreau.com.
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