New-York tribune., 1920-08-22
By Theodore Maynard
Author Of "Poems." "Ca,vsA From til

IIVdl Ill America, DuC no
good fortune has been better
than that which brought me to the
MacDowell Colony, in Peterborough,
N. H.
Just at the moment when I felt
that there must be some place more
suitable for literary work than New
York in summer, though ! had no
idea where that place could be, the
casual remark of friend gave me
the hint I wanted. My ears in
stantly picked up. And / put
number of questions, all of which
cautiously led up to the supreme
question Of whether / could 20 to
the place of which my friend had
been speaking. For answer I was
given Mrs. MacDowell's address, and
/ wrote, stating my needs and ask
ing If she could supply them. The
letter she sent back modestly as
sured me that / would find at least
some of the things I was seeking
at Peterborough. My experience
has shown me that l have found
all of those things.
The Haven of the Woods
Everybody who has tried to do
any kind of creative work under the
stress and strain of modern life
must have been met by the diff
culties which Edward MacDowell,
the composer, met and solved in his
log cabin in the woods of New Hamp-
shire. l had found a partial solu-
tion of them in England, where l
enjoyed the privilege of inviting
myself to a monastery whenever /
was under the necessity of working
without interruption. But I knew
no indulgent monks in America, and
even had l been able to discover
solitude in a cell, though it had
been among the unspeaking Trap
pists, its silence could not have been
SO complete as that which exists in
the little studios that are hidden
from the world and from each other
amid the pines of Peterborough. In
a monastery there would have been
footballs along the stone floors of
the cloister; here every step is made
noiseless by thick carpet of pine
needles.
In an article written on life in the
colony, contributed to The North
American Review by Mr.. Edwin
Arlington Robinson, he speaks of
1.-The abrupt and somewhat humili-
ating sense of isolation, liberty and
opportunity which overtakes one
each morning." The unaccustomed
isolation strikes one with awkward
ness at first; there is so much lib
erty and opportunity that until
equilibrium has been gained they
cannot be used to advantage. The
fever of cities must subside before
the cool peace of the great hills can
take possession of the soul. But when
peace comes it brings with it new
energy, and the work done day by
day in the lonely studio is restful
work, because it springs out of a
perfect adjustment of the person
ality to its surroundings.
Neither Camp nor Campus
That is the desired result. To in
dicate the machinery-only the ma
chinery, it should be remembered
by which it is attained, I had better
describe the external manner of our
living. First, it should be borne in
mind that the Mcdowell Colony is
neither camp nor campus. That
is to say, there is a regularity and a
permanence about all that it does
which marks it off from the camp
and there is an entire absence Of the
formallty of the college campus
The studios are not laid out in svn,.
metrlcal rows, and they cannot be
included in bird's-eye view. Thank
God for that!
There are no makeshifts at Peter
borough. The members of the COLONY
rise from good beds in charming
rooms to breakfast at little before
8 in the Colony Hall, comfortable
house fitted with all the convent
ences and managed with all the eff
ficiency that any city dweller could
expect. Then, breakfast at an end
the residents 60 off quietly to their
studios until 6 o'clock, when they
meet again for dinner.
To insure long, fruitful work
ing day light lunch is brought in
a basket to each studio by a mes
senger at noon. And further to
prevent interruption there is rule
almost the only rule of the colony
that no member must visit an
other in his workshop unless he is
definitely invited there.