Sarah Sylvan

Dear Caffeine Gremlins,

I hope everyone had an amazing Libra season. I sure know I did. As an October baby, I spent this month nurturing myself by drawing on my hobbies, venturing out of the house, and seeing family. I’ve become obsessed with blind boxes, small figurines hidden in boxes, so you don’t know which one you get until you buy it. I’ve dragged multiple people to the mall with me to feed my addiction. Now I have a small army of cats decorated like outer space, and little angels with fruit on their heads.

Today’s coffee review takes us to Lenox, MA, where my husband, Curtis, and I tried Lenox Coffee. I got an iced coffee with milk and sugar. I missed not being able to flavor the coffee with fun syrups, but it still tasted very good. I also ordered the apple cider donut, but it was unfortunately dry. Curtis ate the rest of it, though, so it didn’t go to waste. Curtis ordered a chai latte, and it was so good he drank the whole thing almost immediately! I’m not sure if I’ll return to Lenox Coffee again for the food, but the coffee breathed life into me that day.

As a birthday gift to myself, Curtis and I visited Edith Wharton’s old estate turned museum, The Mount. The Mount sits in the mountains of western MA in the cozy town of Lenox. While the day was grey and slightly rainy, I still found my time there magical and life changing. Calling my experience “life changing” might seem like hyperbole, but lately I’ve been inspired by Wharton’s poetry, and I’ve drawn on it in my own work. Walking in the footsteps of one of the most influential authors in history made me feel as if I were walking through time. I could practically see her sitting on the bench outside, reading poetry out loud to her friends.

Seeing it was my birthday; I reasoned it was okay to spend extra money on tickets to have a private tour of Wharton’s library. Being surrounded by her books felt like I was connecting with a long-lost best friend. The librarian was a kind woman who was genuinely excited to be present with us and to show off Wharton’s books. She held up books for us to view, though we couldn’t touch them for preservation. The librarian flipped through pages of Wharton’s personal poetry and through books that inspired her, like Yeats and Whitman. Curtis and I were even shown Wharton’s notations in the margins and handwritten notes at the front of some books.

Edith came from a very sheltered, upper-class background in New York City, but as she aged, her diverse interests made her appear like a Renaissance woman in literature.

I learned new things about Wharton, such as that she wrote all her work from her bed, not at the desk in her library. Long before the age of computers and smartphones, Wharton had to collect reference books to research her writing. Her library had entire sections on religion, mythology, and nature. Edith came from a very sheltered, upper-class background in New York City, but as she aged, her diverse interests made her appear like a Renaissance woman in literature

Up until now, I’ve been reading Wharton’s poems online through poetry websites. Today, however, I went ahead and ordered a book of Wharton’s collective poetry. I also ordered a few books from authors that inspired her, hoping they might inspire me, too. I don’t want to write like Wharton; I want to find my own voice and inspiration, but I believe there’s so much to learn from her. As a poet still learning and finding my own way, I’ve been going out of my way to read poetry by those identifying as women and minorities. In school, we’re taught about literature from the perspective of old, white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied men. If we can change the stories we consume, I believe we can change the very fabric of our society.

In a previous blog post, I discussed who Wharton was, the work she did, and the poetry she wrote. Edith is best known for her novels, including The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth. I often saw her as just another novelist who wrote books I’d never be able to understand. I was assigned Age of Innocence while pursuing my degree in creative writing, though, to be honest, I’m unsure if I ever finished the book. Now that I’ve learned more about Wharton and her poetry, I wonder what other writers I may have overlooked. Sometimes I find myself thinking I must know everything, but I quickly correct that thought and encourage myself to think beyond what I know. When I do, I often have eye-opening experiences.

On our visit to The Mount, the rain stopped just long enough for Curtis and me to wander through the same expansive gardens Wharton meticulously designed herself. Since it’s the end of October, the flowers weren’t as vibrant as I’ve heard they can be in spring and summer, but that didn’t detract from the garden’s beauty. Between running fountains, walled gardens carved into the earth with vines running up them, and an overlook of a charming pond in the distance, all I wanted to do was curl up with a notebook and write.

There’s a lot I have to take away from my trip to The Mount, and I still don’t think I’ve fully digested it yet. A part of me wishes I lived right down the street from the museum so I could visit every day. Yet, I also know that I now have the motivation to seek out more knowledge and literature. The world is a mighty big place, and Wharton has taught me that it’s worth exploring.

With love,

Sarah

​