The "Living Fringe": Preserving and Promoting Literary Legacies (PDF)
hint: if you don't want to scroll through the entire thing, click the "bookmark" icon in Adobe Reader to select specific sections.

About this project:
This project focuses on the preservation and promotion of historic sites, specifically those with associated with great writers. By researching four writers who spent time in Northern California–Robert Louis Stevenson, John Muir, Eugene O’Neill and John Steinbeck–and analyzing the organizations that support the preservation of sites related to their lives and work, I endeavor to prove the value of historical preservation to today’s society. A central theme of this book is that of legacy. What makes a legacy worth preserving and how can future generations benefit from the inspiration it provides? What is it about a specific place that so enriches our understanding and appreciation of a subject?

"I have the integrity of sixty generations under me and the firm and fragrant sense that I shall join that pediment and support another living fringe and we will all be one. I’ve never known this sweet emulsion of mortality and continuum before."
- John Steinbeck

Dedication and Credits:

Dedicated to my aunt, Helen Dalrymple, who passed away during the course of this project.  An avid reader, historian and patron of the arts, she instilled in me a deep passion for literature, history, and creativity.  Her ability to quietly delve into a person’s soul and comprehend the depths of their spirit serves as the legacy I will strive to preserve.

Special thanks to those who provided insight along the way: Dan Cawthon, Linda Best, Trudy McMahon, Carole Wynstra, Gary Schaub, Diane Schinnerer, Joanne Jarvis, Walter Stanley Holt, Dorothy Mackay-Collins, Ric Borjes, Thaddeus Shay, Herb Behrens, Steve Hoffman, Colleen Bailey, Penny Washbourn, Chris Sindt, Jim Demersman, and James Bowen, my companion on many of these literary journeys.

Thanks also to the National Park Service, Eugene O'Neill Foundation, Tao House, National Steinbeck Center, and Robert Louis Stevenson Silverado Museum for their cooperation.