In 1982 an aspiring poet named Steven Huff moved to Brockport and took a job at Lift Bridge Book Shop. On Thursday, November 16 – with two story collections, three books of poetry and a career as editor of several publishing houses under his belt – Huff will return to Brockport to discuss his latest title, Resting Among Us: Authors’ Gravesites in Upstate New York.
His presentation is organized by the Brockport Community Museum and will take place at the Morgan-Manning House on Main Street at 7 p.m. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Huff says his concept for the book started when he was surprised to learn one of his literary heroes who spent much of his adult life overseas was buried in the sleepy Finger Lakes hamlet of Lakemont.
The discovery sparked a five-year quest to track other authors across New York.
The quest became a blog that eventually became the book, published by Syracuse Press in October. “The whole journey was full of surprises,” Huff said.
In his introduction Huff describes Resting Among Us as “A travelogue for literary pilgrims.” The chapters are arranged by various locales across Upstate New York, each with one or several authors interred locally. For each place, Huff weaves his extensive personal experience living and traveling throughout the state with historical and biographical details of the writers he profiles.
Some of the authors are highly recognizable, such as James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving and Mark Twain, but Huff hopes readers will also discover forgotten or lesser-known writers who nonetheless made important contributions to the nation’s literary landscape.
In Brockport, for instance, Mary Jane Holmes was perhaps the most popular female novelist in America during the years leading up to and following the Civil War, and is buried under an ornate, Celtic Cross-style grave marker in the village cemetery on High Street.
Huff was able to relate his personal experiences with contemporary poets Anthony Piccione and Al Poulin, the latter of whom founded the highly-successful literary house BOA Editions that Huff served as editor of.
“I really wanted to raise Upstaters’ awareness of their rich literary heritage,” Huff said, “and to knock down the myth that if it didn’t happen in New York City it’s not important.”
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