Seven Days Stories

I worked for Seven Days, Vermont’s premier alternative weekly newspaper, from 1993 until 2007. I started out as a freelance contributor. It was incredibly fun, because I got paid to talk to people I never would have encountered on my own, and to learn about topics I never would have come across. My beat included bingo players at the local Elks Club, the lives of Bosnian refugees, the classical composer who mentored Phish’s Trey Anastasio, the aesthetics of lawn ornaments, homophobia among high school students, the politics of policing policies and bird researchers doing field work on Vermont’s highest peak.

Later, I went to work as an editor, which meant more power and more pay, but fewer bylines. I did keep on contributing to the paper, though. The pieces I’m proudest of from this period are a series of personal essays, and in-depth features, one of which earned an award from the Vermont Press Association. Links to a selection of these stories can be found at the side of this page.

One last thing I should mention about Seven Days is my great respect for the paper’s co-founders, Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. These incredible women taught me a tremendous amount about the art and business of journalism, while their flexibility and understanding allowed me to keep a piece of myself apart to pursue my own writing goals.