Literary Walk (2 p.m.)

In collaboration with the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, the School for Advanced Research (SAR) presents two Literary Days, May 17 and 20, in honor of Santa Fe’s continuing heritage of the written word.

Friday, May 17, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Walk the winding paths of Amelia Elizabeth and Martha White’s residence while learning about its ties to the literary history of Santa Fe. A public space from the beginning, their Chapel hosted over 200 people at the Poet’s Roundup founded by Alice Corbin Henderson, editor of Poetry Magazine. Alice’s husband, William Penhallow Henderson, designed many of the buildings. Plays were performed frequently, many written by Martha and featuring Jane, the wife of neighbor Gustave Baumann. Gus and Jane Baumann put on puppet shows for the public inside the Chapel. In 1938, Thornton Wilder introduced poets in what is today SAR’s Dobkin Boardroom. 

During the literary tour, we will hear the words of neighbors, former resident scholars, and artists who share their breath with us in this place, including poets Alice Corbin and Witter Bynner, Fray Angélico Chávez, Peggy Pond Church, Santa Fe character Will Shuster, and former resident scholars such as Rina Swentzell and Pulitzer Prize winning author N. Scott Momaday (House Made of Dawn). 

Tours may be subject to creative modification in case of inclement weather.