by Francis McGovern
Poetry is inspiration – It is speaking in equal parts language, rhyme, emotion and intellect, creating something magic. Something that stops us in our tracks. When we are in search of that magic we go to the bards.
I found myself seeking inspiration from poets and feeling their presence. I had brought family and friends to Franconia for a retreat in the mountains of New Hampshire, very close to “The Frost Place.” I had visited years before when we first started Literary Traveler and it was nice to come back again but this time it was a bit of a different experience. This time I felt closer to Frost.
I had known how he struggled as a teacher, as a chicken farmer, and finally being recognized as a poet around the age of 40. I had studied him when I was a younger man and many times I had found solace in his struggle as a poet who dropped out of both Dartmouth and Harvard. He was a rugged New Englander – born in San Francisco but from Lawrence, MA stock but with a bit of a rebel in his heart. His father, a journalist William Prescott Frost Jr, fled his roots to San Francisco and named his son Robert Lee Frost. The family returned home after Frost’s father’s death and was taken in by his Grandfather William Prescott Sr. He would eventually find himself in New Hampshire where he would attempt to make his way as a farmer in Derry and then settle in Franconia, New Hampshire by way of England after he had begun to establish himself as a poet. He would go on to win four Pulitzer prizes.
But visiting this time, my closer kinship was not only with Robert Frost, but also his neighbor Raymond P. Holden. Like Frost and like Holden, I had come to New Hampshire for inspiration. I was actually staying in the Holden Frost House which was just a little bit north of The Frost Place. It is a magnificent home that the young poet Raymond P. Holden built in search of inspiration when he paid $2500 to Frost for part of his property, with an agreement to buy the rest of the farm if Frost should move.
The house is higher on the hill and you might not notice it if it weren’t for a sign, and if you weren’t looking for it. It is very private and very elegant and very big. The house was built in 1919. Holden was a young poet and had a rocky marriage. He had lost his parents and had inherited some wealth and was bound and determined to be a poet one way or another.
Building the house was not easy and becoming a poet is not easy. If anyone has ever done anything, that will be the first thing they tell you. How many things they struggled through to get where they are going. How many challenges they faced, how many indignities and false starts. You have to keep pressing on whether you get where you are headed or not.
This trip was also different for me because over the past few years after writing numerous articles, I had started to write poetry regularly after dabbling in it and so I felt something different, maybe I was a poet or was starting to believe I was one. I have written over a hundred poems and that is an accomplishment by any measure. Now granted I have not published them, I may certainly try, but I think that maybe at least seventy are decent and belong in a volume. Poetry for me is its own reward. To be able to take what I feel and to give a voice. It doesn’t matter to me that I haven’t been recognized for it (or haven’t tried) but that I found satisfaction in it was all that mattered to me. To share my work with friends and family was enough for now.
Also it didn’t hurt that I could take them to such an elegant house. The Holden Frost house is made available through Bretton Woods Vacations and the house is the perfect place for a getaway with friends and family or a literary retreat. Everything was better than I imagined and the house was clean and state of the art. The house sleeps 16. Yes, sixteen. It is an eight bedroom house with different wings centered around a great room with a fireplace next to a piano easily with high ceilings. So it’s very easy for multiple families with older and younger members (seniors and grandchildren) to take a wing (their own wing) of the house and then gather back in the great room.
Stepping into the house you can’t help but feel an elegant poetic tradition take over your soul. The setting is ideal for any type of literary gathering and writing or poetry workshop.
The great room is perfect for gatherings. The house has a modern kitchen with a dining room, a game room, a hot tub and the only salt water pool in the area. There are many rooms and books available to read and nooks to read in. You do feel some privilege in the house, and that the property is unique and it does feel like a privilege to be there.
There is dignity in a house on a hill holding its own remote power standing alone against the world to climb towards whatever leads the universe and may have vexed its most famous neighbor. Poetry comes out of the noise of the world to make music. The house appears at the end of a long drive and you see its sweeping views and it hits you this house was built as a testament to Poetry and to poets. Well maybe two poets.
A bit of the history of the house. As the story goes, Raymond P. Holden and Robert Frost were friends and kept and lost touch over the years. Not an easy relationship as Frost was known for his cantankerous nature. Frost was not easy to get near and held many grudges for literary affronts. He was a simple man who loved solitude, observing, and being in nature but one who also liked to converse and draw other intellects toward him. He liked to befriend influential people because it boosted his ego, but he did not trust them. In the room by the fireplace there is a recollection of Holden’s about his times with Frost. Reading it by the fire one can picture the two speaking and the silences as well.
Raymond Holden grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side and was married three times (two of his wives were poets.) Holden was an editor, poet and novelist. He was managing editor of the The New Yorker for three years and was personnel director for the Book-of-the-Month Club for twelve years, and he sat on many civic committees throughout his later life. He contributed to Poetry magazine and also worked for Reader’s Digest.
We were lucky to spend two nights there and on the first night, the air outside the house was cool but the fireplace was going when we arrived, the hosts had graciously put it on for the night. We visited during the change of seasons towards the end of spring and there was some rain but it was warm during the day and colder at night.
We took a walk down the sloping yard and long drive to get a feeling for the property. I wondered about Raymond Holden and how he had decided to come here. What was he expecting to gain from this proximity to Frost? What did he feel walking through the land and what guided his decision to put his house here? Where does poetry come from and why does it exist? Why do we need it? Why do I need it?
Walking away from the house down the drive it is common to see wildlife. We brought our dog and she barked and we saw a large porcupine. The driveway is long and takes about 15 – 20 minutes to walk down to the main road that the Frost Place is on.
The first night I stayed up alone writing after everyone had gone to bed and I wondered a little if I was feeling out the house and getting to know it. I sat in the great room with only the quiet whir of the fireplace thinking about who had been here and been and part of the tradition of words. And maybe I would take away something or a poem would find me.
A house this big begs for people and for entertaining. At the same time it was a house built for Poet to be close to another poet. Holden is interesting as a young man he meets Robert Frost then with an inheritance he buys the upper part of Frost’s land (for possibly much more than it was worth) and then hires an architect to build the house for $20,000 and it ends up costing more than $40,000 and it’s impossible to heat and all through this he has a difficult time in his marriage.
I had visited many literary sites in person, certainly over a hundred and have published hundreds of articles on the site from contributors who have visited some place connected to literature and have become a literary travelers. I could see myself in Holden’s shoes for a moment looking for inspiration and knowledge from Frost, and wanting something that can’t be granted but must be earned.
I had been an admirer of Robert Frost since college. I took a Frost survey class that was taught by a tall lanky professor who covered both the surface appreciation and deeper complexity of Frost. How people saw him as a simple nature poet while he was only writing about the complexity of human experience through that lens. I learned I could interpret his poems and then I could feel the beauty of his words but then I could appreciate his more nuanced work. What I took away was inspiration and for me maybe that meant to take a different path.
Thinking and writing I kept paging through Holden’s recollections of Robert Frost that are typewritten and placed on the piano in the great room. I sat for a bit starting into the fire and I got maybe some of the answers to my questions. And maybe I have Holden to thank for it.
From Holden’s poem O Wind of Music
Pity us who, in adoration, give
That bird the names of beauty and hope
And keep it fettered within the minds rope
Afraid that, should it go, we could not live.
It struck me in that moment, that I think we are borrowing inspiration, we don’t really get inspired, we might feel it and hold onto it but we can’t make the mistake that it belongs to us. It’s something we borrow and have to give back and express.
I realized that the kinship I felt came from being in the same place in New Hampshire that Frost had been, that had inspired Holden to settle here, had inspired me to visit this place and to start Literary Traveler was all the same thing and whatever it was that I had to give it back, after I had borrowed it for a while.
Authors’ Note – The Holden Frost House is a special place either for a literary event or family gathering or a great getaway with friends. We highly recommend this as a unique literary and memorable experience. If you are looking a vacation in Franconia it is only 2.5 hours from Boston.
Special thank you to Kathy Bennett Marketing for setting up the trip.
Bretton Woods Vacations
The Holden Frost House is made available through Bretton Woods Vacations. To book please visit https://www.brettonwoodsvacations.com/hfh/ The Holden Frost House sleeps 16 guests, 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 baths and is pet friendly.
Bretton Woods Vacations stands out as an exceptional choice for your next White Mountains vacation. As a family‑owned, fully licensed real estate agency, the company combines top‑notch customer service with high standards of housekeeping and maintenance to ensure a seamless stay. With over 125 thoughtfully selected rental homes—ranging from cozy slope‑side townhomes to secluded cabins—you’ll enjoy keyless entry, fully equipped kitchens, laundry, and the comfort of home without sacrificing convenience. They enhance your visit with exclusive extras like discounts on Cog Railway tickets, access to Mountain View Grand Resort’s pool and gym, and an on‑site reward‑points program—all while offering “personal, top‑notch service” at every step. Whether you’re drawn to ski‑in perfection or a peaceful family hideaway, Bretton Woods Vacations delivers an unforgettable, locally immersive experience.
Francis McGovern is the co-founder and founding editor and publisher at Literary Traveler. He has run the site for over 27 years. He was at Walking Magazine and then worked at the search engine Lycos.com where he served as a product manager for their suite of personalization products including My Fidelity and My Lycos.
Francis has also run a search engine consulting practice as well as serve as Vice President of Operations for the reviewed.com network. He has helped to lead and develop many literary tours and cruises and loves to discuss books and ideas with a group of travelers as they discover new places.
