American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is best known for spending one night in jail for nonpayment of the state poll tax, and for living for two years along the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, which sprouted the enduring book Walden. As part of the “Concord Quartet” Thoreau and his contemporaries Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott, revolutionized political, social and literary thinking and became known as “Transcendentalists”.

Based on several trips to Cape Cod and originally published as a series of articles, Henry David Thoreau’s Cape Cod is a remarkable work that depicts the natural beauty of Cape Cod and the nature that surrounds it. Thoreau, a consummate lover of the outdoors and nature is right at home in the Cape and he details his excitement of the area with naturalist portraits of the indigenous species and animals. Now 200 years after his birth, Thoreau’s essays and books are still being read, and his words are still printed on inspirational posters, greeting cards, and social media graphics. What are his basic philosophies, and how do they resound with us today? On Thursday May 4, beginning at 1 pm at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, you will learn a bit more about this “Transcendentalist” and discuss what threads connect us to him ­ including what he saw and experienced during his trips to Cape Cod.

Corinne H. Smith is a writer, poet, and outdoor educator. She is the author of Westward I Go Free: Tracing Thoreau’s Last Journey, as well as a biography for middle-schoolers, Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, With 21 Activities. Corinne serves as an occasional interpreter and blog writer for Thoreau Farm: The Birthplace of Henry David Thoreau in Concord, MA.

For more information please call: 508-896-3867, ext. 133. Free with admission.  The Museum’s address is 869 Main Street (Route 6A) in Brewster.