Upper Valley Life is fortunate to work with some really talented people. You read their words on the pages of every issue; now you can learn about the people behind the words. Here are profiles of a few of our writers.
Andi Diehn
Writer
Born: Plymouth, Mass.
Residences: Massachusetts, Georgia, England, New Hampshire
Lived in the Upper Valley: 9 years
The summer I was 16 I spent a month working on a horse farm in Hartland, Vt. Eight years later, looking to flee the heat of Atlanta, I pointed to the Upper Valley area on a map and said, “I want to go back.” I remembered the weight of hot summer days, the welcome bite of cool nights, and the smell of all those trees. Now I live in Enfield, N.H., and write fiction, magazine articles, book reviews and personal essays about my glorious harried life as a mom whenever my three little boys let me. Often I glance outside at my own horses grazing in their paddock and remember the serendipitous beginnings of my relationship with the Upper Valley. I'd love to see you at www.andidiehn.com
Elizabeth Ferry
Writer/Photographer
Born: Hanover, N.H.
Residences: Vermont; Paris; Massachusetts
Living in the Upper Valley: Since 1994
I grew up in Montpelier, Vt., in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of my earliest memories are of visiting neighbors with my mother. I developed a love of small farms and respect for people who understand animals, weather, and nature’s cycles as a child. I also remember having time to know one’s neighbors their strengths, their quirks, their needs. These impressions, and a desire for daily quiet and beauty, brought me to the Upper Valley. My academic studies, philosophy at the University of Vermont and theology at Harvard Divinity School, also inform my work.
Kim J. Gifford
Writer
Born: Oceanside, N.Y.
Residences: Long Island, N.Y.; Richmond, Vt.; Middlebury, Vt.; currently reside in Bethel, Vt.
Travels: Road trips throughout the U.S., the most memorable was a 10-day camping trip out West in 2001
Lived in the Upper Valley: 25 years
The Upper Valley is home! Even when I went away to college I couldn’t stray too far, only going over the mountain to Middlebury. As a freelance writer and memoir writing instructor at Lebanon College, I have had the opportunity to discover the wonderful stories of this region and the creative, often independent, and absolutely never dull people who live here and, like me, couldn’t think of calling any other place home.
Sonja Hakala
Writer
Born: Holden, Mass.
Residence: West Hartford, Vt.
Travels: In her kayak whenever possible
Years in UV: 20
Sonja Hakala has been a professional writer and editor for 20 years. Her career includes work in newspapers, magazines and book publishing. In addition to writing for such publications at the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Vermont Magazine, Upper Valley Life and the Old Farmer’s Almanac, she is the editor of a book of personal stories about quilts and quilting called Patchwork Prose which will be published by St. Martin's Press early in 2007. Sonja has also helped a wide variety of authors publish their own books, from academic anthologies to memoirs to works by professionals in a wide range of disciplines. She has taught the elements of writing and publishing to students through a number of conferences as well as through the New Hampshire Writers Project and the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth. Her workbook for writers, The Simple Line and the Significant Detail, will be published by Full Circle Stories in the summer of 2006. You can reach Sonja by email at: hakala@sover.net
Karen Kaliski
Writer
Born: Albany, N.Y.
Residences: Suburban Albany, northern New Jersey, East Thetford, Vt.
Travels: Europe, Kenya, Fiji, lots of Caribbean Islands and about 35 U.S. states
Lived in the Upper Valley: 16 years
I grew up in Albany, but spent many weekends driving aimlessly around northern New England with my parents. They’d drive and ogle the mountains while my brother and I played protracted games of “Alphabet” on the heavily wooded, signless byways. Short stints in large cities gave me the bug for an easy commute, great scenery, and fewer events that required pantyhose. I remembered my backseat views of smaller, quieter towns and headed northeast. Now I have my own freelance marketing/writing business headquartered in East Thetford — short walk from the bedroom, interesting clients (some in big cities), amazing view north to Moosilauke, wear muck boots most days.
Kirk Kardashian
Writer
Born: New York City
Resides: Woodstock, Vt
Lived in the Upper Valley: 6 years
As a lover of the outdoors and outdoor sports, I came to the Upper Valley to find a balance between work and play. I found that balance, in addition to a fascinating culture and way of life that I could get used to. I also found my wife, a native Vermonter who's not afraid to call me a flatlander. I graduated from Vermont Law School in 2004 and had the good fortune of finding a job in Woodstock, which I now call home. When I'm not at my desk writing or at my law office, I'm on my bikes or skis, or running through the hills with our Australian Shepherd, Cassie. I write regularly for Seven Days, an alternative newsweekly based in Burlington, Vt. Most of my journalism, along with other information and photos, is available at my web site: http://web.mac.com/kirkkardashian
Marianne L. Kelly
Writer (Celtic folk singer, author, poet, former chef)
Born: Yonkers, N.Y.
Resides: Bradford, Vt.
Lived in: New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont
Traveled: Across the country to Montana via Amtrak, the Caribbean, West Indies and Canada
Both my husband and I moved to the Upper Valley after finding jobs in West Lebanon and Lyme, N.H., respectively. Little did I know how much my life would change in a very short time. I always had a penchant for writing, but when two local papers hired me to write for them, I realized that my penchant was actually my passion. I have written for a travel magazine, a couple of Internet magazines, three local newspapers and ultimately Upper Valley Life. What impresses me most about the Upper Valley is you can "dance to your own tune" and be pretty much accepted for who you are. I love finding and sharing the stories and experiences of the people who are the Upper Valley.
Deborah McKew
Writer
Born: Long Island, N.Y.
Residence: Sunapee, N.H.
Travels: 26 states in the United States, Canada, Italy, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and not enough tropical islands
New England has been home to me since my first day at Mount Holyoke College in central Massachusetts. I fell in love with the crisp autumns and snowy winters. My double major in English and biology led me on a long and winding path to becoming a science writer. It became official when I graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a master’s degree in Science Journalism. The one thing I love more than writing is inspiring others to write. In 2004, I earned New Hampshire certification in high school English from the Upper Valley Teacher Institute. Through my business, Words in Play (www.wordsinplay.net), I have the privilege of teaching others to discover the joy of writing.
Allison E. Rogers Furbish
Writer
Born: Lebanon, N.H.
Residence: Canaan, N.H.
Travels: Every state on the East Coast, plus nearly 20 of the United States since 2005
Lived in the Upper Valley: 25 years (minus parts of 4 years for college)
I was born and raised in Lebanon, leaving the Upper Valley only for a brief time to attend College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. Though I loved the community and environment up there on the Maine coast and was excited by the prospect of opportunities waiting for me wherever I wanted to roam, my heart brought me back to the
Upper Valley - my old stomping grounds, and the place where almost all of my enormous family lives. I have since married and bought a log cabin in Canaan, where I intend to raise the next generation of the family tree's Upper Valley branch. Aside from writing Quick Looks for Upper Valley Life, I earn my bread and butter, so to speak, at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, and I spend a great deal of time volunteering for 10 Bricks and the Windsor County Juvenile Restorative Panel.
As a kid growing up here in the Upper Valley, I took for granted the wonderful community we live in. From cultural events to unique businesses, many and varied nonprofit organizations to well-known personalities, the Upper Valley is full of things that make life here special - and I'm glad Upper Valley Life is here to remind us of that!
Diane Taylor
Writer
Born: Lebanon, N.H.
Residences: Hanover, N.H.; Lebanon, N.H.; Meriden, N.H.; Dallas, Texas;
Grantham, N.H.; currently reside in Lebanon, N.H.
Travels: New Orleans; San Francisco; San Antonio and Galveston, Texas; Scotland
Lived in the Upper Valley: Total of 27 years
Like many young people who grow up in small towns, I longed to expand
beyond the Upper Valley after I graduated from high school. That desire
took me to Dallas, Texas, for 20 years, where I studied English literature
at Southern Methodist University and found work as a technical writer and
an editor. But as much as I love visiting cities, I do not, it turns out,
like to live in them. I happily relocated my family to the Upper Valley in
2000. I regard this area as one of the most beautiful in the world, and the
vibrancy of the culture here continues to astound me.
John Walters
Writer
Born: Grand Rapids, MI
Residences: Grand Rapids, Birmingham and Ann Arbor, MI; Elkins, N.H.; and Montpelier, Vt.
Travels: Every province in Canada; several places in France; London; Ireland; the Galapagos Islands; Antarctica.
Lived in Upper Valley area: 6 years
Yes, I’m a flatlander; lived in Michigan all my life until moving to New Hampshire. Now, it’s hard to imagine not living in the Upper Valley area, with its combination of terrific natural beauty, culture and interesting people. Most of my career has been spent in radio; from 2000 to 2005, I worked at New Hampshire Public Radio. As host of “The Front Porch,” I got to meet hundreds of the most interesting people in NH and eastern VT; the biggest lesson I learned is just how many great stories there are to tell about the people and places of this area. Now I’ve embarked on a new career in freelance journalism, further exploring those people and places.
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