Spring 2010
Shelf Life
Core Curriculum
Many Vermonters relish their state because it offers an alternative to the rest of America. But there are those who find mainstream Vermont still too confining — and that is the teacher, and those are the kids, that form the heart of "A Room for Learning," an engaging memoir by Tal Birdsey, an idealistic teacher who launched a "one room" schoolhouse in a faded old building in Ripton in 2001.
Exasperated by both the contemporary school system and its all-too-conventional critics, Birdsey takes a reach-for-the-stars approach that will help students find "the illuminated core" of their potential. Such a vision suggests a man with his head in the clouds, but Birdsey is firmly earthbound dealing with the weight of 12 students and a new school all on his shoulders. His eyes are also wide open to the "real" Vermont — if real is a code word for just scraping by — and his descriptions of one impoverished boy in particular are heart-rending.
Birdsey's students are as outside the system as he is: Battered in the harsh pecking order of the normal schoolyard — too smart, too shy, too different somehow — their parents are desperate enough to enlist with a maverick middle school that only exists, at the start, in Birdsey's imagination.
His book recounts the eventful first year of what came to be called the North Branch School, tracing in a serious, soul-searching way the journey that teacher and students take together. Their lessons range from emotionally charged conversations to simple, life-affirming pleasures like a hike in the Vermont woods. It is a free-flowing, essentially utopian style of learning, impossible for the mainstream system to deliver, but just right, it appears, for those who need it.
- "A Room for Learning: The Making of a School in Vermont"
- By Tal Birdsey, 296 pages, hardcover, $24.99, St. Martin's Press, New York
— Bill Anderson
Highly Original
Pluck and luck drive the story of Phish. The Vermont jam band followed a typical rock trajectory — soar to heights, crash and burn, pick up the pieces for older-and-wiser Act II — yet they also blazed their own trail, minting money but striving for artistic purity and working outside the system.
The paradox of Phish unfolds in a new biography by Parke Puterbaugh, himself something of a contradiction. Part critic, part fanboy, he's a freelance journalist turned Phish in-house wordsmith — call him an admirer with inside access who can write. And while his factual errors can be glaring — mud season in August? Fred Tuttler? — his overall account rings solidly true, tracing Phish's unlikely rise from Nectar's restaurant in the '80s to one of the top-grossing concert acts of the '90s.
Phish's early days in eclectic, off-the-radar Burlington allowed for a long incubation period and a steady buildup of word-of-mouth momentum. Later on, the death of jam scene fountainhead Jerry Garcia left nomadic, hippie-caravan types looking for a band to follow, and Phish obliged. The Internet and Napster emerged; the band jumped right on them. They unwrapped big concert surprises without notice; fans learned not to skip shows. Perhaps most importantly, Phish simply ignored most of what the music industry told them to do, hewing faithfully to their original vision.
It all unraveled anyway, and Puterbaugh's book provides a fascinating glimpse at how a successful band implodes in spite of its noble intentions. Once the dust cleared and fences were mended, Phish regrouped and went on the road again in 2009. They remain, despite the thriving music scene in our state, Vermont's only rock superstars.
- "Phish: The Biography"
- By Parke Puterbaugh, 318 pages, hardcover, $25, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, Mass.
— Bill Anderson
Crazy Like a Fox
In 1984 the idea of a small American cheesemaker making premium, European-style dairy products was considered pretty crazy. Vermont Butter & Cheese Company co-founders Allison Hooper and Bob Reese remember others' skepticism well. But two decades later, the pair has built a solid business and accumulated a wealth of accolades. Their recently renamed Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, located in Websterville, has much to celebrate, including "In a Cheesemaker's Kitchen," an appealing new book by Hooper.
It is proof of the stature of the creamery that renowned chefs like Dan Barber of Blue Hill Restaurant, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin and Michel Richard of Citronelle contributed recipes to the book, which also features recipes from the creamery and tells the story of the little cheesemaker that could.
The dairy-starring dishes range from simple dips and appetizers to leg of lamb stuffed with fresh goat cheese and an over-the-top brownie recipe. The diverse collection is interesting and, in some cases, quite inspiring, although recipe details are occasionally a little fuzzy. Mirabelles in Burlington shares a very good recipe for chèvre and smoked salmon scones and Chef Richard's crème fraîche cucumber salmon is indulgent, easy and absolutely delicious. On the lighter side, from author Mireille Guiliano, comes a tasty and unusual quiche made with low-fat fromage blanc and a cabbage "crust."
Yes, Hooper can make some of the finest butter and cheese. Now she shows how to cook with them, too.
- "In a Cheesemaker's Kitchen: Celebrating 25 Years of Artisanal Cheesemaking & Cooking From Vermont Butter & Cheese Company"
- By Allison Hooper, 112 pages, paperbound, $19.95, distributed by The Countryman Press, Woodstock, Vt.
— Melissa Pasanen
