Why do so many writers live in Conn.?
“The Simpsons” has more writers from Connecticut than any other state — 11 of us in all. When I ask people why they think that is, they all have the same answer: “Who cares?”
Well, I care deeply. I’m proud that my tiny home state has produced so many amazing writers. Hartford had two on one block: Mark Twain and his next-door neighbor Harriet Beecher Stowe. Not far away lived Wallace Stevens, who scribbled great modernist poetry as he walked to his job at a Hartford insurance company.
In modern times, Hartford gave us Stephenie Meyer, who wrote “Twilight,” the epic horror trilogy for young women. There’s no one quite like Meyer. Except for Suzanne Collins, who also comes from Hartford and wrote an epic horror trilogy for young women. Hers is called “The Hunger Games.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, whom we associate with such glittering cities as New York and Hollywood, had a home in Westport. So did Edna Ferber and Helen Keller. Jason Bourne’s creator, Robert Ludlum, went to college at Wesleyan in Middletown and lived for a short while in Southport.
But for sheer writers per capita, no place can touch Roxbury, population 2,262. Playwright Arthur Miller brought his new bride Marilyn Monroe to live there. More recently, it’s been home to best-selling authors Candace Bushnell (“Sex and the City”), William Styron (“Sophie’s Choice”), Gay Talese (“Frank Sinatra Has a Cold”) and Frank McCourt (“Angela’s Ashes”). One can imagine them all fighting to get a good table at Roxbury Pizza Station.
Ann Petry, the first Black woman to sell more than a million copies of a novel, “The Street,” lived in Old Saybrook. Children’s author Maurice Sendak lived in Connecticut, and so did Hugh Lofting, the creator of the Doctor Doolittle stories. That very British writer cranked out most of those very British books in Killingworth.
But let’s get back to the original question: Why? Why has the third smallest state in America produced great authors in every genre? My theory is that most writers spend their day sitting in their offices, staring out the window.
But for sheer writers per capita, no place can touch Roxbury, population 2,262. Playwright Arthur Miller brought his new bride Marilyn Monroe to live there. More recently, it’s been home to best-selling authors Candace Bushnell (“Sex and the City”), William Styron (“Sophie’s Choice”), Gay Talese (“Frank Sinatra Has a Cold”) and Frank McCourt (“Angela’s Ashes”).
And Connecticut is a great place to stare out the window. It’s green, it’s pretty, it’s not too dramatic. There’s no mountain to climb or desert to cross — nothing worth getting out of your chair for. It looks nice, but it’s cold in the winter and buggy in the summer. You might as well stay indoors and write your book. Plus, it’s a quick hop to New York if you need a decent bagel.
Whatever the reason, Connecticut should take pride in all the writers who call it home. Even Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones lives here. Although he may not know it.