Willis T. Crossman's Vermont: Stories

These stories by W. Paul Cook (1880–1948) — written under the pen name Willis T. Crossman — first appeared in the 1930s and 1940s in newspapers, literary magazines, and a dozen books and booklets printed in very small numbers. Their limited circulation all but destined the stories to be lost and forgotten. But Paul Cook wouldn’t have produced them otherwise. Throughout his life he showed little inclination to profit from what he wrote and published. The Crossman books and pamphlets, set in type and printed by his own hands, impress one, above all else, as labors of love. Years earlier he’d published a magazine with the revealing motto: “For Love Only. Not for Sale.” That principle guided much of what he did throughout a long career as a professional and amateur printer. Love is evident in these stories and in the original printed items themselves: love of his native Vermont’s history, her land, and especially her people.

The afterword is by Welford D. Taylor, who taught American literature for forty years at The University of Richmond, retiring in 2004 as James A. Bostwick Professor of English, Emeritus. He has authored and edited numerous works on subjects pertaining to American literature and the graphic arts.

The cover of the book is illustrated with "Wall's House" by J. J. Lankes, a woodcut inspired by one of the artist's sojourns in New England while collaborating with Robert Frost.

This selection of the best stories is edited by Sean Donnelly and Leland M. Hawes, Jr. In his introduction, Donnelly explores the life and career of the author, who spent most of his life as a printer and publisher in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. His close friends and associates included H.P. Lovecraft, Walter John Coates, and Vrest Orton. These stories were written and printed by Cook during the 1930s and '40s when he worked at The Driftwind Press in North Montpelier, Vermont.