Montauk’s forests, hills, valleys, cliffs, and shorelines have long inspired creative types flocking to the East End for open spaces and wild muses. Montauk’s untamed woodlands and resident trees have been contemplated by writers and artists alike. In the library’s collection and on the community room walls we see instances of their influence in poetry, photographs, and artworks dating from 1849 to the present day. Below, we present a few examples from our library.
In 1849, J. A. Ayres, contemplated:
Upward and onward, till at noon we hid
Beneath the shadows of the Hither Wood:
Faint remnant of the trees, whose giant forms
In other days fought with the raging storms;
Loud through their tops the ocean blasts were borne,
Down the far valleys swept the foliage torn.
Unflinching yet, and heedless of the fight;
Their bare arms waved in strength above the mountain height.
In this excerpt from The Legends of Montauk, Ayres recognizes the draw of Hither Woods long before the predominantly oak-hickory forest was preserved through a combination of purchases by town, county, and state governments.
“Montauk is green with trees / Rough with hills / Bouldered with infinity,” pondered Hy Sobiloff in the opening stanza of his 1959 poem “Montauk Point.” Well actually, this time of year, Montauk is painted with an autumnal palette of red, yellow, brown, and orange, with a few deciduous trees and conifers still clutching onto their chlorophyll. In this artist’s edition, limited to 1,000 copies, local illustrator Frank Borth captures natural scenes of Montauk in fine linework sketches.
A whimsical illustration by Victoria Fensterer adorns flyers and campaign materials for the preservation of Hither Woods. These materials come from a collection from Charlene Briand, an activist and conservationist who opposed the private sale and development of green spaces in Montauk during the 1980s and 1990s.
“For the last few years, I have been nurturing a relationship with a red oak in my front yard. I call him Ralph, choosing a man’s name as my circle of male friends has been shrinking for some time now,” writes Bill Akin in The Equanimity of Fishes: Stories and Reflections from Seven Decades in Montauk, published in 2024. Akin goes on to describe his relationship with Ralph, reflecting on the changing world revolving around Ralph’s consistent routine. “The friendship that has endured and grown stronger is my connection with the land where I live.”
Feeling inspired to paint your own portrayal of Montauk’s woodland features? Explore winter landscapes and seasonal still life as inspiration in a workshop with local artist Liz McCarron at the library on Tuesdays from 10 am to noon, now through December 8.
*This post originally ran on November 13, 2024.
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