Every now and then I’ll be reading something and I’ll find myself pausing to reread the line. Not out of confusion or clarification, but out of sheer pleasure. These “double takes” don’t always occur when I’m reading...

In today’s world of cell phones, laptops and cable television, it’s sometimes easy to forget Amherst’s past. Certainly, the Pioneer Valley remains an area dominated by a rural, agrarian lifestyle. A five-minute drive down...