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Donald Hall, Jane Kenyon, Maxine Kumin and other writers have put New Hampshire’s Kearsarge Region on the literary map. This fall, their works were celebrated at a special New Hampshire Writers Project event in Wilmot. Tonight, we'll find out why the area is so special and how it inspires the poetic process.

Our guests are:

Maxine Kumin, former U.S. Poet Laureate (the position was known as "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress" at the time) and author of 15 poetry collections. Her latest poetry collection, Jack and Other New Poems, was published in 2005.

Laurie Zimmerman, poet from the Kearsarge region who's first full-length collection, Body of Tender Water is currently seeking publisher. Her work's been published in Mid-American Review, Orion, Rattle, 5 AM, Paterson Literary Review, Image, and elsewhere.

Joyce Peseroff, writer-in-residence and visiting professor at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her latest book of poems is Eastern Mountain Time.

***This show originally aired October 5, 2006***

Robert Eggers says nonprofit organizations need to change the way they operate. Through his experience in the sector -- from his early days a volunteer to the formation of his much lauded D.C. Central Kitchen, which distributes food to the needy -- Eggers says he's seen lots of waste, ineffectiveness and a lack of logic in nonprofit world. In his book, Begging for Change, he looks for ways for nonprofits to work together and become more successful. We'll talk with him about his work and how he thinks nonprofits should change the way they envision themselves.

***This interview originally aired October 2, 2006***

Tonight on the Front Porch, we're going to look at unusual ways people celebrate the holiday season:

Schnartzenholler
When Emily Pearlman was a child her Jewish father and Christian mother created their own unique holiday celebration to bridge the gap and give the family something to celebrate together. As Emily and her brother grew up Schnartzenholler lost its appeal. Now, as adults, can the family revive and reinvent it?

Tuba Christmas
Like a few other cities in the U.S., Akron, Ohio has an annual Tuba Christmas concert that brings together more than 500 tubists to regale listeners with holiday favorites like "The First Noel" and "Jingle Bells." Commentator David Giffels was asked to be a guest soloist during the celebration -- The only problem is that Giffels doesn't know how to play.

Jingle Bells
A crowd of about 5,000 people gathered in Medford Square, just north of Boston, to set 2 records--one for the most Christmas carolers singing together, and one for the longest continuous caroling session. Commentator Judah Bruce Leblang was there.

All of tonight's stories come to us through the Public Radio Exchange.

New England author Robert Cormier led a fairly ordinary life as a journalist and writer. But the worlds he created in his young adult books are complex and intriguing. Tonight on the Front Porch, we'll look into the mind of the man behind "The Chocolate War" and "We All Fall Down," and we'll talk about the ways he explored the human face of evil and redemption in his highly acclaimed works.

Our guest is Patricia Campbell, author of the new book Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe. She's also a lecturer at the San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Sciences.

Look around you. How many things in your immediate vicinity are made of wood? And how many are made of plastic -- but crafted to look like wood? Historian Harvey Green is fascinated by mankind's relationship with wood -- from its practical uses to our spiritual and cultural connection to it. He joins us for an exploration of one of the most common but treasured materials on earth.

Harvey Green is professor of History at Northeastern University. His new book is called Wood: Craft, Culture, History.