Nathaniel Purple

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By F.D. Reeve ’50

Published Jan. 21, 2016

(Voyage/Brigantine Media) This novella is named for its narrator — Nathaniel Purple, the librarian of a small Vermont town. This book has its share of drama — betrayals, violence, and conflagrations — amid pastoral scenes and the simple pleasures enjoyed by Nathaniel. Reeve taught English and Russian at Wesleyan University for 40 years, was a founding editor of Poetry Review, and Robert Frost’s translator at his meeting with Nikita Krushchev in Russia. He lives in Wilmington, Vt.

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PAW’s December 2025 cover, with a photo of Michael Park ’98.
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Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.