Mel Allen Presents New Book Illustrating Stories of New England

Longtime Yankee Magazine editor and writer Mel Allen will present his new book "Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All" at Showroom, next to the Colonial Theatre in downtown Keene, Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. Along with photographs of some of his remarkable subjects, Allen will share a few of the whys and hows of telling other people's stories, in ways that matter. Special guest, Ben Cosgrove, an acclaimed composer and musician will also perform. A traveling composer, pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Cosgrove performs his original instrumental music that explores themes of landscape and environment. The Boston Globe described him, "Like a sonic plein-air painter, [he] uses his piano as a paintbrush — and he's made a name for himself doing it." Ben's "electric and exhilarating" solo piano performances are at once dazzling and intimate: music that has been described as "stunning" and "compelling and powerful," — Red Line Roots has called him "stupidly talented." From the time Allen published his first stories in Yankee in 1977 to the day he retired in 2025, his work, both as editor and writer, has captured New England's unique sense of place and the people who call it home. "I see the stories in these pages as miniature pictures of New England that reveal a larger life around them. To tell these stories, I have entered the lives of people for hours or days — and when they open their own lives, their hearts, the words they speak become intimate albums. They tell me details of their lives that they may not tell anyone else. And it is up to me to treat those words with deep respect... The most important words in this book's title for me are "that connects us all." "We live now in a time where division has become the backdrop to our lives. But when I look at the stories here about people overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles, of others reaching out to help their neighbors, of entire communities pulling together when all seems lost, or of thousands of people searching a wilderness for a lost child, I see a common humanity that has always been part of the New England landscape. " For more information, visit: MelAllenNewEngland.com