The Town of Kent can be proud of its literary history which can be traced back to its beginnings in 1739 through journals and record books written by residents and business people as collected by the Kent Historical Society. Francis Atwater wrote the HISTORY OF KENT, CONNECTICUT in 1897 which has been reprinted and is available at the House of Books and Richard Lindsey, Bookseller, two Kent businesses.

Other nonfiction records of Kent include Phil Camps memoir series of the life in South Kent and Kent, KENT TALES by members of the Historical Society, ONE AMERICAN TOWN by Donald Connery and FAR FROM HOME by Ron Powers. James Gould Cozzens chose Kent, where he had attended Kent School, as the setting for his novel THE LAST ADAM.

The beautiful hills and valleys of Kent have nurtured many creative people over generations. William Armstrong, a master at Kent School, not only wrote an enduring textbook, STUDY IS HARD WORK, but was author of the Newbery Medal award winning SOUNDER which became a movie, THROUGH TROUBLED WATERS, SOURLAND, and BAREFOOT IN THE GRASS, a biography of Grandma Moses for children. Edmund Fuller, a master at Kent and South Kent Schools, wrote several books including SCHOOLS AND SCHOLARSHIP, PRUDENCE CRANDALL and FLIGHT. Another master at Kent School, O.B.Davis, authored several texts used at the secondary level.

Kent’s poets include Alison Wyerly Birch whose publications included POETRY FOR PEACE OF MIND; and Honor Moore, a published poet who also wrote a biography of her grandmother, THE WHITE BLACKBIRD.

Although William Steig is remembered for his New Yorker cartoons and illustrations for MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE, he wrote and illustrated many children’s books including THE BAD ISLAND, SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE, DR. DESOTO and SHREK.

Georgianne Ensign Kent authored GREAT BEGINNINGS and GREAT ENDINGS; Harmon Smith has written MY FRIEND, MY FRIEND. One time resident Fred Mustard Stewart wrote fiction, his works including CENTURY and POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE.

Other authors who presently have homes in Kent include Frank Delaney, Henry Kissinger, Elin McCoy, Robert Ober and John Walker.