Anna Hubbard: Out of the Shadows

by Mia Cunningham

" Anna Eikenhout (1902-1986) was an honors graduate of Ohio State University, a fine-arts librarian, a skilled pianist, and an avid reader in three languages. Harlan Hubbard (1900-1988), a little-known painter and would-be shantyboater, seemed an unlikely husband, but together they lived a life out of the pages of Thoreau's Walden. Much of what is known about the Hubbards comes from Harlan's books and journals. Concerning the seasons and the landscape, his writing was rapturous, yet he was emotionally reticent when discussing human affairs in general or Anna in particular. Yet it was through her efforts that their life on the river was truly civilized. Visitors to Payne Hollow recall Anna as a generous, gracious hostess, whose intelligence and artistry made the small house seem grander than a mansion.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

234 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2001

Reviews

[John Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his three books, Harlan Hubbard often expressed his deep love and admiration for his wife, Anna, who went down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with him on their shanty boat and later made a home with him at Payne Hollow in Kentucky. His writing detailed more of the practical side of this life and it was hard to get a sense of Anna Hubbard from these books. A high school classmate, Betsy Booth Tweedy, is a librarian in Trimble County, KY where Payne Hollow is located and recommended this book to me. Mia Cunningham's parents rented the Hubbard family home in Fort Thomas, KY and as a young girl she would visit Harlan and Anna at Payne Hollow in the summers. This is both a personal story of the long friendship between Mia and Anna, but also their splitting apart, and the only real biography of Anna, which does not come through in any of Harlan Hubbard's book This is both an excellent biography and the story of a friendship between generations. This was the final book I have read on the stories of the Hubbard's lives beginning with Harlan Hubbard's three books, then finishing off with Wendell Berry's excellent book on Harlan and Mia Cunningham's on Anna. These last two books filled in the missing pieces that Harlan did not bring out in his books. I would recommend reading these books in the same order that I read them.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to reach out to the author and thank her for the reference to my father and grandfather in the text. I discovered she died of cancer nine years after publication. I found out things about Harlan and Anna i never knew. They were such a unique part of the American story and the likes of which probably won’t be seen again.