Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site

06/12/2026

“I was without a home –a vagabond since I was seven—with two roofs and no home. I moved inward on that house of death and tumult from room to little room, as the boarders came with their dollar a day, and their constant rocking on the porch.”
- Thomas Wolfe, May 1927

06/11/2026

JOIN US THIS SATURDAY!

We still have a few tickets left for our last Riverside Cemetery tour of the Spring, this Saturday, June 13th at 10am (rescheduled from May 23rd).

We hope you can make it!

RESCHEDULED - May 23rd postponed to June 13th due to weather. Join us as we explore portions of Riverside Cemetery, piecing together fact and fiction by highlighting many of the folks that inspired various characters in Wolfe’s works, as well as a few other notable Ashevillians. The tour will begi...

06/11/2026

" . . . the prodigal opulence of Springtime, thick with flowers and drenched in a fragrant warmth of green shimmering light . . ."
-Look Homeward, Angel

06/10/2026

📣10th ANNIVERSARY OF "GENIUS!"📣

, June 10, 2016, the film genius premiered. Based on A. Scott Berg's Biography of Editor Maxwell Perkins, Genius largely followed the relationship between Thomas Wolfe (portrayed by Jude Law), and Maxwell Perkins (portrayed by Colin Firth). Ahead of filming, Jude Law visited Asheville and the historic boardinghouse to better inform his interpretation of the Literary Giant.

From Oregon Live, on playing a literary titan opposite Colin Firth:

Q: One of the next times audiences see you will be as novelist Thomas Wolfe in "Genius," a film about famed Random House editor Max Perkins. It's got a great cast— Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce as F. Scott Fitzgerald — but a first-time director, Michael Grandage. How did he manage to make the material cinematic?

A: Michael's a very gifted gentleman. I've worked with him twice on stage, and he was working with a wonderful script by John Logan. It's a very exciting piece. It's about the dynamics between two great minds wrestling to write a piece of great literature, and the struggle between the Apollonian approach to art and the Dionysian approach to art. And whether one needs the other, or when they meet face-to-face which wins out. It's an analysis through the relationship of these two guys. They were very close friends, and it's about the people involved in writing a piece of literary history.

📸 Thomas Wolfe c. 1935 (left) and Jude Law (right) in 2011. (AP Photos), Jude Law at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville, NC

06/09/2026

You are cordially invited to a rip-roaring Summer Social at the Old Kentucky Home!

Step back to 1918 and enjoy a day of music, refreshments, games, and good company. Don your finest glad rags and join us for what promises to be the swellest gathering of the season!

Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/1918-summer-social

06/09/2026

“. . . the conclusion is not sad: this is a hopeful book – the conclusion is that although you can’t go home again, the home of every one of us is in the future: there is no other way.”
- Thomas Wolfe to Edward Aswell, 1938

06/03/2026

📣DON'T MISS OUT!📣

Our very first Membership Appreciation Day is right around the corner!
This event is FREE for our current members and up to two complimentary guests.

We excited to introduce our new Membership Appreciation Day, a special opportunity to celebrate the supporters who help preserve and share Thomas Wolfe’s legacy year-round.

Members are invited to enjoy exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences, special activities, and time to connect with fellow supporters and staff while exploring the historic Old Kentucky Home in a new way.

Not a member yet? There’s never been a better time to join our community and support one of North Carolina’s most treasured literary landmarks. If you are interested in becoming a Member of the friends of Thomas Wolfe, come join us this Sunday from 1pm-4pm and sign up to be a member in person!
To learn more about Member benefits or to sign up online, visit our website, wolfememorial.com.

05/26/2026

"So, thinking, feeling, speaking, he lay there in his mother's house, but there was nothing in the house but silence and the moving darkness: storm shook the house and huge winds rushed upon them . . ."

Stay safe and dry out there!

05/22/2026

📣NOTICE📣

Due to inclement weather and forecast of thunderstorms, tomorrow morning's Riverside Cemetery Tour has been postponed and rescheduled for Saturday, June 13th.

Ticket holders have been notified, and those tickets will be honored on the 13th or refunds will happily be issued if needed by contacting the Memorial.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but we must prioritize the safety of our guests!

We hope you can make it on the 13th! You can purchase tickets for this new date here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/thomas-wolfes-buried-lives-a-riverside-cemetery-tour

05/15/2026

After several years of editing and whittling to condense its original, humongous size, Thomas Wolfe's second novel, Of Time and the River, was published in 1935. This fun cartoon from The Saturday Review expresses New York Reviewers’ frustrations over reading the 500,000 word novel!

📸Excerpt and cartoon reprint courtesy of David Herbert Donald’s biography Look Homeward: The Life of Thomas Wolfe and the Saturday Review of Literature.