Maine Humanities Council

Location and Time: Maine Historical Society, Portland, ME, 5:30 p.m.

Contact: Maine Historical Society

Join Maine Historical for a family-friendly, late springtime event in the Longfellow Garden. Author Sydelle Pearl will share how she was inspired to write her new biography Dear Mr. Longfellow: Letters to and from the Children's Poet. Follow her research journey to discover the story behind a special gift made for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by the children of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to celebrate the poet's 72nd birthday.

Sydelle Pearl is the author of Elijah's Tears: Stories for the Jewish Holidays, Books for Children of the World: The Story of Jella Lepman, and Hope Somewhere in America: The Story of a Child, a Painting, and a President. A former children's librarian, Pearl has been a professional storyteller for 20 years. She gives presentations at schools, libraries, conferences, and festivals.

Location and Time: Diamond Building, Colby College, Waterville, ME, 5 p.m.

Contact: Maine Humanities Council

Join the Maine Humanities Council Board for an exploration of Ulysses, James Joyce’s 1922 masterpiece. Ulysses is often called “unreadable,” but James Joyce scholar and Board member Daniel Gunn (UMaine Farmington) will show us how untrue that is, and how pleasurable Ulysses can be. Register early here.

Location and Time: Room 170, Lewiston-Auburn College, Lewiston, ME, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Contact: Lewiston-Auburn College

Three of Maine's best-known storytellers will be at the University of Southern Maine's Franco-American Collection for an evening of Franco-American tales Saturday, June 15, from 6:30-9:00 pm. The event, which is sponsored by USM's Franco-American Collection, and made possible by the support of the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Humanities Council, aims to highlight the role of folktales in the Franco-American tradition. Featuring storytellers and musicians Grégoire Chabot, Michael Parent, and Susan Poulin.

Location and Time: Yarmouth Historical Society, Yarmouth, ME, 7 p.m.

Contact: Yarmouth Historical Society

Join Yarmouth Historical on Thursday June 17th to hear a talk by Tom Bell, a Yarmouth resident, and reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He will be discussing his trip taken last summer with his wife Svetlana and their daughter back to Russia.

Location and Time: Maine Historical Society, Portland, ME, 5:30 p.m.

Contact: Maine Historical Society

MHS Museum Registrar Holly Hurd-Forsyth provides a show-and-tell of recent or topical museum collection items, discusses how accessions are researched and processed, and trains participants how to search and use the MHS PastPerfect Online database. (Third Wednesdays in Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, and Dec, at 12PM, in the MHS lecture hall; free; limited to 12. Sign up in advance by sending an email to info@mainehistory.org.)

Location and Time: Norway Memorial Library, Norway, ME, 7 p.m.

Contact: Norway Memorial Library

Reza Jalali will discuss and introduce Muslim culture in conjunction with the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf and discussion series. A teacher, author, Iranian immigrant, and community organizer, Jalali is also the Muslim chaplain at Bates College, and coordinates the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of Southern Maine.

Location and Time: Bethel Historical Society, Bethel, ME, 7:30 p.m.

Contact: Bethel Historical Society

Launched during the outbreak of the Civil War, in April 1861, the Lewiston Daily Evening Journal offers a unique view of the Northern home front. Published by a young Republican (future Maine governor Nelson Dingley, Jr.) the Journal demonstrates how Mainers responded to the crisis, from the swift mobilization of regimental units to widespread displays of patriotism. This lecture will draw from the Journal to explore the extent to which the experiences in Lewiston, and in Maine more generally, were emblematic of the Northern home front during the first years of the Civil War, paying special attention to soldiers’ news from the war front, expressions of Unionism, economic and cultural developments, and the evolution of emancipation as a wartime policy. Mason House exhibit hall, 7:30 PM; free and open to the public.

Location and Time: Southern Maine Community College, South Portland, ME, 12 to 4 p.m.

Contact: Maine Historical Society

Join Maine Historical for 19th century baseball! Last year, more than 150 people attended the double-header Vintage Baseball event at Fort Williams, and it made the front page of the Portland Press Herald. This year the game be at Southern Maine Community College’s baseball field on Fort Road in South Portland. Grab some friends, a picnic lunch, and come have some unique historical fun by the ocean. The teams will play two nine-inning games (60-90 minutes each). Between the games, team members will talk about baseball in that era, and provide opportunities for kids to run the bases, interact with players, and ask questions. The games are free and open to the public.

Location and Time: Chebeague Island Library, Chebeague Island, ME, 7 p.m.

Contact: Chebeague Island Library

The Maine Poetry Express, an initiative of the Office of the Maine Poet Laureate, is a whistle-stop tour of community poetry readings conducted by Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair, who brings together Maine poets and townspeople for readings and discussions of poetry.