A Letter from the Executive Director

It looks like a high school, but its distinctive sound reminds you that you are in a different world. From room to room, the doors close behind you with a chilling CLANK. You have left civilian life. You are locked in.

Only for part of an afternoon, but the experience was unforgettable. We were at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, a correctional facility for youthful offenders. Thanks to two remarkable teachers, Jon Robbins and Peter Duffy, I had been invited to a staged reading by 12 young men of Reginald Rose’s play Twelve Angry Men. As you probably remember from the movie with Henry Fonda, it’s the story of a jury about to convict a 19-year-old boy for murdering his father — until one stubborn juror’s nagging doubt halts the rush to judgment.

The Maine Humanities Council brings people and ideas together to encourage a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, fostering wisdom in an age of information, providing context in a time of change.

It's a powerful drama in any circumstances, but the decision to produce it in a youth center was an especially courageous step on the part of the center’s authorities. ( Jim McManus, the center’s director of volunteer services, deserves special thanks.) The results far exceeded my expectations. Not only were these young men passionate and persuasive actors, the audience of other young men and women incarcerated at Long Creek seemed totally absorbed in the play.

For six years now, the Council has supported efforts like this one to make serious humanities education part of the programming at the Youth Development Center. Those of you who attend our Winter Weekends help make this possible — part of your fee supports these 3-week summer programs for youthful male offenders. We have also had very generous support from the River Rock Foundation for our innovative humanities programs for the young women at Long Creek.

I can't emphasize enough how important our work there is. As Charlotte Renner said on Maine Public Radio during an interview with the actors, much of the residents’ time at the center is spent just passing time. While they looked to me like most other high school students their age, many of them have difficulty concentrating, are prone to aggressive behavior, and have been in and out of trouble with the law. That they could sit, transfixed, through a long and thought-provoking play — whether as actors or audience — says something about the power of the humanities to catch the imagination and heal broken lives.

Dorothy Schwartz

About our back cover

The puppets were created by young women at the Long Creek Youth Development Center taking part in "Rescue Me," a three-week reading and arts program on the role of women in fairy tales and mythology. The Council program was made possible by a grant from the River Rock Foundation and led by Odelle Bowman, Leah Cross and Monica Grabin.