A LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

 
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.

If we at the MHC were to devise a map of our history, “Seely Hall” would be shown in three-inch letters. It’s not much to look at—an unassuming church basement in Portland: linoleum floors, rickety institutional tables, and an old piano in the corner. It’s a no-nonsense sort of room that’s seen a lot of the humanities.

I can’t picture Seely Hall without imagining Steve Cerf over near the institutional coffee urns. A Professor of German at Bowdoin College, Steve has led our Portland Community Seminar there, and our Augusta Community Seminar at the Maine State Arboretum, for nearly two decades. Over the years, he’s developed a loyal following in both cities, having guided participants on a literary journey that has ranged from Jane Austen to Malcolm X, V.S.Naipaul, and beyond. Each month during the winter and spring, the groups have gathered for supper, followed by a book discussion, where Steve practices his facilitation artistry: scraping down to the very fibers of a story, subtly pushing and pulling a conversation en route.

We learned recently that Steve, who lives much of the year in New York, has decided to retire from his regular work with the Council. This was very sad news, and for the seminars, our longest-running public programs, his departure marks the end of an era. But Seely Hall will not go dark: I was thrilled to learn that one of his Bowdoin colleagues, English literature professor Peter Coviello, has agreed to lead the 2008 Portland and Augusta Seminars, helping to keep this signature program alive and well.

These programs were the MHC’s earliest venture into public programming, and they were first offered at a time when the Council’s primary purpose was to make grants on behalf of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Today, the majority of our programs still look like this, even though the range of audiences is much more diverse, drawing people of different backgrounds together with humanities scholars to experience the power and pleasure of ideas. Thanks Steve, for helping us turn a book group in a church basement into a model that transformed our organization.

Erik Jorgensen
Executive Director