Maine Humanities Council

It was a Sunday service at Chosen Land, the Shaker community near Sabbathday Lake in New Gloucester, that sparked broadcast journalist Jeannine Lauber’s interest in the history of the Shakers and their modern role in Maine. In the preface of her new book, Chosen Faith, Chosen Land: The Untold Story of America’s 21^st Century Shakers, she describes the feeling of change that she felt when attending that first service: even “the outside world looked slightly different through the antique panes of glass on the double-hung windows.” Raised as a Catholic, Lauber became a member of the Friends of Shakers, attending the church while not a Shaker herself. She became so close to the four Shakers who lived in the community at Chosen Land that one asked Lauber if she could do something to help stop the myths that she felt Ken Burns’ documentary Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God was perpetuating: “It’s full of mistakes and gives people the impression that there are no Shakers left, that our faith is dead.” Lauber’s consequent work in creating her own documentary Chosen Faith, Chosen Land convinced her that far from being dead, Shakerism had strong connections to “Postmodern” Christianity. › Continue reading

Inspired by Picturing America reproductions, children create their own art. (credit: Diane Hudson)

On a Friday evening in early November, nearly 150 Head Start children and their parents attended a Picturing America celebration event at the Portland Museum of Art.  When they arrived, they went on a treasure hunt that took them through museum galleries, dabbled in art activities in the museum’s education studio, heard stories read aloud, ate pizza, and went home with a book and a coupon for free Museum attendance for each family.

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Allen Wells shares a thought during Cuban Exceptionalism (credit: Diane Hudson)

“Cuban Exceptionalism: Reflections on Latin American History” highlighted what the MHC does best:  showing how a single theme—in this case, the history of Cuba—can inform and inspire the present.  This daylong, sold-out program on December 4 in Portland included lectures, discussions, poetry, and even music.

Professor David Carey of USM and Professors Allen Wells and Enrique Yepes of Bowdoin College showed humanities in action.  The day began with a quick snapshot from Allen Wells of where Cuban history parallels the rest of Latin America (authoritarian rule, racial diversity, nationalism, and a monoculture of exported products), and how it is historically different (strategically as a gateway to the Caribbean, having the isolation and insularity common to islands, and its status as a “protectorate” of the United States).

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From Dawn to Dusk (Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, illustrated by Mary Azarian) depicts rural Vermont life throughout the seasons with a twist: the storyteller is a girl with four siblings who is trying to convince the boys in the family that it really is good growing up in the Northeast Kingdom. When they challenge her with things that aren’t fun (the freezing toes while sugaring, the tedium of picking stone, the winter that lasts forever), she reminds them of the good things (the warm sugar house and Aunt Eunice’s doughnuts, the killdeer and swallows spotted in the spring fields, and the fun of skiing off a barn roof). Natalie Kinsey-Warnock’s prose is sparse and bears a New England dry wit. Mary Azarian’s illustrations are beautiful and folksy, evoking a strong sense of place with the feeling of each moment and season. With whimsical anecdotes on every page, From Dawn to Dusk shows children how to find fun, excitement, and beauty in everyday life.

(Recommended by Diane Magras)

The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, a new biography released this year, provides an interesting look at another strong woman in FDR’s life.  Many of us think of Eleanor Roosevelt as perhaps as the only one in this role, but Frances Perkins also provided a formidable presence.

Perkins grew up in Maine and Massachusetts, graduating from Mt. Holyoke in the early part of the twentieth century. She was drawn to the urban labor issues of the day, especially after experiencing the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. After seeing that firsthand, she dedicated her life to labor issues, including the shorter workday, giving workers a voice in the labor arena, fair work practices for women and children, and other important topics.

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Let’s Talk About It, the MHC’s library-based reading and discussion program, has three new series available for 2010. Contact your local library if you’d like to participate; the series are free to libraries and patrons.

Paradise Revealed: Readings in Caribbean Literature

This series examines Caribbean literature throughout the Caribbean archipelago, from the Lesser Antilles to the Greater Antilles, from Trinidad to Jamaica. Using a variety of genres (short fiction, the novel, creative non-fiction, and poetry), texts will examine the issues which have shaped the islands and still influence them today: colonialism, island rivalries, politics, the heritage of slavery, connection to Africa, gender roles, and economic development/exploitation. The works emphasize the uniqueness of the individual islands and the powerful and innovative talents of Caribbean writers.

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In the podcast “Poets Writing Memoir: A Conversation with Elizabeth Garber and Dawn Potter,”  MHC program officer and poet Denise Pendleton sat down at the Belfast Free Library with two of Maine’s best-known poets, Elizabeth Garber and Dawn Potter. In addition to reading from their memoirs, the poets spoke about why they turned to prose and how their poetry background has influenced their current writing.