Maine Humanities Council

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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Zora Neale Hurston, 1938, Photo by Carl Van Vechten from the Library of Congress

Zora Neale Hurston once criticized Richard Wright for not representing “authentic black speech, real emotion, and real life” in his work. She worked meticulously to make her own work glow with such aspects, from holding formal interviews to working a hot dog stand so that she could hear how real people talk. Hurston wanted to show everyone how African Americans really were, and how, despite the segregation laws of her day, they were truly people. Yet after her death in 1973, Hurston lay in an unmarked grave overgrown with leggy grass. Her books were out of print. All that her life and efforts had shared with the world seemed swept away by forgetfulness.

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