Our tenth annual Winter Weekend, on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, sold out back in November at 152 participants. A new venue welcomed these eager medievalists on March 9. The first speaker, much-praised essayist and Bowdoin Professor Emeritus Franklin Burroughs, situated Chaucer in the lineage of masters that includes Homer and Virgil, calling him “the most self-unimportant” of the bunch. As a poet working “at the intersection between the literary and the ordinary,” Chaucer may have at least as much in common with Frost as he does with Dante.
Burroughs’ witty, writerly musings prompted much discussion over dinner. The period cuisine prepared by Bowdoin’s head chef and his staff featured “Yrchouns” (or “hedgehogs”) of pork and almonds, stately “Shanks of Benyson with Oporto,” and an enigmatic “Tart of Fissh”—not to mention the more humble “Benes Stwed.”
On Saturday morning, Kathleen Ashley from the University of Southern Maine spoke about the mingling of literary genres, both within and among the Canterbury Tales, that renders the work “both profoundly derivative and profoundly creative.” Bowdoin’s Mary Agnes Edsell addressed the Cook’s Tale as “successful fragment,” revealing how various scholars and scribes have contended with the potentially scurrilous nature of its untold denouement. Elisa Narin van Court from Colby explored how the anti-semitism in the Prioress’s Tale reflects on the writer and his time, then Bowdoin Professor Emeritus Clifton Olds situated the Canterbury Tales in art history.
Finally, David Greenham and a troupe of players from the Theater at Monmouth presented The Complete, Unabridged Canterbury Tales (but not in Middle English and excluding all tales and prologues except the Pardoner’s Tale and the Reeve’s Tale) in Reader’s Theater style with added erotic and drunken suggestion. This delightful interpretation was an appropriately farcical coda to a program that successfully blended lecture and conversation, contemplation and pleasure, reality and fiction, past and present.
Thank you to our pilgrims! Look for information on Winter Weekend 2008, which will focus on Virgil’s Aeneid, later this year.
Back to the TopApril brings a slew of events held in conjunction with grants from the MHC. Look for a festival of historic films in Winter Harbor, a reading and discussion series on “liberation poets” in Belfast, the opening of the Portland Harbor Museum’s 2007 exhibit entitled Picturing Portland: A Century of Change, and the presentation of a mural project by elementary school oral historians in Cornish. The full list is here.
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Events are also listed on the MHC website as part of the map of MHC activities and in our Calendar of Events.
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If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to invest in an iPod, the time has come. The MHC recently received a start-up grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a new project, Humanities on Demand: Podcasting and the Maine Humanities Council. The grant will support planning and development of digital humanities services. The grant will address the basic question of how a humanities council can best harness new technologies to provide services, expand audiences, and implicitly, to avoid being sidelined or passed as those technologies become ubiquitous in the culture. It promises to be an interesting series of conversations. Updates and opportunities to participate in the planning process will be announced.
We are also pleased to announce the restoration of the joint Arts and Humanities grant program that the Council formerly ran in conjunction with the Maine Arts Commission. Projects that fall in between the areas of focus of the two agencies are quite common, making this a very popular program for the five years it ran prior to a recent hiatus. The collaboration will resume this spring, with proposals decided by a panel of staff from both agencies. To learn more, visit the grants section of our website.
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The April booklist from Born to Read focuses on the post office and the mail carriers who keep us all in touch.
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Hammond Hall in Ellsworth, home of Schoodic Arts for All and venue for two grant-funded events this month.
This has been a busy month for our grants department! The following grants have recently been approved:
$1,000 to York Adult and Community Education, York, for York Reads!
The third annual York Reads! One Book, One Community project was hosted by York Adult and Community Education and the York Public Library in March 2007. The selected title, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, provided many opportunities for residents to interact. Activities included a walking tour of York Beach, hosted by the Old York Historical Society; a program on packing for hiking trips, hosted by Kittery Trading Post Outdoor Adventure, a boot drive, hosted by York Hospital; and an installation of wooden hiking boot sculptures donated by Maine Coast Lumber and designed by local artists affiliated with the York Art Association. To learn more, contact York Adult and Community Education at (207) 363-7922.
$1,000 to Skowhegan Public Library, Skowhegan, for Skowhegan Area Community Read Program
Skowhegan’s first community-wide reading program will use the book Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene to promote reading and invite reflection on what a town can accomplish when its residents work together. Programs will include a presentation by Maine humorist Gary Crocker, two group discussions at the public library, two screenings of a PBS video related to the book, and a week of activities for young readers during their school vacation, April 15-21, around Lynn Plourde’s Book Fair Day. Partners in this community-wide effort spearheaded by the Skowhegan Public Library include Main Street Skowhegan, the Margaret Chase Smith Library, and the Somerset Family Enrichment Council. For more information, call the library at (207) 474-9072.
$1,000 to Schoodic Arts for All, Winter Harbor, for Downeast Maine Historic Films and Discussion
This spring, Schoodic Arts for All joins Northeast Historic Film to present the Downeast Maine Historic Film series at Hammond Hall in Winter Harbor. Six screenings, each followed by panel discussions, will bring the history of early life in this region to life for contemporary residents. Films include “Schoodic: Where Sea Meets Land,” “From Stump to Ship,” “A Century of Summers,” “Cherryfield 1938,” “Lobstertown,” “The Peninsula,” “Granite by the Sea,” and five short, silent films from the earliest days of film in Maine. For more details, call (207) 963-2569 or visit www.schoodicarts.org.
$1,000 to the L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley, for Central Maine Works
The Central Kennebec Heritage Council consists of seven museums and historical societies working together to promote the cultural richness of their section of the Kennebec-Chaudičre corridor. Drawing on the exhibit development and oral history workshops made possible by the Maine Humanities Council over the last two years, the member museums have organized the Central Maine Works project for the summer of 2007. Each site will examine an aspect of central Maine labor from a perspective that suits its location and collections. For example, Victor Grange in Fairfield Center will present “The Work of the Grange in Building Community.” The project kick-off, a lecture and slide presentation by Whitefield writer Bill Bunting, is scheduled for July 13 at Good Will-Hinckley. Member museums will host open houses on the following day, and most exhibits will run through the fall. For details, please contact the individual sites or call the L.C. Bates Museum at (207) 238-4250.
$1,000 to Mainely Girls, Rockport, for Girls’ Point of View Book Clubs
Mainely Girls of Rockport has received several grants from the Maine Humanities Council to support its Girls’ Point of View Book Clubs at the high school level. Now, in response to demand from students, teachers, and parents, Mainely Girls has implemented a pilot program of book clubs in five middle schools. The clubs expose girls to young adult fiction and nonfiction depicting strong, resourceful female characters developing self-respect and autonomy-in sharp contrast to the girls they’re used to seeing on TV and in the movies. Adult women facilitators help the girls connect with, learn from, and talk openly with their peers about the books, fostering a lifelong enthusiasm for reading and discussion. For more information, please contact Christina Venditti, program director for Mainely Girls, at (207) 230-0170 or mainelygirls@gmail.com.
$1,000 to Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, Portland, for Traveling Poet Series
The Traveling Poet series will bring a poet of regional distinction to various parts of the state in celebration of National Poetry Month. Readings, hosted by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, will most likely be held in Portland, Orono, Ellsworth, and Houlton. For information on the selected poet and venues, please call (207) 228-8264.
$1,000 to the Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Studies, Portland, for Globalization Ethics and Human Rights
The first event in a new major public lecture series, the Douglas M. Schair Memorial Lecture on Genocide and Human Rights, will take place in Portland on April 23, 2007. The speaker, Mary Robinson, is former president of Ireland and former High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations. Drawing on this experience, she will be addressing issues related to her current work as director of the international organization Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative." Following the lecture at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall, a number of organizations will host a candlelight vigil in Monument Square to commemorate the victims of genocide and human rights abuses. Participating organizations include the Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Studies at USM, the Hudson Foundation, the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine, the Maine Council of Churches, the Greater Portland NAACP, and the state’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs. To learn more, please contact Professor Abraham Peck, (207) 780-5331 or apeck@usm.maine.edu.
$950 to the Western Maine Cultural Alliance, Lovell, for Making Oral History and Folklore Accessible on the Web with Audio Downloads
In the past two decades, folklorists Peter Lenz and Jo Radner have conducted several oral history projects in the Oxford Hills area. With the resources of Lake Region TV, the Western Maine Cultural Alliance will convert selections from these projects to digital audio files. These files will be available for easy download from their website, www.westernmaineculture.org. This new format will make the material accessible to a broader audience and help to preserve it for future generations. The audio should be available by June 2007 at www.westernmaineculture.org, on the page entitled “Enjoy a Taste of Western Maine Folklore.”
$900 to the Greater Lovell Land Trust, Lovell, for Cultural and Historic Enrichment for the Greater Lovell Area
Among the many educational programs of the Greater Lovell Land Trust are a summer lecture series and an annual educational forum. These programs support the mission of the Trust: to protect the ecosystems of the Kezar Lake and adjacent watersheds. Speakers include Martin Engstrom, longtime forecaster at the weather station on Mt. Washington; anthropologist Alvin Morrison; and Tom Wessels, author of Reading the Forested Landscape and The Myth of Progress. For more information, please call (207) 925-1056 or visit www.gllt.org.
$500 to St. Joseph’s College of Maine, Standish, for Serving Local Schools Through Three Author/Illustrator Days: A Service Learning Project
Building on a pilot project funded by the Council in 2006, students from St. Joseph’s College in Standish will help open the world of children’s literature to rural elementary school students in Otisfield and Waterford. The college students have arranged programs with noted Maine authors and illustrators Paul Janeczko and Matt Tavares. Following these programs, the college students will return to the schools for follow-up visit involving art and literature activities. Finally, students, teachers, and parents from the schools will come to the St. Joseph’s campus to meet Anne Sibley O’Brien of Peaks Island. For more information, please contact Dr. Cynthia Mowles, Assistant Professor of Education at St. Joseph’s, at cmowles@sjcme.edu.
$500 to the Bethel Historical Society, Bethel, for 2007 Lecture Series: Maine Character and “Characters"
The Bethel Historical Society’s 2007 Summer Lecture Series, “Maine Character and Characters,” gets underway on May 10 with a lecture on Maine-Hawaii connections by Paul Burlin of the University of New England. Other speakers include Earle Shettleworth on “A Painter’s Progress: The Life, Work, and Travels of Harrison Bird Brown of Portland,” Vandall T. King on Oxford County mines and miners, William B. Krohn on “Joshua Gross Rich: Western Maine Pioneer and Wildlife Writer, David Fuller on the spruce gum industry in Maine, and Stanley Russell Howe on the life and times of Elizabeth Mason Carter, one of Bethel’s most famous “characters.” For details, please call (207) 824-2910 or visit www.bethelhistorical.org.
$500 to the McLaughlin Foundation, South Paris, for McLaughlin Garden Visitor’s Center
The famous McLaughlin Garden in South Paris will open a new educational exhibit for visitors in May 2007. A permanent installation at the welcome point for visitors, will showcase the story of this historic site. Printed materials will detail the history and horticultural significance of the 20th-century garden as well as the architectural features of the 19th-century farmhouse and barn. To plan a visit, call (207) 743-8820 or visit www.mclaughlingarden.org.
$300 to the Belfast Free Library, Belfast, for Reading Out: The Rancor, Hope, Passion, and Brilliance of the Liberation Poets
In 2006, the Belfast Free Library expanded its poetry programming for adults, sponsoring both a workshop on odes and the Let’s Talk About It reading and discussion series called “American Traditions, American Innovations.” Both programs were received with such enthusiasm that the library will feature another reading and discussion series in honor of National Poetry Month in April 2007. This series, designed by Belfast’s Poet Laureate, Karin Spitfire, is entitled “Reading Out: The Rancor, Hope, Passion, and Brilliance of Liberation Poetry.” Spitfire will facilitate four evening discussions of contemporary poets such as Adrienne Rich, Amiri Baraka, and June Jordon. Meetings on April 5, 12, and 26 and May 3 will take place at the library; call (207) 338-3884 for details.
Carolyn Sloan, facilitator for New Books, New Readers, writes: When you think “Indian legend,” what comes to mind most often is stories with an element of magic. But Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a survival story handed down orally through many generations by the women of an Athabascan tribe. Told in spare and direct language, it is a story of courage and survival, friendship and family, fear and hope. The confrontation of community with individual, and of both with the laws of nature, in a “time of empty stomachs” creates a complex fabric of lessons in wilderness survival woven with lessons in humanity-respect, forgiveness, and the sources of inner strength. Don’t let the title mislead you! This book has been a favorite of men in jail, ESOL students who survived the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, and moms in family literacy programs. Perhaps like some of our New Books, New Readers participants who have read it as part of our Community series, you won’t be able to put this book down-and perhaps like this facilitator, you will find yourself making a gift of it to some of the people closest to you, young and old alike.
Back to the Top“I have rarely if ever felt as welcome as I did this weekend. My students and I were truly impressed by your courtesy and, dare I say it, gentilesse. We here at MSSM are deeply grateful for your kindness, warmth and generosity. As a teacher of English Literature it is my duty to report to you that I cannot think of words to express my appreciation. The weather in Limestone is beautiful today, especially in my classroom, because of you. I offer you, on behalf of the entire school, our most profound thanks.”
—Michael McCartney, who brought two students from the Maine School of Science
and Mathematics to Winter Weekend. Participants donated extra copies of
The Canterbury Tales to the school.
Thank you to our current members. Your support helps to make Maine Humanities Council programs like the ones detailed in this newsletter possible. If you are not a member but would like to make a gift you may do so online.
Notes from an Open Book welcomes feedback from its readers. Please contact guest editor Brita Zitin by email at brita@mainehumanities.org or by phone at (207)773-5051 ext. 211 (toll-free 1-866-637-3233, ext. 211) to respond.