Maine Humanities Council

Home of the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book
“In reality, every reader is, while he is reading, the reader of his own self. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument which he offers to the reader to enable him to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have experienced in himself. And the recognition by the reader in his own self of what the book says is the proof of its veracity.”

— Time Regained
Marcel Proust

1. To Read or Not to Read

Thankfully, reading remains important to some 20-somethings, including MHC staffer Brita Zitin, who catches a quick read on a break.
photo: Diane Magras

In November 2007, the National Endowment for the Arts released a new study on the reading habits of Americans. To Read or Not to Read borrows and updates information from the agency’s previous Reading at Risk report (from 2004), introducing new findings that show a striking decrease in reading for pleasure among American young adults. For example, almost half of Americans ages 18 through 24 are reading no books for pleasure, and 39% of college freshmen read nothing for pleasure in an average week. The report shows a clear impact of reading for pleasure on job advancement and salary growth as this kind of reading improves overall communication skills. While 63% of employers surveyed rated reading comprehension as a “very important” skill for high school graduates, 38% found graduates “deficient” in this area.

NEA chairman Dana Gioia writes in his preface to the report, “To Read or Not to Read confirms—without any serious qualification—the central importance of reading for a prosperous, free society. The data here demonstrate that reading is an irreplaceable activity in developing productive and active adults as well as healthy communities.” This report makes clear the power of MHC programs, reaching young people as well as the adults who never learned to love to read, to change lives.

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2. News from the MHC

Bowdoin professor and art historian Linda Docherty speaks about the awareness of media and its ability to convey the message as suggested by this picture of an African American boy who painted his face white (minstral shows did the opposite) and poses with a defiant look in front of the flag.
photo: Diane Hudson

Close to 130 people showed up to the MHC’s conference “Reconsidering Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Role and His Legacy” on January 19. We received much positive feedback about how the conference increased participants’ understanding of Dr. King’s work, as well as an enthusiastic response to the speakers. MHC staff who attended changed perspectives, too. Elizabeth Sinclair, program director of Let’s Talk About It and program officer of Literature & Medicine, told the editor of this newsletter that while she had studied civil rights and Dr. King’s life and work, she came away from the conference with a far greater appreciation of the role of the anonymous individual. “I already knew, to some extent, that every person who was part of the movement had meant something, but this reaffirmed how important these individuals were to the movement as a whole.” It is always a pleasure for a program to inspire learning among staff, too.

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The February book list from Born to Read features the theme “Books with a Spanish Accent.” While many children’s books have been translated from English into Spanish, and quite a few are published in bilingual editions, fewer books use Spanish as a natural part of a story told in English, for example about a Latino family who uses Spanish at home. Integrating language in this way into a story is an effective means of prompting interest among children in other languages.

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Podcast Update—The MHC’s Humanities on Demand has new podcasts added frequently, representing recent events (many covered by this newsletter). Be sure to look at this list on a regular basis so as not to miss anything, especially if transportation to MHC events is an issue. Listening to an MHC podcasts on your computer requires no special equipment, and saves gas, too.

One of many new additions is a talk from the MHC’s award-winning program Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health CareŽ and its 2007 autumn conference, “Caring for the Caregiver.” by poet and doctor Rafael Campo.

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3. Spotlight On: New Books, New Readers

New Books, New Readers is a reading and discussion program for adults just learning how to read. With a scholar/facilitator who encourage a free exchange of ideas, the program offers a four-session series using nine books selected from the best of children’s literature, selected for a variety of reading levels. New Books, New Readers partners with adult basic education and literacy volunteers to encourage and inspire a love of books and reading in adults statewide. It is an extremely popular program.

An instructor at Oxford Hills Adult Education sent program director Julia Walkling an enthusiastic response to their first New Books, New Readers session this year. This message describes much of what the program aims to accomplish:

I have a story to tell about one of our participants from several previous series who had to miss this first meeting. She called me to say that she had a conflict for this meeting, but that she would be at all the rest of them. “And, I wanted you to know how good it is having our library of books from the book club [New Books, New Readers]. I keep all the books in a bookcase where [my daughter in second grade] can reach them. During the Martin Luther King holiday, we read the Rosa Parks book from book club, and another book”—at this point she called to her daughter to be reminded of the other title; I heard the daughter call back, Wanted Dead or Alive.

This was a mom who never read on her own when she first started, and who thought she was “too stupid” to understand what she read. She now gets the newspaper daily—and reads it, does research on the internet, and loves reading books to her 2 year old daughter, and with her second grader: they take turns reading to each other. She asks the kind of thoughtful questions that lead to wide-ranging learning experiences; she learned this from Mary Alice [the New Books, New Readers facilitator].

Just another example of how invaluable New Books New Readers is—and how the effects are felt long after the series are over—and how it can affect the next generation: the second-grade daughter, whose parents had been in special education for ‘reading problems’ throughout their school careers, is near the top of her class in reading ability and would rather read than watch television.

As this instructor has seen, the ripple effect of reading good works can be powerful, and holds up a clear answer to the question: To read, or not to read?

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4. Grants and Events

Events funded by MHC grants include a Farmington performance of Wesley McNair poems set to music for soprano and orchestra; a presentation in Portland about the re-publication of the 1893 The Life and Traditions of the Red Man by Penobscot Joseph Nicolar; and an exhibit in Hinckley about the meaning of “home”.

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The recently funded grants list includes:

$1,000 to the L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley, for Some Homes
Exhibit and related programming will provide an informative community interpretation of the concept of home and what it means to people. The project goal is to promote discussion, knowledge, and interpretation that focuses on the experience of home, specifically Maine homes and the related philosophy of home at Good Will-Hinckley.

$1,000 to the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, Augusta, for Teacher Guide for the Documentary “What Is 6,000,000?”
The teacher guide will describe the activities, goals, and objectives of a 30-minute documentary which follows the unconventional teaching methods of Steven Schulz, an English teacher in Sanford who uses the Holocaust as a model to teach a literature course in “Ethics and Human Responsibility” to rural public high school students.

$1,000 to the Belfast Free Library, Belfast, for The Thinking Heart
A performance piece on about the diary and letters of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman from Amsterdam who was killed at Auschwitz, that includes poetry by Martin Steingesser with cello accompaniment. Following the performance, there will be a discussion on the piece led by Rafael Scheck, Professor of Modern European History at Colby College.

$1,000 to the University of Maine at Farmington, Farmington, for Driving in Maine: Four Poems of Wesley McNair for Soprano and Orchestra
A pre-concert discussion and performance of a musical setting of four poems by Wes McNair composed by Nancy Gunn.

$500 to MSAD #12, Jackman, for MSAD #12 Leadership Team Community Outreach Project
Outreach activities between the MSAD #12 Community Leadership Team and the communities of Jackman and Moose River, linking community members, business owners, students, and staff.

$500 to New Strategies for Youth, Belfast, for America and Freedom: A Maine Experience
Guides 7 teens and young adults through the CivilWar era by using a specfically designed role-play game. Players will play characters that grow up in Maine and have their coming of age experiences in the years leading up to the Civil War.

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5. What We’re Reading

This booklist includes personal favorites of MHC staff members, as well as books used by MHC programs. This month, featured titles are Will Goes to the Beach; Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck; Riding Freedom; Oracle Bones; The Diary of a Nobody; and The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science.

 

 

 

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6. Quote of the Month

“Miss Margo read a book about penguins. She brought in a stuffed penguin and real squids, mackerel and shrimp with rubber gloves, so the children could feel and see what penguins eat. She has also arranged to have live owls, turtles and a snake visit us at the center.”

—A child care provider extolled the Born to Read
Volunteer Reader at her child care center in a recent evaluation.

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