February 7 & 28 and March 13 & 27, 2008 ~~~ Lewiston
A series of four French films (with English subtitles) will be screened at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston. Each screening will be preceded by a bilingual lecture and followed by a discussion. All are welcome, and it is hoped that the series will unite Bates College with the Lewiston-Auburn community. The series will be marketed to Bates French department faculty and students, members of La Rencontre (the Franco-American Center’s monthly French language group), and other local Franco-American societies. For dates and film titles, call the Franco-American Heritage Center at (207) 783-1585 or visit www.francoamericanheritage.org/Film%20Festival.html.
Back to the TopFebruary 15, 2008 ~~~ Belfast
Poet Martin Steingesser has reworked the diary and letters of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman from Amsterdam who was killed at Auschwitz, into a poetic performance for two voices and cello. At 7 p.m. on Friday, February 15, Steingesser will join Judy Tierney and cellist Robin Jellis to present this work, entitled The Thinking Heart, at the Belfast Free Library. Colby College Professor of Modern European History Rafael Scheck will lead a discussion following the performance. In addition, a chapbook of Steingesser’s poems, with background about their source and inspiration, will be available to those who attend. For more information, call the library at (207) 338-3884.
Back to the TopFebruary 23 & March 29, 2008 ~~~ Portland
Spirits Alive is dedicated to the preservation and beautification of one of Maine’s oldest public burial grounds, the Eastern Cemetery in Portland. To help raise public awareness of the significance of the Cemetery as a historic site, Spirits Alive will host an early spring lecture series focused on the place of cemeteries in our collective past. Lectures are scheduled for January 26, February 23, and March 29. Speakers Earle Shettleworth, Jr., David Waters, and Joy Giguere will cover topics ranging from the general (gravestone carving in New England) to the specific (the role of the Eastern and Western Cemeteries in Portland). For event details, visit www.spiritsalive.org.
Back to the TopFebruary 28, 2008 ~~~ Belfast
The Game Loft is a youth center in Belfast that provides a refuge from electronic games and entertainment. In 2007, with Maine Humanities Council funding, the center sponsored a role-playing program called “America Awakening” that involved one volunteer from Belfast’s Senior College and five students from Camden Hills Regional High School. A new interactive history lesson for seven players, based on the same model, will begin on February 28. In the new game, “America and Freedom: A Maine Experience,“ each participant will assume the role of a child coming of age in Maine between 1836 and 1866. For more information, call (207) 338-6447 or visit www.thegameloft.org.
Back to the TopMarch 8, 2008 ~~~ Bangor
Poet Martin Steingesser has reworked the diary and letters of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman from Amsterdam who was killed at Auschwitz, into a poetic performance for two voices and cello. On Saturday, March 8, 2008, at 2:00 PM, Steingesser will join Judy Tierney and cellist Robin Jellis to present this work, entitled The Thinking Heart, at the Bangor Public Library. A Maine historian will lead a discussion following the performance. In addition, a chapbook of Steingesser’s poems, with background about their source and inspiration, will be available to those who attend. For more information, call the library at (207) 947-8336.
Back to the TopApril 6, 2008 ~~~ Farmington
Composer Nancy Gunn has set four poems by Wesley McNair about driving in rural Maine to music. The poems mention specific towns-Rumford, Thomaston, Mercer, and Presque Isle-and the music, for soprano and orchestra, attempts to evoke these places through sound images and musical moods. Gunn and McNair will appear at a pre-concert discussion before the premiere of the musical piece on April 6, 2008, at the Nordica Auditorium in Farmington.
Back to the TopApril 9, 2008 ~~~ Portland
The new edition of a 19th century Penobscot book, Joseph Nicolar’s The Life and Traditions of the Red Man (Duke University Press, 2007), sheds light on Eastern Algonquian history and culture. On April 9, 2008, Nicolar’s grandson, Charles Shay, will join the editor of the new edition, Annette Kolodny, for a presentation at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. The free event starts at 7 p.m. For more information, please call Professor Lorrayne Carroll at (207) 780-4324.
Back to the TopApril 16, 2008 ~~~ Farmington
The Wilton Free Public Library’s Hands On PAH! initiative is intended to make the library more accessible to the local and larger deaf community through collection development, technical services, and programming. In April 2008, nationally renowned deaf storyteller Peter Cook will visit Maine with his interpreter, Keith Wann. Cook will give a workshop on ASL storytelling and visual communication in the Nordica Auditorium at the University of Maine in Farmington from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16. At 7:30 p.m., in the same location, he will give a storytelling performance. For further details, call the library at (207) 645-4831.
Back to the TopMay - October, 2008 ~~~ Hinckley
“Some Homes,” a new exhibit at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, Maine, will stimulate thinking about the meaning of Home through contemporary art and historical context. 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. The exhibit runs from May through October. Accompanying events include a lecture by Earle Shettleworth on domestic architecture in Maine, a panel with artists and representatives from Waterville Main Street and the Margaret Chase Smith Library, and a film screening at Railroad Square Cinema. For details on these events, please call the museum at (207) 238-4250.
Back to the TopJune - October, 2008 ~~~ Vinalhaven
The Bodwell Granite Company Store operated on the island of Vinalhaven from 1858 until 1919. The Vinalhaven Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of receipts, correspondence, payroll tickets, and other documents from the store, as well as glass plate negatives of images of quarry operations, workers, and managers. Based on census, payroll, and union records, the historical society has built a database of quarry workers employed by Bodwell. Public access to this database will soon be available at www.vhhis.org. In addition, the historical society is planning an exhibit that examines the influence of the Bodwell Granite Company and their company store on the history and economy of Vinalhaven through the lives of ten representative workers. The exhibit will be on view during the museum’s 2008 summer season, from June through October. A public lecture will also take place during the summer at the Smith-Hokanson Memorial Hall. For more information, please call (207) 863-4410 or visit the aforementioned website.
Back to the Top
Notes from an Open Book welcomes feedback from its readers. Please contact Diane Magras by email at diane@mainehumanities.org or by phone at (207)773-5051 ext. 208 (toll-free 1-866-637-3233, ext. 208) to respond.