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It is not our general custom to give such advance
notice of events, but a Portland children's literature conference
scheduled for Saturday, May 7, 2005, has already been keeping members
of our office busy. We wanted to describe this exciting event now
so that you can mark your calendars.
The MHC early literacy initiative Born to Read organizes
as many annual children's literature conferences as funding will
allow. These presentations and discussions give children's literature
its due as serious work with provocative themes that just happens
to be splendidly illustrated and written for a younger audience.
Born to Read gathers childcare pro heritage">viders, reading volunteers,
librarians, and teachers to take part in discussion of children's
literature and how best to share it with the children in their care.
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Author/illustrators Rosemary Wells and Ashley Bryan will be making
special appearances at the conference, and their books My Very
First Mother Goose and What a Wonderful World are regulars
in key Born to Read programs. Having two author/illustrators
of this caliber is very exciting for the Council. Both are nationally
known and their works well loved (Rosemary Wells for such picture
books as Noisy Nora, My Kindergarten, the McDuff Series,
the Max and Ruby series, and the Bunnycake series; and Ashley Bryan
for his African folktale Lightening and Thunder,
collections of spirituals such as All Night, All Day: A Child's
First Book of African-American Spirituals, and Beat the Story
Drum, Pum-Pum, which received the Coretta Scott King Award for
Illustration).
Ashley Bryan will open Born to Read's spring celebration
of children's literature with a performance at Portland High School,
free and open to the public, on Friday, May 6, 2005. Rosemary Wells
will deliver the keynote address for the following day's conference,
also at PHS.
If you are interested in attending the conference, please contact
Brita Zitin, Born to Read Program Assistant, for more information.
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The MHC is sponsoring "Do you Speak American?"
on Maine Public Broadcasting. This documentary on the state of American
English will show on Maine Public Television Wednesday, January
5, 2005, from 8:00 to 11:00 PM.
Maine Public Broadcasting writes of this show:
Why is the English spoken by Maine lobstermen so different from
that spoken by cowboys in Texas? Does Spanish pose a threat to
English as the dominant language in America? And what on earth
do yins, wickety wack, ayuh, catty whompus, and stomping it clean
mean? Celebrated journalist and writer Robert travels cross-country
to answer these questions and examine the dynamic state of American
English.
Watch the first hour for a talk with Maine lobstermen.
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Visit the link below for details of programs that the MHC funds
in whole or in part by providing grants. We hope you have the opportunity
to experience one of these projects and see the difference that
the MHC grant program makes.
MHC Grant-Funded Event Calendar
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News from the MHC Family
The MHC family has been quiet this month.
Recent Grants
The Interpretation and Performance of Hamlet with Long Creek
Youth Center, $500 The Winter Harbor Theatre Co., Portland
Anne Frank in the World, $500 Franco-American Heritage Center,
Lewiston
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Charles Calhoun, historian, scholar, and staff
member at the Council, has been everywhere: twice on CSPAN's Book
Channel; at a panel celebrating Hawthorne's bicentennial in Lexington,
MA; and at the National Press Club book festival in Washington,
D.C., where he was interviewed about his recent biography Longfellow:
A Rediscovered Life. You may recall reading about this text
in an earlier issue of this newsletter. We are pleased to announce
that Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life has entered its second
printing. This book has received a great deal of positive press
(look in the January Down East Magazine for the most recent review).
Our celebrated Mr. Calhoun will appear next
publicly at the Boston Athenaeum on February 8, then shortly afterward
on February 26 at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery Chapel to celebrate Longfellow's
198th birthday. Charles-our congratulations to you on your marvelous
book's continued success.
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"This was a very enjoyable evening for me.
Learning of the history of SALT and how its evolution has taken
place was quite stimulating and comforting! Stimulating in that
the history and process is an inspiration about my home state and
also the gathering of 'stories and pictures' in any family or situation
is important. And comforting in that it is reassuring to know that
many stories have been gathered so they are not lost for future
generations."
— An audience member's response to the MHC grant-funded project
Contemporary and Historic Maine, a three-part lecture series
held at the Wilhelm Reich Museum in Rangeley, Maine. One lecture
presented the work of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies,
which draws students from across the country to collect information
about Maine people and events.
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Notes from an Open Book
