Maine Humanities Council
Home of the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 “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. The Girl of the Carmine Hood: New Ways of
    Using Children’s Books

One daycare worker woke on the morning of November 2 thinking of how much she was looking forward to the evening’s activities. She went through her day of work, then at 6:00 PM showed up at the Belfast Free Library in Belfast for “Caregivers in a Changing World,” a children’s literature seminar held by the Maine Humanities Council’s Born to Read early literacy initiative. It was a day not wasted, she told one of Born to Read’s program officers. The camaraderie and insight she received made the long day well worthwhile.

November 2 marked a very special day in the proceedings. It was the fourth of the six-session seminar series and had as its presenter Melissa Sweet, the illustrator of over 40 children’s books (who also appeared the following night at the Bangor Public Library as part of the seminar). Sweet’s most recent book is Carmine (just named to The New York Times top ten list), which she both wrote and illustrated. She described to the group of 25 child care providers, volunteer readers, and preschool teachers how she had created the work. Writing and illustration were much combined in her creative process. She found that after she had written part of the book, the illustration needed tweaking, and vice versa when working on the illustration. The first draft of this story took the form of lists, and it ended up being an alphabet book with the theme of Little Red Riding Hood. Though vocabulary development seems a major part of this intriguing story, Sweet admitted it had been an afterthought. Child care providers noted that one of the advantages of Carmine is that it can be used as either an alphabet book or a story book.

Children’s Literature Seminars do exactly that: show child care providers new ways of looking at children’s books and how to use them in a child care environment. For more information about these seminars or about Born to Read in general, click here.

The Belfast Children’s Literature Seminar was funded by the Lillian M. Berliawsky Charitable Trust and the Waldo County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. Our great thanks for their generosity.

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2. Cultural Exchange With a Rural Japanese State

Between November 5 and 12, a familiar face from the Maine Humanities Council was present in Japan, working to help connect two rural states. Aomori, which is the most northern prefecture on the Japan’s Honshu island, has maintained a sister-status with Maine since 1994. Lisa Adams, who manages the Letters About Literature program at the Council, represented the MHC on the Maine-Aomori Sister-State Advisory Council, also serving as Chair of the Committee on Intercultural Exchanges.

Before she left, Lisa told me how interesting she expected this opportunity to be. While not new to Japan herself (she and her family lived in Tokyo between 1998 and 2002), she accompanied Maine’s First Lady, Karen Baldacci, among 11 others. Mrs. Baldacci, well known within Maine for her effort to improve literacy, has been present on several cultural exchanges until now but none with atmospheres quite so different as Japan. Lisa has worked with Mrs. Baldacci before (when the First Lady served as a Letters About Literature Judge) and was looking forward to exploring a culture in a very rural part of Japan.

Lisa coordinated this trip as an effort to share cultural ideas between the two states, and part of the effort includes producing a children’s book with Maine artist Scott Nash and Japanese illustrator Toshiki Sawada collaborating. When she returns to the office, she will no doubt have photos and stories to share.

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3. News from the MHC Family
Deedee as she appeared in the Maryann Hartman Awards program
Deedee as she appeared in the Maryann Hartman Awards program

I must admit that we risk becoming blasé here at the Council in terms of the honors distributed to our director. The very first issue of this newsletter announced two honorary doctorates that Dorothy Schwartz, Executive Director, had received in Maine. Just last week, she was one of three awardees of the Maryann Hartman Awards, which “honor the spirit, achievement, and zest for life” of distinguished Maine women. This award is presented by the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Maine at Orono.

And we shall soon learn to be blasé about the achievements of another member of our leadership staff. Erik Jorgensen, Assistant Director, has been appointed to a three-year term as chair of the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation’s Community Advisory board. For those of you not fortunate enough to work with him or serve with him on his other boards, Erik is a thoughtful, genial, truly wise person, a humanitarian in the greatest sense of the word. Our congratulations to him for an appointment well deserved.

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4. Upcoming Events

On Thursday, November 17, the MHC series of day-long programs for teachers will present an evening offering at Bowdoin College with Bowdoin professor and literary scholar Peter Coviello. “Thoreau’s Walden” will explore this book in its historical context as an inspiring tool for the classroom. Dr. Coviello is a celebrated speaker in MHC teacher programs, and while this program is designed for teachers, we are opening a few seats for the public. The program will take place at Massachusetts Hall at Bowdoin College in Brunswick from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. It includes dinner. The cost, which includes the meal and the text, is $50. If you are interesting in attending, please contact the MHC at (207)773-5051, ext. 208.

For more upcoming events funded by the Maine Humanities Council, please click here.

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5. Grant News

The MHC recently awarded the following grants to nonprofit organizations around the state. The major grant deadline has passed, but the discretionary grant deadline is rolling.

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6. This Month’s Publications

On September 1, 2005, Falcon Press released More than Petticoats: Remarkable Maine Women. This book, by beloved MHC New Books, New Readers facilitator Kate Kennedy, is one in a series of singular women from history in different states.

Falcon writes:

More than Petticoats: Remarkable Maine Women tells the stories of thirteen strong and determined women who broke through social, cultural, or political barriers. Through their passions for art, exploration, literature, politics, music, and nature, these women made contributions to society that still resonate today.

Meet Marguerite “Tante Blanche” Thibodeau Cyr, “The Mother of Madawaska,” whose bravery and kindness during one brutal winter saved her frontier settlement; botanist-artist Kate Furbish, who explored Maine’s wilderness, collecting, classifying, and painting all of its flowering plants; and Florence Nicolar Shay, a Native-American basketmaker who demanded and succeeded in gaining rights for her tribe, the Penobscots.

Our congratulations to Kate!

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7. Quote of the Month

“It is hard to believe that the Barn exhibit has finished its “tour of duty” in Maine. And what a successful tour it was! I wanted to say that this exhibit will go down in history as a very important one for the Saco Museum — one that opened new doors and new audiences.”

Andrea Strassner, Director of the Saco Museum, where the MHC-sponsored Smithsonian exhibit Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon opened in Maine.

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