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• Humanities Fest a Fest Indeed

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• Upcoming Events

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• News from the MHC

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• Recent Grants

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• What We’re Reading

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• Quote of the Month

“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

October 21 was a windy and bright day, a perfect autumn setting for the 30th anniversary party of the MHC. The party was a day-long collection of presentations and talks by a few of the many scholars and presenters who have done excellent work over the years with our programs. This was a free event, capped with an enormous birthday cake, and drew a crowd of over 350. Half of the event was at the Franco-American Center and the other half at Bates College, both in Lewiston. Bates hosted talks on such topics as Whitman, Mayan culture, and Acadian music, while the Franco-American Heritage Center was the site of a splendid Somali lunch and lively presentations for children by the great storytellers Ashley Bryan and Allan Sockabasin.

We received a great many glowing verbal comments, as well as some email messages the following week. Among these dollops of praise was a message from one of our board members, who drove close to seven hours to attend the event. She’s summed up both the MHC’s intent but also the result quite beautifully:

What really inspired me about the day was:

• scholars had the opportunity to share their knowledge with people who normally don’t have the chance to hear their theories. It’s good for them, I would guess, to get outside of their normal teaching routine and to reach a broader audience.
• scholarly thought and the discipline and dedication required to do that work successfully were valued. What really stood out to me was that so much of our reference to dedication, commitment, rigor, etc. is usually toward acting, performance or sports. It was really inspiring to me to see the incredible passion of these scholars and to see, right in front of me, the fruits of their efforts.
• I thought I would be exhausted by spending a day listening and sitting, but instead, I was invigorated and raring to go.
• the feedback I received from participants included their enthusiasm about having the opportunity to hear these scholars for free and their desire to experience another Humanities Fest.

The Humanities Fest page is still available on our website if you’d like to see in detail what we were up to.

Thank you to Sheila Jans for her kind words, and an enormous thank-you, too, to the MHC staff who worked so hard to put on this event, especially Associate Director Victoria Bonebakker. Special thanks, too, to TD Banknorth for the lead funding that helped make this event possible. Bates College and the Consulate General of Canada in Boston also provided support.

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Events are listed in two places on the MHC website: as part of the map of MHC activities and a Calendar of Events, which you may sort by county and date. We’re very pleased to have this new feature on our site and encourage you to use it.

We are still working out some of the details of these pages, so, for now, grant-funded events are available only through this link.

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“Taxing Maine,” the MHC’s recent Theater of Ideas production featuring the talented David Greenham and Dennis Price of the Theater at Monmouth, finished its run on October 28 in Auburn. “Taxing Maine” went on a statewide tour from the spring to the autumn to share information about the history of taxes in Maine and to open discussion on this topic. Widely regarded as funny, educational, and thought-provoking, this production has received additional recognition through the Maine Revenue Services, which is borrowing the production for a presentation at its annual conference next month. Approximately 600 tax preparers from all across the state will have the chance to hear David and Dennis’s quips, quotes, and explanations, and then to discuss their own feelings on the subject of taxes-the biggest audience in one place that we’ve had yet!

All of us at the MHC offer David and Dennis a special thanks for the splendid work they have done.

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The November book list from Born to Read will help you share contemporary American Indian culture-including the Wabanaki tribes of northern New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces, the Abenaki, Penobscots, Passamaquoddy, Maliseets, and Micmacs-with the children in your lives.

In September 2005, the National Association for the Education of Young Children published an article on their website entitled “Contemporary American Indian Cultures in Children’s Picture Books.” It offers a superb introduction to the challenges and rewards associated with sharing books about American Indian cultures with children. Here is a brief excerpt:

“Too many of the available children’s books on American Indians present inaccurate depictions. Many books published in the 1950s and 1960s are disturbing in their portrayals of American Indians, yet some of these books are still on the shelves and readily available to children today. More recently published books on American Indian life may also contain errors because some authors neglect the latest research and information. Thus myths and stereotypes persist. While there are many excellent books on Native myths and traditions, in children’s fiction there seems to be an over-reliance on historical perspectives focusing on American Indian characters and cultures. It is less common to see contemporary stories."

The rest of the article is available at www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200511/Roberts1105BTJ.

The MHC site also provides a booklist index. Back to the Top

$1,000 to Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, for The Silk Road Returns to Maine
A film forum to familiarize the Maine public with the culture and society of Kazakhstan through its new national cinema.

$490 to Noble High School, North Berwick, for Beyond Graduation: High School Students Investigate the Pathways of Recent Alumni
Students will research the paths of recent Noble High School graduates, including studying the way in which their high school prepares students for post-high school success and interviews with recent grads. They will then write about their findings with the help of Maine authors and journalists.

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After many years of spiritual blankness, a condition almost intolerable to Sister John of the Cross, a new phase of existence begins with religious visions that utterly change her life. Sister John creates poetry from her visions to share with a welcoming world, and her own limited world within a Carmelite monastery in Los Angeles becomes rich and vivid. Like some of the saints of another age, though, Sister John’s visions come at an expense: they prompt in her headaches that are so painful that she passes out.

In Lying Awake, Mark Salzman places this conflict within an even greater one when Sister John learns that her visions are caused by epileptic seizures. Surgery can cure the seizures, but it will also eliminate the visions forever. This is a text used in Let’s Talk About It’s new series on giving, called Making a Difference.

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“I wanted to let you know that my husband and I saw Taxing Maine this weekend and absolutely loved it. It was funny and informative and insightful. I wish I could package it and send it all throughout the country. Thank you for sponsoring it. It was just wonderful.”

—an audience member from Winthrop

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