Last month, Maine Humanities Council sponsored a performance of Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light” as a live soundtrack to Carl Theodore Dreyer’s silent film classic “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” This podcast features a clip from the performance, which took place on Sept. 29 at Hannaford Hall in Portland, and some comments on the… Read more

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In an encore performance, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine Farmington, Jim Melcher spoke to a class on the legacy of Senator Margaret Chase Smith. This talk was originially performed at the September 30, 2011 event The Politics of Conscience: Margaret Chase Smith and Today’s Political Climate at G.W. Hinckley, Hinckley,… Read more

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As the opening event of the newly minted Mechaya Center, Director Jonathan Lee, invited Adam Hochschild to Maine to discuss new new book To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914 – 1918, where he focuses on the long-ignored moral drama of World War I critics, alongside its generals and heroes. This… Read more

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History Camp is a one week seminar for high school students who enjoy history. Each history camp theme is related to a Maine person, historical site, or event in United States history and may be offered in collaboration with a history-related organization. One of this year’s camps, titled “The Cold War, McCarthyism, and Margaret Chase… Read more

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David Carey, Jr. is an associate professor of History and Women’s Studies at the University of Southern Maine. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University; his publications include Ojer taq tzijob’äl kichin ri Kaqchikela’ Winaqi’ (A History of the Kaqchikel People) (Q’anilsa Ediciones, 2004) and Engendering Mayan History: Mayan Women as… Read more

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Allen Wells, the Roger Howell, Jr. Professor of History at Bowdoin College, scholarship has focused on modern Mexican history, especially Yucatán. His most recent book is Tropical Zion: General Trujillo, FDR and the Jews of Sosúa. Professor Wells is the first in our series of podcasts from our December, 2009 event: Cuban Exceptionalism: Reflections on… Read more

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Listen to the inaugural event that launched the new minor of Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies at the University of Maine, Augusta. This program was hosted by the Director, Abraham Peck at the Michael Klahr Center in Augusta. The panel discussion: First Mainers and New Mainers was part of a project entitled The Dignity… Read more

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Tess Chakkalakal, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and English at Bowdoin College, is the last in our series of podcasts from our October, 2009 event: Looking for Zora: The Many Lives of Zora Neale Hurston. This one day event explored the life and lasting work of Hurston, an anthropologist with a literary sensibility. Chakkalakal led… Read more

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Kate Miles, Associate Professor of Environmental Writing at Unity College, is the third in our series of podcasts from our October, 2009 event: Looking for Zora: The Many Lives of Zora Neale Hurston. This one day event explored the life and lasting work of Hurston, an anthropologist with a literary sensibility. Miles’ lecture, entitled, Seeing… Read more

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Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, the John D. and Catharine T. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies at Colby College, is the second in our series of podcasts from our October, 2009 event: Looking for Zora: The Many Lives of Zora Neale Hurston. This one day event explored the life and lasting work of Hurston, an… Read more

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Cedric Gael Bryant, Lee Family Professor of English at Colby College, is the first in our series of podcasts from our October, 2009 event: Looking for Zora: The Many Lives of Zora Neale Hurston. This one day event explored the life and lasting work of Hurston, an anthropologist with a literary sensibility. Bryant’s lecture, entitled,… Read more

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Denise Pendleton, Maine Humanities Council’s Program Director of Born To Read and poet, sat down at the Belfast Free Library with two of Maine’s best-known poets, Elizabeth Garber and Dawn Potter. In addition to reading from their memoirs, the poets spoke about why they turned to prose and how their poetry background has influenced their… Read more

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In the “flash reading” by Stonecoast MFA program faculty members, each writer gets three minutes in which to share his or her work before introducing the next writer in the queue. The flash reading from Stonecoast’s summer residency in July 2009 began with an introduction by director Annie Finch. Joan Connor started the reading with… Read more

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Brad Babson is a consultant on East Asia and global development issues. He served 26 years with the World Bank, most recently as Senior Advisor for the East Asia and Pacific Region, with assignments including Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. He has published widely on topics related to East and Southeast Asia,… Read more

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Not Norman by Kelly Bennett, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Noah Z. Jones lives in Maine, and recently read Not Norman aloud for the Born to Read program. You can find this book, or… Read more

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Love and Kisses by Sarah Wilson, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Melissa Sweet lives in Maine, and the Born to Read program recently visited her studio, where she read Love and Kisses aloud. You can… Read more

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Library Lion by Michelle Knudson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Kevin Hawkes lives in Maine, and the Born to Read program recently visited his studio, where he talked about Library Lion and read the first… Read more

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Donna Cassidy is Professor of American & New England Studies and Art History at the University of Southern Maine. Her most recent book, Marsden Hartley: Race, Region, and Nation, led to her current research on U.S. artists in Quebec and Atlantic Canada from 1890 to 1940. In this talk, co-sponsored by the Yarmouth and North… Read more

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Moderated by the publisher of Warren Machine Company, Ari Meil, this event was a discussion of why Maine provides such rich inspiration for writers, and what has brought the writers Lewis Robinson, Andrew McNabb, and Lisa Carey to their respective places in the literary world today. Lisa Carey is the author of Every Visible Thing,… Read more

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School librarian Connie Burns of South Portland is a steadfast supporter of the Maine Student Book Award program. Here, she presents the winning book from the 2006-07 school year: Rules (Scholastic, 2006) by Maine’s own Cynthia Lord. Part of the first chapter from the audiobook, performed by Jessica Almasy and published by Recorded Books, is… Read more

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To close the Lincoln Bicentennial Symposium on March 21, 2009, former Maine Governor Angus King read Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. He also shared some thoughts about Lincoln, whom he includes in his course on “Leaders and Leadership” at Bowdoin College. Governor King served two four-year terms as Maine’s independent 71st governor. He works as an… Read more

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Thomas J. Brown is Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Southern Studies. He is a Distinguished Lecturer with the Organization of American Historians. In this lecture, Brown examined the ways in which debates over regionalism, race relations and governmental power… Read more

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Elizabeth D. Leonard is the John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Professor of History at Colby College, where she has taught since 1992. Leonard is the author of three books on the Civil War era, and she is under contract to write the biography of Joseph Holt, Lincoln’s judge advocate general. In this talk, she… Read more

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Before he was the leader of a nation torn apart by a Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was a young man growing up during tumultuous times in Illinois. In the first presentation of the Lincoln Bicentennial Symposium, historian Bruce Chadwick explained Lincoln’s rise to power from his first unsuccessful race for the state legislature to his… Read more

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To open the Lincoln Bicentennial Symposium on March 21, 2009, Portland Mayor Jill Duson read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Mayor Duson is the Director of Rehabilitation Services, Maine Department of Labor. She is serving her third term on the Portland City Council. She has also served one term on the School Committee, where she was elected… Read more

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Thin Blue Lines is a project of Portland’s Arts & Equity Initiative. The project brings local poets and photographers together with Portland police officers and detectives to create poems and photographs that increase the public’s knowledge and appreciation of police work. The first product of this collaboration was a calendar that was sold as a… Read more

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Patricia Smith is a 2008 National Book Award Finalist for Blood Dazzler, also the basis of a forthcoming dance/theater performance with Urban Bush Women. Her other books of poetry are Teahouse of the Almighty, winner of the National Poetry Series, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize; Close to Death; Big Towns, Big… Read more

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Poet Marilyn Nelson is the author or translator of twelve books and three chapbooks. She has won numerous awards, including two Boston Globe—Horn Book Awards, and is a three-time National Book Award Finalist. From the American Library Association, her books have received Newbery, Coretta Scott King, and Michael L. Printz Honors. Other honors include two… Read more

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Suzanne Strempek Shea is the author of five novels: Selling the Lite of Heaven, Hoopi Shoopi Donna, Lily of the Valley, Around Again, and Becoming Finola. She has also written three memoirs, Songs From a Lead-lined Room, Shelf Life, and Sundays in America. Winner of the 2000 New England Book Award, which recognizes a literary… Read more

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This episode is the continuation of the Stonecoast MFA Faculty “flash reading” from the winter residency in January 2009, in which each writer gets three minutes in which to share his or her work before introducing the next writer in the queue. The first reader is Richard Hoffman, who writes in multiple genres and here… Read more

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One of the highlights of each 10-day residency in the Stonecoast MFA program is the “flash reading” by faculty members. Each writer gets three minutes in which to share his or her work before introducing the next writer in the queue. The flash reading from the winter residency in January 2009 began with Jaed Coffin… Read more

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Michael Steinberg is a memoirist and the founding editor of the award-winning literary journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. His latest book, Still Pitching, was chosen by ForeWord Magazine as the 2003 Small and Independent Press memoir/autobiography of the year. Other books include Peninsula: Essays and Memoirs from Michigan, The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers Of/On… Read more

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Gray Jacobik is author of three collections of poetry: The Double Task (University of Massachusetts Press), winner of the Juniper Prize, nominated for the James Laughlin Award and The Poet’s Prize; The Surface of Last Scattering (Texas Review Press), winner of the X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize; and Brave Disguises (University of Pittsburgh Press), winner… Read more

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The goal of this day-long program was to provide an introduction to the complex web of politics, culture, and religion that has made South Asia both a volatile area and an emerging power. Rachel Sturman, Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies at Bowdoin College, was the featured scholar. The recording is offered here in… Read more

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Colin Sargent is a playwright and author of three books of poetry. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he earned a Stonecoast MFA in creative writing and was awarded the Maine individual artist fellowship in literature. His screenplay “Montebello Ice” is under option at Gideon Films. Sargent is founding editor and publisher of… Read more

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Another contender for a Maine Student Book Award in 2008-09 is Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (Random House, 2007) by Ying Chang Compestine (pictured at right). This novel about life in China during the Cultural Revolution is based on the author’s own experiences. The first chapter from the audiobook, performed by Jodi Long and… Read more

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Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell, illustrated by Jonathan Bean (Henry Holt, 2007), is intended for children ages 8-12, but its whimsy and wit broaden its appeal. The novel was chosen as one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2007, and now it’s a contender for a Maine Student Book Award… Read more

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David Richards earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of New Hampshire. His research for the 2006 book Poland Spring: A Tale of the Gilded Age (University Press of New England) forms the basis of this presentation at the Yarmouth Historical Society. Richards is the assistant director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in… Read more

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The Blaine House is the Governor’s residence in Augusta, Maine. At the 175th anniversary celebration of this historic house on August 16, 2008, historian Jo Radner interviewed some of its former residents and staff. Phyllis H. Siebert was the Blaine House chef from 1972 until her retirement in 2001. Cass Longley-Leahy is one of James… Read more

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Maine is home to many children’s authors and illustrators. Fans are usually only fortunate enough to see one at a time, but in July 2008, three of the best-known—Cynthia Voigt, Ruth Freeman Swain, and Rebekah Raye—appeared together at the Blue Hill Library. In this recording, they are introduced by Brook Ewing Minner, the library’s Assistant… Read more

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School librarian Connie Burns of South Portland is a steadfast supporter of the Maine Student Book Award program. She presents one of the books on the list of contenders from the 2006-07 school year: Moon Runner (Candlewick, 2005) by Carolyn Marsden (pictured at right). After Connie introduces the main character, Mina, then previews the story… Read more

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The 2008 Douglas M. Schair Memorial Lecture on Genocide and Human Rights was a dialogue for Muslim-Jewish understanding, presented in cooperation with the Islamic Society of Portland and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. The featured speakers were Judea Pearl and Akbar Ahmed. Pearl, a computer scientist from Israel, and Ahmed, a social scientist… Read more

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Emerson ‘Tad’ Baker of York, Maine, is a former chair of the Maine Humanities Council. An author and Professor of History at Salem State College, he directs several archaelogical excavations in New England and also served, from 2002 until its premier in 2004, as a lead consulant for the Emmy-nominated PBS TV series, “Colonial House.”… Read more

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Patrick Rael is Associate Professor of History at Bowdoin College. His areas of interest include antebellum America, Civil War and Reconstruction, and comparative slavery. Among other publications, he has edited a volume of scholarship on African-American Activism Before the Civil War (Routledge, 2008). In this talk, Rael places the Vietnam conflict in a continuum of… Read more

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Connie Burns is a school librarian in South Portland with a hidden passion: the lives of Victorian women. In pursuit of her passion, Burns researched Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat (1823-1908) for her Master’s thesis in the American and New England Studies program at the University of Southern Maine. Sweat is best remembered for her bequest… Read more

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“Weaving History and Literature: the African American Oral and Written Tradition” brought five writers together to read from their work and discuss how African American history is revealed through storytelling and literature. The speakers were JerriAnne Boggis, founder and director of the Harriet Wilson Project; Kate Clifford Larson, biographer of Harriet Tubman; novelists Michael C…. Read more

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A Coastal Companion: A Year in the Gulf of Maine, from Canada to Cape Cod (Tilbury House, 2008) is part field guide, part almanac; a celebration of the natural world that also highlights people who have chosen the Gulf of Maine as the setting for their life’s work. Poems by contemporary Maine poets open each… Read more

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Nalo Hopkinson is one of the world’s best known fantasy and science fiction writers. She is the author of four novels (most recently The New Moon’s Arms, Warner, 2007) and numerous short stories, and editor or co-editor of several anthologies, including So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004). Hopkinson… Read more

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Alison Hawthorne Deming is the author of three books of poetry, three nonfiction books, and two limited-edition chapbooks. Her place-based writing has earned her fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown , the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the Tucson/Pima Arts Council; as well as many… Read more

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When the Born to Read program selected books for its anti-bias initiative, Many Eyes, Many Voices, there was a distressing gap in the field of contenders: a suitable children’s book about Maine Native Americans. The few titles available were either too stereotypical or too distant—tales populated by warriors with headresses, or set amidst Plains buffalo… Read more

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Here is another story by Martin Waddell about Little Bear and Big Bear. It is read aloud by Rachel Davis, children’s librarian at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth. Then Rachel shares two fingerplays. Text copyright 2005 by Martin Waddell. Illustrations copyright 2005 by Anita Jeram. Reproduced by permission of Candlewick Press, Inc., Somerville,… Read more

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Amy Hest’s third book about the bear named Sam is read aloud by Rachel Davis, children’s librarian at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth. Rachel then teaches two fingerplays that you can do after you read the book. Text copyright 2003 by Amy Hest. Illustrations copyright 2003 by Anita Jeram. Reproduced by permission of… Read more

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Here’s a funny book by British author Simon James, read aloud by Rachel Davis, children’s librarian at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth. After she reads the book, Rachel teaches a fingerplay called “The Baby Grows” and a poem called “Bend and Stretch.” Text and illustrations copyright 2004 by Simon James. Reproduced by permission… Read more

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This is the first book that author Amy Hest wrote about the bear named Sam, a character inspired by her own son, Sam. Here, the book is read aloud by Rachel Davis, children’s librarian at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth. Rachel then teaches two fingerplays about kisses. Text and illustrations copyright 2004 by… Read more

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