Happy New Year, First Wednesdays, Mark Twain on the Civil War

January 2, 2012

Happy New Year from the Vermont Humanities Council

In This Issue

A Winter Poem

First Wednesdays

Mark Twain

Humanities Commentaries

Support VHC

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A Winter Poem for You

Winter Trees

By William Carlos Williams

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

Read more

First Wednesdays Lectures January 4 * 7:00 pm

Brattleboro * Essex Junction (moved from Burlington) * Manchester * Middlebury * Montpelier * Newport * Norwich * Rutland * St. Johnsbury

BRATTLEBORO -- An Evening with Ken Burns. Location: Latchis Theater. Host: Brooks Memorial Library. Learn more...

ESSEX JUNCTION -- Once There Were Greek Tragedies, Then . . . with UVM Classics Professor Emeritus Philip Ambrose. Host and location: Brownell Library.Learn more..

MANCHESTER -- Daily Life in Prewar Nazi Germany with Keene State Professor Paul Vincent. Host: Mark Skinner Library. Location: First Congregational Church. Learn more...

MIDDLEBURY -- One Year after the Arab Spring with journalist and UVM lecturer Gordon Robison. Location and host: Ilsley Public Library. Learn more...

MONTPELIER -- The Kashmir Dispute: Historical Origins and Current Prospects with UVM Professor Abigail McGowan. Location and host: Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Learn more...

NEWPORT -- From the Northeast Kingdom to Baton Rouge: Vermonters, the Civil War, and the Road to Emancipation with national park superintendent and writer Rolf Diamant. Location and host: Goodrich Memorial Library. Learn more...

NORWICH -- The History of the Vermont Landscape with Vermont historian and Hands on the Land author Jan Albers. Location: Norwich Congregational Church. Hosts: Norwich Public Library and Norwich Historical Society. Learn more...

RUTLAND -- What Makes a Classic Film? with film expert Rick Winston. Location and host: Rutland Free Library. Learn more...

ST. JOHNSBURY -- Ask Us Who We Are with Filmmaker Bess O'Brien. Location and host: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Learn more...

Civil War Book of Days, December 30

Mark Twain's Compelling Reminiscence of His War Experiences

December 30, 1861. At this, the 150th anniversary of the close of the year that saw the start of a war that people thought would be short, we turn to Mark Twain's reminiscence of his apocryphal war experience. It deals with the early months of the war in the South, when some military units and action were informal and ad hoc. The narrative embodies a sobering and solemn power and poignancy as Twain reflects on the very nature of war and soldiering.

The piece was published thirty years after the war ended, in the December 1885 edition of Century Magazine as part of its "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" series.

Read more . . .

CivilWarEnewsMasthead

Sign up for the Civil War Book of Days, VHC's weekly e-newsletter marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. It commemorates what happened each week 150 years ago.

Humanities Commentaries on VPR

Peter Gilbert

Each month, VHC's Executive Director Peter Gilbert presents commentaries on Vermont Public Radio that examine current and past events from a humanities perspective. Most recently, Peter spoke about:

Read or listen to Peter's commentaries online.

Thank You for Your Gift!

The Vermont Humanities Council depends on donations from individuals and businesses to offer public programming and programming for underserved communities.

VHC accepts donations online or by mail or call Linda Wrazen, Development Officer at 802.262.2626 x 309.

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The Vermont Humanities Council presents more than 1,200 events every year. Thank you for your interest in lifelong learning!

Sincerely,

Sylvia Plumb, Director of Communications
Vermont Humanities Council