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Vermont Humanities E-newsletter
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Today is National Punctuation Day
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In honor of National Punctuation Day, we celebrate the semi-colon.  "Sometimes you get a glimpse of a semicolon coming, a few lines farther on, and it is like climbing a steep path through woods and seeing a wooden bench just at a bend in the road ahead, a place where you can expect to sit for a moment, catching your breath." - Lewis Thomas, "Notes on Punctuation," The Medusa and the Snail 1979 |
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Vermont Humanities Fall Conference, November 9-10
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Sacred Spaces, Sacred Places:
Religious Architecture and Sites
 Vermont Humanities Council Fall Conference
November 9-10, 2012
Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa, Stowe, Vermont
Sacred buildings and sites offer us ways to enter into and better understand the cultures that sanctify them -- from Gothic cathedrals to Muslim shrines, from Buddhist and Hindu temples to New England meetinghouses and American churches. Compelling in their own right, these buildings are also visible signifiers of spiritual beliefs and practices. How do they manifest the values of the cultures that sanctify them? What do they have in common? Join us at the Vermont Humanities Council's 39th annual fall conference to examine these places and the beliefs and values they embody. Learn more about the 2012 fall conference, Sacred Spaces, Sacred Places. We hope to see you there!
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First Wednesdays 2012-2013
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First Wednesdays Lectures Begin October 3
 Brattleboro * Essex Junction * Manchester * Middlebury * Montpelier * Newport * Norwich * Rutland *
St. Johnsbury The 2012-2013 season of First Wednesdays begins October 3. This eclectic lecture series offers talks in nine towns on the first Wednesday of the month, October through May. Topics are varied, timely, timeless, thought-provoking, and fun. The free lectures draw nationally and regionally renowned authors, artists, scholars, and public figures who speak on diverse topics before audiences sometimes numbering several hundred people.
BRATTLEBORO -- The Lost History of 1914: Reconsidering the Year the Great War Began with Jack Beatty, News Analyst for NPR's On Point. Host and location: Brooks Memorial Library.
ESSEX JUNCTION -- 100 Years since Triangle: The Fire That Seared a Nation's Conscience with Dartmouth Professor Annelise Orleck. Host and location: Brownell Library. Learn more.
MANCHESTER -- Willa Cather's Prairie Landscapes with Amherst College Professor Michele Barale. Host: Mark Skinner Library. Location: First Congregational Church. Learn more.
MIDDLEBURY -- An Evening of George Gershwin with Pianist Michael Arnowitt. Host: Ilsley Public Library. Location: Town Hall Theater. Learn more.
MONTPELIER -- Does Anyone in America Believe in the Rule of Law? with Michael Lind, Author and New America Foundation Co-founder. Host and location:Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Learn more.
NEWPORT -- Courting Disaster: From Vietnam to Twenty-First Century Terrorism with Retired NBC Correspondent Robert Hager. Host and location: Goodrich Memorial Library.
Learn more.NORWICH -- Privacy, Fatalism, and Foolishness with Author Garret Keizer. Hosts: Norwich Public Library and Norwich Historical Society. Location: Norwich Congregational Church. Learn more.
RUTLAND -- Ethan Allen and Lake Champlain with Historian and Author Willard Sterne Randal. Host and location: Rutland Free Library. Learn more.
ST. JOHNSBURY -- In Want of a Wife: Romance and Realism in Pride and Prejudice with Dartmouth Professor Emeritus James Heffernan. Host and location: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Learn more.
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Civil War Book of Days -- Marking Events that Happened That Week During the Civil War
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Humanities Commentaries on VPR
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Peter Gilbert's Humanities Commentaries
 Each month, VHC 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:
- Paramount Object: Peter Gilbert tells us about a famous exchange of letters between the highly influential abolitionist Horace Greeley and President Lincoln, which occurred one hundred and fifty years ago.
- Fannie Lou Hamer: The Democratic and Republican National Conventions caused Peter Gilbert to think of the 1964 Democratic National Convention -- and an inspired civil rights activist.
- Olympic Arts: Peter Gilbert tells us about a time not so long ago when athletic prowess was not the only thing to receive medals at Olympic games.
Read or listen to Peter's commentaries online.
Peter Gilbert Publishes Book
I Was Thinking . . . Travels in the World of Ideas
 "In what appears to be a paradox, Americans may have become more opinionated and yet less confident in their capacity to think for themselves. Could that be in part because Americans are reading less? And engaging less with the world of ideas?"So asks Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director Peter Gilbert in the introduction to this collection of over sixty lively essays adapted from his frequent commentaries on Vermont Public Radio. I Was Thinking is a perfect book for anyone who enjoys ideas and loves learning. $15.95 + shipping and handling Order online from Wind Ridge Publishing or call 802.985.3091
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Making a Donation to the Vermont Humanities Council
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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 |
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