Vermont Humanities Council * February 4, 2013
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Join us for Thursday Thoughts, a weekly Thursday poetry exploration on Facebook and Twitter.
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In This Issue
Poems
First Wednesdays
Civil War Book of Days
Humanities Commentaries
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A Poem for the Day
Thursday Thoughts via Facebook and Twitter

Throughout 2013, the Vermont Humanities Council and the Vermont Arts Council are teaming up to bring you a poem a week with Thursday Thoughts. Look for a weekly poem on Thursday afternoons on Facebook and Twitter. All of the poems will be taken from Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry in honor of VHC's Vermont Reads 2013 book. Here is another poem we shared.

Numbers by Mary Cornish "Numbers" by Mary Cornish

I like the generosity of numbers.
The way, for example,
they are willing to count
anything or anyone:
two pickles, one door to the room,
eight dancers dressed as swans.

 

I like the domesticity of addition--
add two cups of milk and stir--
the sense of plenty: six plums
on the ground, three more
falling from the tree.

 
Read the rest of the poem here.

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First Wednesdays 2012-2013
First Wednesdays Talks February 6

All talks are at 7:00 pm with the exception of the Montpelier talk, which takes place at the Vermont State House at 7:30 pm as part of Farmers Night
. See you at First Wednesdays!


BRATTLEBORO -- Concrete, Culture, and Community: The Impact of the Interstate Highway on Vermont with UVM professor Frank Bryan. Host and location: Brooks Memorial Library. Learn more.

ESSEX JUNCTION -- Words, Creativity, and Spirituality with Dartmouth professor Nancy Jay Crumbine. Host and location: Brownell Library. Learn more.

MANCHESTER -- An Evening of George Gershwin with pianist Michael Arnowitt. Host: Mark Skinner Library. Location: First Congregational Church. Learn more.

MIDDLEBURY -- Who Were Our Worst Presidents? with UVM History Professor Emeritus Mark A. Stoler. Host and location: Ilsley Public Library. Learn more.

MONTPELIER -- Calvin Coolidge: More Than Two Words with actor Jim Cooke. 7:30 pm. Host: Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Location: Vermont State
Calving Coolidge, Vermont Tour
Calvin Coolidge on his historic tour of Vermont after the 1927 flood. See Calvin Coolidge "live" at the Vermont State House at 7:30 on February 6.
House. This event is part of the annual Farmers Night series at the Vermont State House. Learn more.

NEWPORT -- Newport: The Evolution of a Lakeside Community with editor and publisher Scott Wheeler. Host and location: Goodrich Memorial Library.

NORWICH -- Horses Like Lightning: A Story of Passage through the Himalayas with Dartmouth anthropologist Sienna Craig. Hosts: Norwich Public Library and Norwich Historical Society. Location: Norwich Congregational Church. Learn more. 

RUTLAND -- McKibben on Climate Change with author and environmentalist Bill McKibben. Host and location: Rutland Free Library. Learn more. 

ST. JOHNSBURY -- America's Foreign Policy Agenda with diplomat and Vermont State Senator Peter Galbraith. Host and location: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Learn more. 
 
Learn what talks will be taking place in a community near you.

Memphremagog House
Memphremagog House, 1870-1885. Learn about the history of this lakeside town at a talk in Newport at 7:00 on February 6.

Civil War Book of Days -- Marking Events that Happened Each Week During the Civil War
CivilWarEnewsMasthead Sign up for the Civil War Book of Days

VHC's weekly Civil War Book of Days marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. It commemorates what happened each week 150 years ago.

Read some of the latest editions of this e-newsletter.

Humanities Commentaries on VPR

Peter A. 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.

 Frost's Final Days (1-28-13) Robert Frost died fifty years ago tomorrow at the age of eighty-eight. Peter Gilbert tells us about the last days of a man that scholars generally now recognize as one of America's greatest poets.

Blizzard (1-10-13) With the return of wintry weather, parents once again have to plan ahead for days when their children may be released from school early due to impending weather, out of concern for their safety. It's a necessity that's reminded Peter Gilbert of how a tremendously powerful winter storm once swept across the northern plains -- with the most dire of consequences.

Emancipation (1-1-2013) New Year's Day one hundred and fifty years ago was unlike any other in American history. With the stroke of a pen, four million humans stopped being under the law pieces of property owned by other people. The slaves in the Confederacy won their freedom. Peter Gilbert has the story.

Emotions versus Reason and Reality (12-26-2012) VPR has been a sampler of the essays recorded live at the Commentator Brunch earlier this year. For Peter Gilbert, the theme -- "When Worlds Collide" -- was all about the Civil War.

The Halifax Disaster (12-5-12) This time of year, the sight of truckloads of Christmas trees on the highway headed south, remind Peter Gilbert of the story of Boston's Christmas tree. It goes back exactly ninety-five years to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the first World War. Here's Peter with that powerful story.
 
Thank You for Your Donation

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