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   Notes From an Open Book

 

Greetings, and welcome to the December 2013 Notes from an Open Book.

 

A scholar for one of our New Books, New Readers adult literacy groups told me about a fascinating discussion he'd had with his participants. The book was The Lion's Share, in which various animals try to share a meal but the lion ends up taking all. The conversation evolved from the basic notion of getting what you work for to the roles of those in power in distributing (or withholding) things people need or deserve. One person talked about health issues. Another mentioned Second Amendment rights. An immigrant participant was fascinated to learn that presidents don't dictate laws.

 

This is the kind of conversation that draws connections and leads to unexpected places. It's typical of Maine Humanities Council programs, too, for all the audiences we serve. 

 

And it shows how powerful a tool the humanities can be. The humanities opens understanding, heightens awareness, and brings people together. It's real and present in all our communities across the state, and, indeed, in all of us.

On this special day, designated as "Giving Tuesday," in the rush of holiday shopping, please consider a special gift toward a powerful, eternal, and wonderfully non-tangible thing: the power of the humanities. Thank you.

 

In This Issue
Reflecting on Winter Weekend 2013
MHC Podcasts
Maine at Work
Borders and Borderlands
Upcoming Events
Recent Grants
Recommending Reading
From Our Programs
Quick Links
 Like us on Facebook
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Our mission:
The Maine Humanities Council,
a statewide non-profit organization, uses the humanities-literature, history, philosophy, and culture-as a tool for positive change in Maine communities. Our programs and grants encourage critical thinking and conversations across social, economic, and cultural boundaries
.

Reflecting on Winter Weekend 2013  
 
Sabrina Nickerson, a 5th grade teacher in Windham, Maine, attended Winter Weekend for the first time last year. Sabrina's account of the MHC's scholar-led big book event, available in full on our blog, takes us through her experience from the arrival of her reading material to the return to her own classroom. 
 
Winter Weekend 2013
featured an in-depth study of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Participants had the opportunity of experiencing the work with some of the nation's most highly regarded Dickens scholars. "Being in a room with the learned and enthusiastic devotees of Dickens and excellent literature was what meant most to me," Sabrina writes. Of course, the excellent Victorian dinner based on recipes from Mrs. Beaton's Book of Household Management didn't hurt!
 
After more than a decade of Winter Weekend programming, it's wonderful to see new participants spreading their passion for literature. When Sabrina returned to Windham, she immediately introduced her class to Dickens. The next day, a boy proudly showed her his brand new copy of Great Expectations. 
"I was excited to think that my enthusiasm and my participation in Winter Weekend had struck a chord with my students." And hopefully that's just the start!
 

 

Are you interested in attending Winter Weekend on March 7 and 8, 2014? The book discussed will be Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment; we still have a few seats left. If you're a teacher or student, you may apply for a scholarship to attend Saturday programming for just $35; the MHC has five for teachers and five for students available on a first come, first served basis. Please call Karen at (207) 773-5051 for more information. 

 

Podcasts


If you missed out on Winter Weekend 2013, don't worry! You can listen to full recordings of some of the scholars' lectures on our 'Humanities on Demand' podcast series. These two episodes just came out: 
 
In this podcast, Rosemarie Bodenheimer (Boston College, author of Knowing Dickens) states, "
Great Expectations is Dickens's most profound exploration of shame and its perverse effects on the psychology of its hero." Bodenheimer explores the character Pip's shame in the context of Charles Dickens's struggles with class and his own high aspirations. Dickens both criticizes and empathizes with Pip. In this thought-provoking talk, Bodenheimer discusses the "characters deceived by the stories they tell themselves about their own lives."

Dianne Sadoff (Rutgers University, author of Victorian Vogue: British Novels on Screen) sets Great Expectations in the context of Dickens's rise to fame and success with self-marketing. Sadoff states that Dickens "invented himself as an author and established himself as a cultural celebrity." Her analysis extends to the cinematic context of Dickens's work, looking at the voice, perspective, and visual imagining of the novel through the lens of modern film adaptations. 



What's the job situation in your town? How about statewide? Most importantly, what do YOU think about the prospects for work in Maine? 

 

Maine at Work is a touring theater of ideas performance that takes this hot topic and turns it into a show based on historical documents and characters, humor, little-known facts, thought-provoking tales (tall and otherwise), and perspectives from real Mainers. When the performance is finished, actor David Greenham will lead the audience in a conversation about jobs and employment in their town. There is no attempt to change opinions or to reach consensus; the goal is simply to encourage the audience to reflect on and share their thoughts about what they have heard and seen.

 

To learn more about how to bring Maine at Work to your town, click here.
Borders and Borderlands: The Acadian Experience in Maine

July 20- August 10, 2014

A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Teacher Institute

 

 
One of the best-known Acadians is Evangeline, a character made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem about the Acadian Expulsion. Here she sits in statue form, in St. Martinville, Louisiana.

How do geographic, political, ethnic, and cultural boundaries shape and define our lives? The Acadians, a French-speaking group whose homeland straddles the Northeastern US - Canada border, have faced severe physical and cultural dislocations over the centuries, and their experience plays a revealing role in the larger context of borders and boundaries. What can we learn from their story as multiculturalism becomes the norm in the U.S.? Drawing on history, literature, and language studies, Borders and Borderlands: The Acadian Experience in Maine will examine borderland theory as applied in the American Northeast and engage participating teachers in an oral history project, providing concrete skills for them to bring back to their classrooms. 

 

Click here for information on the program and instructions on how to apply for the Summer Teacher Institute.



Upcoming Events

In December, the MHC and our partners and grantees will be offering a variety of programming. This includes a Portland exhibit that explores the individuals and organizations that shaped Maine's approach to HIV/AIDS;  a Gorham author talk about Maine women during the Civil War; and a book discussion group in Lewiston seeking insight into the human ecosystem through a discussion of agrarian novels. For these and more presentations, lectures, and book discussions across the state, go to our calendar.


 
Recent Grant List 
The MHC awarded the following grants last month:
 

$2,000 for "Open Air Museum," Lincolnville Historical Society (Infrastructure)

The Lincolnville Open Air Museum depicts the outdoor life of a 19th to early 20th century rural Maine community. Funding from the Maine Humanities Council will provide interpretive signage that will give information on the museum sites.

 

$10,000 for "Preservation Installation at Stafford House," Greater Portland Landmarks (Infrastructure)

A 10-15 year installation at Greater Portland Landmarks' Safford House will tell the story of the preservation movement in Portland, featuring a timeline with key people, landmark buildings, and actions that have affected historic preservation over the last 50 years.

 

$10,000 for "Public Transportation-Shaping Communities & Lives," New England Electric Railway Historical Society, Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport (Infrastructure)

This project is a comprehensive interpretive sign program designed to appeal to the needs, interests, and expectations of diverse contemporary audiences throughout the museum campus, incorporating high-tech approaches that allow for frequent updates and accommodate many individual audience choices.

 

$3,092.37 for "Trailhead Interpretation of the History and Conservation of Bald and Ragged Mountains in Camden, Hope and Rockport," Coastal Mountains Land Trust (Infrastructure)

Coastal Mountains Land Trust is developing permanent interpretive signs to provide visitors to the Bald Mountain Preserve with information about the cultural and conservation history of the Bald and Ragged Mountains. This signage will be developed near a new parking area that the Land trust will install this fall to provide the public with expanded and safer access to the mountain.

 

$3,500 for "Anshe Sfard: Portland's Forgotten Chassidic Jews," Mt. Carmel Cemetery Association, Portland (Major)

A Sephardic-Ashkenazic Chassidic congregation is not so unusual in other parts of the country, especially large urban areas, but in Maine there has only been one-Anshe Sfard, in Portland. This project will raise awareness of the history of Anshe Sfard through research, interviews, exhibits, lectures, tours, and articles.

 

$3,000 for "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating--A Short Film," Northeast Historic Film, Bucksport (Major)

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a film adaptation of the interdisciplinary book of the same title. This true story of an interspecies relationship will be shown to a public audience, as well as tour around public venues.

 

$7,383.38 for "High School Level Passamaquoddy Language and Culture Class," Mano en Mano, Milbridge (Major)

This class will provide Passamaquoddy youth cultural support to help them better succeed in school and practice their language and culture in an educational setting. It will also give non-native students the opportunity to learn about the region's indigenous culture. 

 

$3,000 for "The Living Room Project: Pilot, The Grapes of Wrath," Opera House Arts, Stonington (Major)

This is the pilot of a new humanities series at the Stonington Opera House on Deer Isle, featuring original performances, "town hall" style dialogues, scholarly materials, and student workshops.

 

$4,500 for "Pilgrimage to the Heart" Project, Maine Jewish Museum, Portland (Major)

This project combines theater, dialogue, a book, and visual art to tell the story of a woman who moves through romantic love to a deeper, more inclusive one, during the Holocaust. Maine audiences will have the chance to explore such values as courage, compassion, self-understanding, and their contribution to community through post-performance discussion, reflection, and study.

 

$4,800 for "Wicked Good Fiddling: 200 Years of Fiddling, Fiddlers, and Fiddle Making in Maine," Portland Public Library (Major)

This exhibit will explore the long and deep history of fiddling in Maine, focusing on the contributions of Yankee and Franco-American fiddlers, as well as on the many fiddle/violin makers who have practiced their craft in the state.

 

$3,362 for "You Can Get There From Here: How Transportation defined Freeport," Freeport Historical Society (Major)

This exhibit will examine the evolution and impact of travel systems in Freeport from the 1700s to the present, specifically the Harraseeket River, Route One, and the Interstate. Oral histories will further inform the exhibit. 

 

 

 

Recommended Reading
This month we tried something new: we reached out to our social media network to see what our friends are reading! Our top responses from Facebook and Twitter won a copy of Tim O'Brien's The Things they Carried:
 
Breakfast with Buddha 
by Roland Merullo (fiction)

This isn't just another "guys on a road trip" tale. It's an endearing story of a skeptical man who ends up with a monk as an unexpected traveling companion. The driver decides to show the holy man the real world by visiting some cultural landmarks and teaching him about some of the most basic American pastimes along the way. As the story evolves, it becomes clear that the monk is the real teacher in the car, and the true journey is the driver's emotional discoveries about himself.--Kathie Sucidlo

 

  

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell Jr.  (nonfiction)
Astor, Rockefeller, Carnegie--these are all names of enterprising early Americans that grace buildings and charitable trusts and innovations to this day. However, one contemporary had wealth that surpassed them all, but whose name has been lost to history. This book begins by detailing the life of W.A. Clark from self-made copper magnate to disgraced Senator, and wraps up with the seclusion and scandal of his youngest daughter Huguette's 20-year self-imposed hospitalization and her penchant for tipping nurses with antique Cartier jewelry and $5 million dollar checks. Between these two long-lived characters, the span of their lives cover an impressive 172 years of American History, in the most luxurious way possible.
--Jamie Lynn Bice

 

Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker
Kline (
fiction)
I love interesting characters who are also believable. I also enjoy historical fiction. Orphan Train had these three elements! Without giving the plot away,  I was absolutely stunned that I had never heard of the very real historical events portrayed in this book. It is a great read!
--Beverly McAloon 

From our programs:

 

"I believe this series offered an experience of empowerment to the participants: their own experiences were written down for posterity through the lives of the characters; our participants have not been alone... Several who were unable to try to read a line aloud several years ago now make it through a paragraph, reading with pride, and smiling when the others in the group applauded these steps forward. For some participants, this has been the main social activity of the month; for most, the central educational experience of the year."

 

--A facilitator of New Books, New Readers musing about her group in western Maine.

Thank you for reading Notes from an Open Book. I hope you've enjoyed this issue.

And thanks, too, for considering a special gift this year. It does so much to keep the power of the humanities alive throughout Maine.

Happy holidays!


Warmly,


Diane Magras 
Director of Development 
Maine Humanities Council
Would you like to make a donation? Please contact Diane Magras  or call
(207)773-5051 ext. 208 (toll-free 1-866-637-3233, ext. 208) to discuss.