home of the harriet p. henry center for the book THE NEWSLETTER OF THE MAINE HUMANITIES COUNCIL | SUMMER 2015 1 Witnessing a Ripple Effect A letter from our executive director 2 Words and the Divide A Veteran’s experience facilitating Veterans Book Group 4 Think & Drink Disruption at SPACE Gallery 6 Murder and Mystery in Maine An insider’s look at creating a series 8 Hugh Manatee Touring Maine libraries 10 Selected Grants 14 Communicating Climate Change Fall Humanities Forum left to right: “Conical Basket with Sweet- grass Lid” by Clare Gabriel, “Point Basket with Ash and Braided Sweetgrass” by Gal Frey, “Katahdin Cat’s Head Basket” by Fred Tomah, and “Fancy Basket” by Clara Keezer — on display at the recent Maine Indian Basketry Exhibition at Maine Fiberarts in Topsham (see grant on page 15). photo: kate webber 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. BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAFF Chair Joyce B. Hedlund Hayden Anderson, PhD Patricia B. Bixel Newburgh Executive Director Bangor [email protected] Reza Jalali Vice-chair Falmouth Trudy Hickey Daniel P. Gunn Office and Grants Manager Laura Lindenfeld New Sharon [email protected] Orono Treasurer Leah Kuehn Erica Quin-Easter David Richards Program Assistant Caribou Skowhegan [email protected] Liam Riordan Diane Magras Bangor Victoria Bornheimer Director of Development Cumberland Rick Speer [email protected] Lewiston Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Gina Mitchell A LETTER Mount Desert Maryanne C. Ward Program Officer Pittston [email protected] Paul Doiron Karen Myrick Camden Peter B. Webster Administrative Assistant FROM THE South Portland Stephen Hayes [email protected] Falmouth Nicole Rancourt Program Officer EXECUTIVE [email protected] Anne Schlitt Assistant Director DIRECTOR [email protected] Liz Sinclair Director of Programs [email protected] CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Julia Walkling Program Officer The Maine Humanities Council [email protected] seeks to expand its list of potential Ian Watkins nominees to fill future openings on its Development and Communications Assistant Board of Directors. The Council looks [email protected] for a wide geographic representation and range of civic and/or academic experience. To notify the Council of your interest, please send a letter and a résumé to: Governance Committee Chair Maine Humanities Council 674 Brighton Avenue Portland, ME 04102-1012 The Maine Humanities Council is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Editor: Diane Magras Design: Lori Harley Witnessing a Ripple Effect We’ve seen some exciting developments The story just gets more special from This year’s program is on Communicating at the MHC during the last couple there. In July, we received yet another Climate Change, offered in partner- of months, with some terrific new call from the Library of Congress. They ship with the Gulf of Maine Research partnerships and programming ready wanted to fly Gabe down to Washing- Institute, the Portland Museum to launch, and some tried-and-true ton, DC, in September to meet Walter of Art, and the Margaret Chase Smith programs reaching notable achievements. Isaacson, who would be presenting Policy Center. I’ll give you just one example. at the National Book Festival. Gabe I hope to see you at the Forum or Letters About Literature is a nationwide would read his letter to Mr. Isaacson at another Council program this competition for students K-12, offered and Mr. Isaacson would respond fall — where you can experience your by the Library of Congress. Students to the letter in person — all in front own MHC ripple effect. are asked to read a book, poem, or of the National Book Festival audience. speech and write a letter to the author (By the time you receive this issue, (living or dead) describing how what all of that will have happened. Check they read has affected their life. out our website for photos, and also As the State of Maine’s affiliate for the letter that got it all started.) of the Library of Congress Center The MHC is in the business of for the Book, the MHC coordinates helping people connect with the power Hayden Anderson the annual competition for students of ideas. Gabe’s experience with Letters Executive Director throughout Maine with the generous About Literature is a prime example financial support of the David Royte about how ideas can change lives. Fund. Winning letters at the state level We see this all over the state: in our are sent to the Library of Congress reading and discussion programs for to be entered into national competition. Veterans (read more about that in this The winner of the Middle School newsletter); or for domestic violence Division in Maine this year was prevention agencies (who tell us that Gabriel Ferris, a student from Water- our facilitated discussions help them ville Junior High. Gabriel wrote his connect with other professionals and letter to Walter Isaacson, author of the also with their clients); or for libraries, recent biography Steve Jobs. “Is excess who tell us how their communities a requirement for extreme success?” are being strengthened by new conver- Gabe asked in his letter. “Your story sations, new perspectives, and new leaves me wondering if this is the audiences. case — and struggling with the balance The MHC envisions the communities between still wanting to do something of Maine transformed by the power great while still being someone great.” and pleasure of ideas. We advance Fast-forward a couple months. We that vision by creating opportunities get a call from the Library of Congress for Mainers to come together to read, saying that their judges, too, had been think, talk, and share. We want you impressed by Gabe’s letter. Gabe was to be part of it. Check out our website named the national winner for the Middle for programs in your area, and flip over School Division; only the second time to the back of this newsletter to read that a Maine student has won the about the upcoming Dorothy Schwartz national prize. Forum on Art, Science, and the Humanities. 674 Brighton Avenue Portland, Maine 04102-1012 T 207-773-5051 F 207-773-2416 [email protected] mainehumanities.org 1 WORDS AND THE DIVIDE: A VETERAN’S EXPERIENCE FACILITATING VETERANS BOOK GROUP JEFF SYCHTERZ In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham that mere words cannot last long operations. So we had a wide range Lincoln questions whether words have in human memory; he insists that of ages and experiences represented the power to give meaning to the they won’t be remembered at all. at the table. Meanwhile, those assem- world. He argues that the company Yet over 150 years later, members bled also held different attitudes toward assembled at a Gettysburg cemetery of a Veterans Book Group sat around a the written word, from members who cannot consecrate the ground because table on a mild April evening in Bangor, were, as one put it, “not big readers,” “the brave men, living and dead, who Maine, and discussed Lincoln’s most to others who read all five sessions- struggled here, have consecrated it, famous speech. It might seem strange worth of readings in the first week — far above our poor power to add or that a book group sponsored by the and wanted more. detract.” He then goes on to suggest Maine Humanities Council would It was a productive group to wrestle select a reading that so memorably with Lincoln’s concerns about what questions the power of words, but the words can do for us and how they shape theme of the book group was “The our memories of military and wartime Stories We Tell,” and Lincoln’s speech service. The members were friendly and was one of a dozen readings that talkative, and they didn’t shy away from explored how we remember, represent, difficult or controversial issues. In fact, memorialize and talk about service what I appreciated most about the in the armed forces. group was their openness and curiosity The Veterans in the room were about other points of view. If one a diverse group; they represented three member expressed a very different branches of the military and a mix opinion about an issue, other members of peacetime and wartime service, from didn’t defend themselves or argue their a self-described REMF (Rear Echelon points; instead they wanted to hear more. Mother F—er) to combat Veterans This curiosity led to some important of Iraq and Vietnam, and even revelations. For example, as we discussed a Veteran of pre-Vietnam the Gettysburg Address and the issue Cold War covert of memorialization, one member asked 2 MHC the group, “Do you like to march in removed from our service, the more to understand, and Veterans off the Memorial Day parades?” As we polled we began to identify as Veterans. hook from needing to explain.” those around the table, we discovered Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg As Klay puts it, this divide between a divide: some members insisted on ultimately argues that the spoken word words and action has dire political and marching as a point of pride, while is too ephemeral to “hallow” a place. This social consequences. But it can have others expressed varying degrees of sense of the sacred was raised by many personal consequences, too. I attended discomfort with participating in such of the texts we discussed over the ten the book group as an academic facilita- events. As we each shared our motiva- weeks. Even in our moment of discovery tor, but I am a Veteran as well.