Maine Historical Society presents
Voyages Into New England Fall Lectures & Programs 2001 READING THE MAINE FRONTIER Talks about Life in Maine in the 17th Century Join us as at Maine Historical Society to take a look at some of the earliest of Maine's great books. October 9th Tuesday, 12 noon Samuel de Champlain and Christopher Levett: Explorers and Promoters of Maine Emerson W. Baker, Archaeologist and Professor of History at Salem State College, discusses the writings of two early Maine explorers. Both Champlain's Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain, and A Voyage Into New England by Levett, provide a glimpse of life in Maine at the beginning of French and English colonization in the New World and reveal how Maine was promoted to the Old World. October 16th Tuesday, 12 noon Smelly Fish, Frigid Weather, and Rotten Pay- The Fisherman's Life on Richmond Island Ed Churchill, Chief Curator, Maine State Museum, discusses daily life at the English trading and fishing station on Richmond Island off Cape Elizabeth in the 1630s. Churchill will explore long-held stereotypes and the patterns of work and leisure of these fishermen as documented in The Trelawney Papers, a volume of seventeenth-century letters and documents pertaining to this settlement compiled and edited by James Phinney Baxter. October 24th Wednesday, 12 noon Gentility on the Frontiers of Acadia Alaric Faulkner, Professor of Anthropology at University of Maine Orono and co-author of The French At Pentagoet, 1635-1674: An Archaeological Portrait of the Acadian Frontier, will discuss his research and extensive archaeological excavations at the site of the seventeenth-century French occupied Fort Pentagoet on the Bagaduce River. October 30th t Tuesday, 12 noon A Man Astride Two Worlds: The Odd Adventures of John Gyles Neill De Paoli, Historian and Archaeologist at Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site, relates the story of John Gyles, mediator between English colonists and the Wabenaki in 17th-century Maine. Gyles was captured at the age of ten by the French and Indians during an attack on the Pemaquid settlement and later wrote, Memoirs of Odd Adventures & Strange Deliverances &c in the Captivity of John Gyles, the vivid narrative of his captivity. GREAT NEW BOOKS Talks & Booksignings at Maine Historical Society November 1st Thursday 7:00 pm Imagining New England: Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid-Twentieth Century By Joseph A. Conforti Joseph A. Conforti, Professor of American and New England Studies at USM, discusses and reads from his recent work on New England's regional identity. Conforti looks at New England both as a territory on the ground and a place in the imagination. November 8th Thursday 12 noon Snow Squall : The Last American Clipper Ship By Nicholas Dean with expedition accounts by David C. Switzer Author and Maritime Historian Nicholas Dean, relates the fascinating story of the SNOW SQUALL a clipper ship built in South Portland in 1851 whose remains were discovered in the Falkland Islands and retrieved in the 1980s in an archaeological rescue expedition undertaken with Maritime Archaeologist David C. Switzer. Co-sponsored with Portland Public Library November 13th Tuesday 12 noon at First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street, Portland Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay By Nancy Milford Nancy Milford, author of Zelda the best selling biography of Zelda Fitzgerald, discusses her acclaimed new biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet from Rockland, Maine. Millay's Renascence and Other Poems is on the Mirror of Maine list of one hundred great Maine books. November 20th Tuesday 12 noon Landscape with Figures: Nature and Culture in New England By Kent C. Ryden Kent C. Ryden, Associate Professor of American and New England Studies at USM, discusses and reads from his work on the links between nature, history and people in shaping of New England culture. EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS Through October 31st Monday-Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5 The Mirror of Maine: Four Centuries of Great Books This is the final month of this exhibition based on the Mirror of Maine list of Maine's great books. The exhibition which reflects four centuries of the history, life and culture of Maine features the Richmond Island treasure, Benedict Arnold's letterbook, the diaries of mid-wife Martha Ballard, General Joshua Chamberlain's revolver, and many more Maine treasures. December 1st-February 23rd Monday-Saturday 10-5, & Sundays 12-5 in December Comfort & Joy: Quilts, Toys and Winter Pleasures Quilts, mittens, mufflers,~ dolls, toys, sleds, and many other artifacts paint a picture of life long ago during the many cold winters of Maine's past. October 27th Saturdays 11-12:30 The Long Lost Longfellow Trail Discover the Portland once Longfellow knew on this exciting walking tour through downtown Portland. Tour begins at Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street. Tour fee $4. Per person, children & MHS members $2. December 7th Friday evening Maine Historical Society's Members Holiday Party See our website for further information about the Maine Historical Society: www.mainehistory.org |