Events - Feb 10 23

We’re back again with full programming after a two-year absence. Join us as we embark on a month-long celebration of Longfellow, poetry, and community. All events are free!

LONGFELLOW DAYS 2023
TRAVEL ABROAD & WITHIN

Longfellow Days is Brunswick’s month-long celebration of the great American poet, who lived here while he was a student and, later, as a faculty member at Bowdoin College. Throughout February – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s birth month – entertaining cultural events all over town will explore themes that are suggested by the poet’s life and work. This year’s event is titled “Travel: Abroad and Within.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was inspired by traveling, whether internationally or close to home. His adventures shaped his writing, even when his subject had nothing to do with journeys or locales. Truly, travel can happen over great distances or within our thoughts.

Please Note – Date Change for Longfellow Trivia Challenge – Friday, February 17, 1 PM has been changed to February 24, 1 PM

 

Thursday, February 2, 2-3 PM
Exhibition Excursion

A docent-led tour of two BCMA exhibits illuminating aspects of HWL’s time in Italy. Antiquity & America: The Ancient Mediterranean in the United States features sculpture and paintings that influenced artists like Longfellow. In Light of Rome: Early Photography in the Capital of the Art World, 1842-1871 reveals the eternal city’s impact on the development of early photography. Co-sponsored by the Pejepscot History Center.

Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Sunday, February 5, 1 PM
The Coursen Readings, Part One

      

Many superb writers have graced Brunswick and its vicinity through the years. We feature twelve of them in a four-part Sunday series named for the late poet and Longfellow Days’ friend, Herbert Coursen.  We begin with Maine poets Jen Walker Grace, Claire Hersom, and Marcia Simmons. Refreshments.

Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library

Tuesday, February 7, 6:30-8:30 PM
Parsing a Poem: Devilish Dante 

    

A literary and social event hosted by Gary Lawless, who guides us in exploring the First Canto of Dante’s Inferno, translated by Longfellow, as well as “Mezzo Cammin,” Longfellow’s sonnet written while grieving the sudden death of his first wife. Refreshments and cash bar.

OneSixtyFive, The Inn on Park Row 

Friday, February 10, 1 PM
Poetry Reading with Wesley McNair

  

Wes, the Poet Laureate of Maine from 2011-2016, will read from his recently published volume Late Wonders: New and Selected Poems.

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street

Saturday, February 11, 10:30 AM
Morning at the Movies

Be transported back to Victorian America by I Heard the Bells, the 2022 feature film about Longfellow and the inspiring story behind the beloved Christmas carol. Introduced by Tricia Welsch, Bowdoin College Professor of Cinema Studies.

Eveningstar Cinema, 149 Maine Street

Watch the movie trailer here

Sunday, February 12, 10 AM
A Lyrical Service

Poetry is the focus of this ecumenical service, led by Rev. Kharma Amos and with music from Jud Caswell. Visit the Bible that Longfellow signed and donated to his church in 1878.

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street

Sunday, February 12, 1 PM
The Coursen Reading, Part Two 

    

Maine poets Cate Marvin, Jefferson Navicky, and Jonathan Pessant are featured. Refreshments.

Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library

Wednesday, February 15, 12 PM
Poetry & Travel: Longfellow in Europe

As a Professor of Modern Languages, Longfellow toured Europe, expanding his worldview and his art. Gary Lawless, another continental traveler, speaks about HWL, poetry, and the value of travel in strengthening the creative arts. This event is part of the Midcoast Senior College’s Winter Wisdom program.

Morrell Room, Curtis Memorial Library

 

DATE CHANGE: Friday, February 24, 1 PM
Longfellow Trivia Challenge

We bet you know more than you think you do and, either way, you are sure to have fun. Trivia master Andrew Hamilton emcees, and there’ll be prizes!

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street

 

Saturday, February 18, 12:30 & 2 PM
Tours of the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum

Longfellow Days and the Pejepscot History Center co-host visits to one of Longfellow’s residences in Brunswick – later home of Maine Governor and Civil War General Joshua Chamberlain.

226 Maine Street

 

 

 

Sunday, February 19, 1 PM
The Cousen Readings, Part Three

    

Maine poets Dennis Camire, Jim Donnelly, and Anna Wrobel are featured today. Refreshments.

Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library

Wednesday, February 22, 2 PM
Community Poetry Reading at the Highlands

Local bard David Sloan will read from his work and host this informal poetry-sharing gathering for the community.  Bring yours or favorites by others. Refreshments.

Georgetown Parlor, Maine Lodge, The Highlands, 30 Governors Way, Topsham

 

 

 

 

Thursday, February 23, 12:30 PM
Community Poetry Reading at Thornton Oaks

Poet David Sloan shares his own writing and hosts this informal verse-sharing session for the community. Bring yours or favorites by others. Refreshments.

Merrymeeting Room, Thornton Oaks, 25 Thornton Way (off Baribeau Drive)

 

 

 

 

Sunday, February 26, 1 PM
The Coursen Readings, Part Four

    

Maine poets Kara Douglas, Valerie Lawson, and John Reinhart are on deck for our final Coursen Reading. Refreshments.

Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library

 

Monday, February 27, 6:30 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HENRY!

He’s a mere 216 today – and always deserving of a fuss. Ren Bernier hosts our popular poetry open mic, and we invite you to add your voice! Come share your poem or another’s that you love, and enjoy some delicious cake, courtesy of Union Street Bakery.

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street

 

 

 

 

 

Longfellow Days is an annual program of the Brunswick Downtown Association, with support from Bowdoin College, Nathaniel Davis Fund, Eveningstar Cinema, OneSixtyFive: The Inn on Park Row, Union Street Bakery, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick. 

Check out this site and our Longfellow Days Facebook page for updates.

And Joyful New Year Wishes to All!

 

https://www.uubrunswick.org/longfellow-days-2023/

 

 

Mother Voices: Transformative Intergenerational Journey, A Conversation with Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Rachel Harding, and Toshi Reagon

Learn more and register for the event here.

This program is free and open to all.

PLEASE NOTE: Visitors to Bowdoin College should either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear a mask when inside campus buildings.

Three groundbreaking creatives—Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Rachel Harding, and Toshi Reagon—will fuse their wisdom, spirit, and minds as they discuss the beauty and power of intergenerational learning and teaching. Learn more and register for the event here.

Alexis Pauline Gumbs is an award-winning poet/author who is cherished by a wide range of communities as an oracle and a vessel of love. One of the great joys of Gumbs’s life is collaborating on Long Water Song with Toshi Reagon, a series of healing transformative marine mammal meditations.

Rachel Elizabeth Harding is a poet, historian, and scholar of religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora and chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Colorado–Denver. She writes about religion, creativity, and social justice in the experience of communities of African descent in the US and Brazil. Dr. Harding is an ebômi (ritual elder) in the Terreiro do Cobre Candomblé community in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Toshi Reagon is the 2022-2023 Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow at Bowdoin College, where she brings her Parable Path work to Brunswick and the wider Maine community. She has been named Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Creative Futures Artist-in-Residence with the Carolina Performing Arts organization. Other recent projects include her involvement in the Met Civic Practice Partnership, and Parable Path artist residencies.

This event is a part of Parable Path Maine, a framework Toshi Reagan is bringing to Bowdoin during the course of her fellowship that is based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Through a decades-long career, and most recently through national and international Parable Path collaborations, Reagon has brought people together to name precarities, expand networks, and craft solutions to create a framework for community organizing through artistic engagement. 

For the Parable Path Maine initiative, the McKeen Center for the Common Good at Bowdoin College is working alongside Portland-based Indigo Arts Alliance, which supports Maine-based Black and brown artists and activists, and the Maine Humanities Council, whose focus on Afrofuturism for the next two years brings the work of Butler to libraries, correctional facilities, and community organizations across the state. The fellowship culminates with a performance of Toshi and Bernice Reagon’s congregational opera adaptation of Parable of the Sower. This one-night-only event will be presented by Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations in association with the College, and will be performed at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine, on April 14, 2023. Click here to purchase tickets and learn more.

OTHER PARABLE PATH EVENTS

Information about other upcoming events is available on the Parable Path Maine website.

ABOUT THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College has been educating leaders on the coast of Maine since the dawn of the American republic. Founded in 1794, Bowdoin is a highly selective college of approximately 1,850 students of distinction from across America and around the world. Bowdoin offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in more than 40 majors, including interdisciplinary programs. A Bowdoin liberal arts education and residential life experience instill principled leadership, lifelong learning, and service to the common good. Visit Bowdoin College online at Bowdoin.edu and follow the college on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA) is a Black-led organization dedicated to the professional development and amplification of Black and Brown artistic vision and practice. Founded in 2018 and formally launched in 2019, IAA is an incubator space with a mission to build global connections by bringing together Black and Brown artists from diverse backgrounds to engage in creative processes through an Artists in Residency program. Visit indigoartsalliance.me to learn more and support their work.

The Maine Humanities Council (MHC), a statewide non-profit organization, uses books, poetry, and big ideas to bring people together to discuss issues of importance and create positive change in Maine communities. Their programs and grants encourage critical thinking and conversations across social, economic, and cultural boundaries. The MHC is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and is the home of Maine’s Center for the Book through the Library of Congress. Visit their website at mainehumanities.org or follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to learn more about MHC’s programming and how to support their work.

 

The Theater Project is proud to present Do You Feel Anger by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, directed by Christopher Price, running February 9th – 19th on the Theater Project stage!  Do You Feel Anger is an absurdist comedy about the danger of a world where some people’s emotions matter more than others. It follows Sofia, an empathy coach, hired to work at a debt collection agency, and she has her work cut out for her.  This show will feature talk backs after the Sunday matinees with HR professionals from Range Culture Co!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 PM, and Sunday matinee’s begin at 2:00 PM. The show runs about an hour and a half, and is for mature audiences only.  All TICKETS are pay-what-you-want and can be purchased on our website, www.theaterproject.com, 0r by calling our box office at 729-8584. You don’t want to miss this powerful show! CW: overt sexual harassment and unhealthy workplace.