Events - Feb 11 25

Get your DXA Body Composition, VO2 max and resting metabolic rate for $150 each at Aegle Radiant Health in Topsham. We are offering an introductory offer membership of $150 a month which includes all testing for a limited time. Text 207-656-5725 to schedule.

Why buy your love one bouquet on Valentine’s Day, when you can purchase a season’s worth of Brunswick-grown blooms instead?

Explore the history and legacy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his ties to the Brunswick Community

200th Anniversary of Bowdoin’s Class of 1825

Longfellow Days joins Bowdoin College in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the notable Graduating Class of 1825, a group of accomplished writers including: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jonathan Cilley, and other statesmen, lawyers, and  professionals who collectively brought the College a considerable amount of fame. 

Portrait of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1862, Painted by George Peter Alexander Healy, (1813-1894), Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Event Calendar: 

• Sunday, February 2 at 1:00 PM ~ SUNDAY READINGS @ Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library
  Part One: 1825 Poets & Writers – Gary Lawless, Kara Douglas and Linda Aldridge reading 19th-century poets, as
  well as sharing their own work.
• Thursday, February 6 at 4:30 PM ~ TALK BY NICHOLAS BASBANES @ Kresge Hall at Bowdoin College
  The Longfellow biographer (Cross of Snow) speaks on “Meeting of the Minds: Longfellow, Hawthorne, and the
  Productive Influence of their Artistic Wives.” 
• Sunday, February 9 at 1:00 PM ~ SUNDAY READINGS @ Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library
  Part Two: 1925 Poets – As well as sharing their own poetry, Gibson Fay LeBlanc reads Robert Frost, Dawn Potter
  reads Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Mike Bove reads Langston Hughes.
• Tuesday, February 11 at 11 AM ~ EKPHRASTIC POETRY WORKSHOP @ Zucker Seminar Room, Bowdoin College Museum of Art.  In David Sloan’s Poet As Painter workshop, participants will explore poetry inspired by art, then view the museum’s exhibit, and generate their own ekphrastic poetry.  
• Wednesday, February 12 at 2 PM ~ COMMUNITY POETRY/OPEN MIC @ Merrymeeting Room, Thornton Oaks, 25 Thornton Way (off Baribeau).  Helene McGlauflin and David Sloan read their own poetry and host this one-hour informal verse-sharing session.  Bring a poem to share. Refreshments.
• Thursday, February 13 at 2:30 PM ~ COMMUNITY POETRY/OPEN MIC @ Maine Lodge, The Highlands, 30 Governors Way, Topsham.  Helene McGlauflin and David Sloan read their own poetry and host this one-hour informal verse-sharing session.  Bring a poem to share. Refreshments.
• Saturday, February 15 at 11 AM & 1 PM ~ TOURS OF THE CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE @ 226 Maine Street, Brunswick.  Gemma Cannon, author of Voices of the Night, will lead two 70-minute tours of the house, focusing on Henry’s early writing and his first wife, Mary. Each tour is limited to 15 people and Registration is Required. Please Email: outreach@pejepscot.org Subject: “LD Tour” Please give preferred time, registrant name(s), and a phone number.
• Sunday, February 16 at 1:00 PM ~ SUNDAY READINGS @ Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library
  Part Three: 2025 Tribute to Poets – Today we remember three Longfellow Days poets who departed in 2024: Sally
  Cowperthwaite reads poetry by her father Steve Cowperthwaite. Georgia Nigro reads work by her husband Rob
  Farnsworth. Maryli Tiemann reads poetry by Ruth Bookey and introduces Nicole Chvatal, reading her own work.
• Wednesday, February 19 at 1 PM ~ WINTER WISDOM WITH JAMES McKENNA @ Morrell Room, Curtis Memorial Library.  Maine poet James McKenna will share his personal introductions to Longfellow and Edna Saint Vincent Millay, “My Two Grandmothers’ Differing Poetic Tastes.” Co-sponsored with MidCoast Senior College.
• Friday, February 21 at 7:30 PM ~ POETRY WITH TAYLOR MALI @ Studzinski Hall at Bowdoin College  Taylor Mali, Bowdoin Class of 1987 and nationally recognized spoken word poet, performs an evening of poetry with three present Bowdoin student poets: King Weatherspoon, Chayma Charifi and Kaitlin Weiss.
• Saturday, February 22 at 7:30 PM ~ CLASS OF 1825 TRIBUTE: EVENING OF MUSIC & POETRY @ Studzinski Hall at Bowdoin College.  Longfellow’s poetry set to music and voice, featuring compositions by Paul Sullivan, Stuart Gillespie, Ann MacDonald Diers, Jud Caswell, and Scott Woodruff. Performed by the combined Bowdoin Chamber Choir and chorus members from Brunswick High, and area community choirs. Directed by Stuart Gillespie and Will Bristol.
• Sunday, February 23 at 10:00 AM ~ INTERFAITH SERVICE: The Inclusive Power of Poetry @ Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street.  Service led by Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos, Minister with Maryli Tiemann.  Music by the UUCB Choir under the direction of Will Bristol.
• Sunday, February 23 at 1:00 PM ~ SUNDAY READINGS @ Fireplace Room, Curtis Memorial Library.  Part Four: Future Poets & Writers – Poet John Reinhart emcees readings by three poets who were part of the Portland Poetry Slam Team: Elle MacGilvray, Yashu Derisala, and Alex Wu.
• Tuesday, February 25 at 2 PM~ Interpreting Three Poems @ Pejepscot History Center, 159 Park Row.  Join Karin Dillman to discuss three 19th- and 20th- century poems by Dickinson, Whitman, and William Carlos Williams. Refreshments. Registration is Required. Email: outreach@pejepscot.org with Subject: “Interpreting Three Poems.” Please include name(s) of registrants and a phone number. Co-Sponsored with Pejepscot History Center.
• Wednesday, February 26 at 12 PM ~ Gallery Tours: Bowdoin College Museum of Art & Library @ Lobby, Bowdoin College Museum of Art.  A Longfellow Days tour of Bowdoin’s two special exhibitions: Poetic Truths: Hawthorne, Longfellow, and American Visual Culture, 1840-1880 at the art museum and then The Student Days of the Class of 1825 at the library.
• Friday, February 28 at 5:30 PM ~ OPEN MIC & LONGFELLOW’S 218th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION! @ Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street.  Open Mic with host Ren Bernier, a cappella music by Bowdoin’s “Longfellows,” and CAKE.  Come share your poem or another’s that you appreciate. 

Ongoing Poetry Events & Exhibitions at Bowdoin:

•  “Poetry Across Maine” — a statewide poetry mapping project created by John Reinhart – add your poetry to
  place: www.poetryacrossmaine.com.
• “Poetic Truths: Hawthorne, Longfellow, and American Visual Culture, 1840-1880,” on view February 6 through July 20, 2025 at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
• “Before They Were Famous: The Student Days of the Class of 1825,” on view January 27 through June 6, 2025 at
  the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, Bowdoin College

For more information on all scheduled events, please visit https://www.uubrunswick.org/longfellow-days-2025/

Longfellow Days is an annual month-long cultural and community program, with support from Bowdoin College, Brunswick Downtown Association, Curtis Memorial Library, Nathaniel Davis Fund, Pejepscot History Center, The Senter Fund, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick. Thanks to our sponsors, ALL events are Free and Open to the Public.

Order your hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries now!

The holidays are the perfect time to to hop on the Metro BREEZ bus.

For only $4 each way ($2 reduced fare), travel from Brunswick to Freeport for special events and shopping or check out a show and the lights of Portland. Travelling? Metro BREEZ has direct service between Brunswick and the Portland Transportation Center (PTC) for a  trips on the Amtrack Downeaster or Concord Coach.

Family and friends visiting? Tell them to board the BREEZ in Portland and meet them in Brunswick. Metro stops are located along Pleasant St, Maine St., Park and Ride, train station, and Bowdoin.

For schedules and more info, visit: gpmetro.org

Join us for a fantastic fundraiser supporting Oasis Free Clinics while enjoying some delicious gelato! Just let them know you’re there for Oasis, and a portion of the proceeds will go towards funding Oasis’ essential free medical, dental, vision, and mental health services. Don’t miss out on a sweet way to make a difference!

EKPHRASTIC POETRY WORKSHOP by David Sloan 

Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Zucker Seminar Room

Poet As Painter
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

The “cross-pollination” between the visual and literary arts has long been a celebrated dynamic.  Ekphrastic poetry is writing inspired by visual art.  It’s one way of responding to a painting, sculpture, or other art form.  In this workshop, we will spend the first segment looking at examples of ekphrastic works and the creative options that such pairings can kindle.  Then participants will have the opportunity of touring the extensive collection housed in Bowdoin’s Museum of Art, including “Poetic Truths: Hawthorne, Longfellow and American Visual Culture 1840-1880,” and selecting one painting, sculpture, artifact or photo to begin crafting a poem.  After reconvening, participants will be invited to share any fragments of writing they will have generated.

The workshop is free and open to all levels, from high school students to established writers.
To register for this workshop, email longfellowdays@gmail.com.

David Sloan is the author of three poetry collections—The Irresistible In-Between (Deerbrook Editions 2013), A Rising and Other Poems (Deerbrook, 2020) and Earth School (Deerbrook, 2024).  He is a two-time recipient of Maine Literary Awards, as well as the Betsy Sholl Award, the inaugural Maine Poets Society Prize and the New Millennium Award for Poetry. After teaching for nearly 50 years, most recently at Maine Coast Waldorf High School in Freeport, he is now semi-retired, content to focus on the joys of more regular writing, grandparenting, gardening, cycling and pickle ball!

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