In May, Richard D’Abate will retire after 16 years as Executive Director of Maine Historical Society. We are pleased to recognize his many contributions to MHS and Maine’s cultural life through a special program series that will run from March through May.
The series will explore a topic near to Richard’s heart–the connections between literature, art, and history–and one that has helped shape MHS’s approach to Maine history during his tenure. It will bring a first-class group of historians, writers, artists, and thinkers to MHS, and honor the friendships and collaborations that have characterized Richard’s career. The series is supported by Maine Humanities Council and the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust.
We hope you can join us. Programs and dates are listed below, or visit our program page for more information. For more on this month’s activities, read the February e-Connection.
Tuesday, March 6, 12pm: Longfellow’s Shadow: A reading of poems by Wesley McNair and Betsy Sholl
Thursday, March 15, 7pm: Hold On: The Privilege of Keeping Old Things Safe with author Nicholson Baker
Tuesday, April 3, 12pm: Perspectives on Maine History: Maine at Work, 1860-1900 with Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Maine State Historian; and William Bunting, Historian, Author, and Master Storyteller
Thursday, April 5, 7pm: The Nature of Lost Things with Rosamond Purcell, Photographer
Thursday, April 19, 7pm: The Civil War of 1812 with Dr. Alan Taylor, Professor of History, University of California, Davis
Thursday, May 10, 7pm: Saving Second Nature: The Environmental Movement in New England with Dr. Richard W. Judd, Professor of History, University of Maine, Orono
Thursday, May 24, 7pm: The Mysterious Penobscot Belle: Early Photography & a Forgotten Wabanaki Encampment in Portland in the mid-1800s with Harald E.L. Prins and Bunny McBride, Kansas State University
And if you’d like to contribute to the new Richard D’Abate Endowment Fund for Scholarship and Special Programs, please do!
Maine Historical Society Blog 