2003 Grants: Responding to the Community Selected Maine Humanities Council Grants made between March and July 2003

Old Fort Western, Augusta 250th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series,$3,000 12 nationally recognized historians will present a series of discussions on the world of 1754 as part of the 250th anniversary of Fort Western. Food and Medicine, Bangor Labor Heritage Mural Project, $1,500* A community project to create three murals depicting the history and current status of labor in greater Bangor, designed by local artists. Bethel Historical Society, Bethel Transportation in Maine: 2003 Lecture Series, $400 A lecture series focusing on Maine’s changing forms of transportation from the 19th to the 21st century. Brewer Public Library, Brewer Read-A-Thon 2003, $500 A library program to promote reading among young adults. Brunswick-Trinidad Sister City Association, Brunswick Cuban Fiction, $970 A public reading and discussion group focusing on Cuban fiction to deepen the sister-city relationship between Brunswick and Trinidad, Cuba. Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, Brunswick MWPA 2003 Fall Retreat, $500 A public program on Deer Isle of readings and interpretations by faculty at the annual retreat. Northeast Historic Film, Bucksport Northeast Silent Film Festival, $2,500 A festival aimed at developing public understanding of the history of early motion picture stars and their impact on cultural history. The American Legion, Damariscotta On the Bridge — A Community Speaks, $1,500* An exhibition at Skidompha Library of photographs by Olive Pierce. Documentary Educational Resources, Casco Mother Ann, $3,000 Pre-production support for a one-hour documentary on the life and work of Mother Ann Lee, who founded the Shaker faith in America in 1774. Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle Visiting Artist, David Tronzo, $500* A residency featuring workshops and public lectures on the history of jazz. Central High School, East Corinth America in Song and Story, $1,000 A 2-day student workshop in Corinth focusing on history, narrative and song, including a student/artist assembly and public concert. University of Maine at Farmington The United States and Europe: A Troubled Partnership, $2,000 A 3-day conference to examine issues in the troubled partnership between Europe and the United States. Lewiston/Auburn College, Lewiston The Figure Revealed, $1,000 Interpretation of the history of life drawing from a model, part of a juried exhibit. Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, Lovell Lovell Community Art Program, $1,430* A children’s summer program, incorporating history, literature, culture, and the arts in a “deep map” and a “community quilt.” Maine Acadian Heritage Council, Madawaska St. John Valley Cultural Heritage Route & Audio Recording, $1,500* Research, development, and pre-production phase of a cultural heritage audio tour of the Saint John Valley. Monson Historical Society, Monson Renovation of Monson Bandstand Program, $500 A public program in conjunction with the restoration of the town’s bandstand, including a documentary about Swedish immigrants who first settled the area. The Arts Center at Kingdom Falls, Montville Artists’ Lecture Series — 2003, $1,500* A free public discussion with both well-known and emerging artists in different media, about their creative process.   *Arts and Humanities Grants awarded jointly with the Maine Arts Commission

Olive Pierce’s photograph of Allen Oliver (left) and Kenneth Stewart (right) on the Damariscotta Bridge, from the exhibit On the Bridge:A Community Speaks, sponsored by the American Legion Post #42 and Bridges for Peace and funded in part by the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Arts Commission.The photographic exhibit at Skidompha Library explored the complex relationships between peace protesters and "support the troops" demonstrators who, in the spring of 2003, occupied the same bridge in Damariscotta.   Figures of Speech Theatre, Portland World Puppet Festival — 2003, $1,500* A public symposium on puppet arts to accompany a festival of American and foreign puppet theaters, in Portland and several other Maine locations. Interfaith Maine, Portland Holy War, Holy Peace: Can Religion Bring Peace to the Middle East? $500 Public lecture by Rabbi Marc Gopin, of the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University. Museum of African Tribal Art, Portland Discover Africa, $1,450* A traveling exhibit of African art, artifacts, photographs, videos, and textiles available to libraries throughout Maine. Osher Map Library - University of Southern Maine, Portland Maine Map Day, $1,000 Educational activities related to the 20th International Conference on the History of Cartography. PROP, Portland "Mosaic of Hope" Mural Project, $500 Parkside residents will learn neighborhood history while creating a mural for the new Parkside Neighborhood Center. University of Southern Maine, Portland Making Home: A Photographic Documentary of Somali Immigration to Maine, $500 Documentation of a group of Somali families as they make their home in Maine, with an eye toward their impact on the state’s culture and economy. Town of Jay Terre pis Ciel: Festival France de Jay/Livermore Falls, $1,000 Support for a community festival focused on local Franco- American history and culture. Raymond Village Library, Raymond Hawthorne and Rome, $300 Lecture at the Hawthorne House by Dr. Helen Riesenberg about the writer’s experiences in Rome and their influence on his work. Maranacook Community High School, Readfield Conversation & Poetry Reading with Nikki Giovanni, $280 Interactive video-conference between Maranacook Community High School creative writing students and poet and civil rights leader Nikki Giovanni Island Institute, Rockland Island Boat Building: Past and Future, $500 Development of a public exhibit featuring historic photos of island boatbuilders and their vessels and information about current boatbuilding activities on the island. Small School PTA, South Portland Visiting Author/Illustrator during the Small School Spring Enrichment Program, $500 A two-week enrichment program entitled "Celebrating Cultures Through Their Stories" for a visiting author/illustrator.   Rex Edwards makes a point at a New Books, New Readers program at the William Fogg Library in Eliot. Offered locally through Marshwood Adult Education, New Books, New Readers is a program of the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book at the Maine Humanities Council and is funded by the Nellie Mae Foundation. Photo by Carolyn Sloan

Letters About Literature

Young Maine readers are invited to write a letter to their favorite author, in the 2004 Letters About Literature Contest. Sponsored by the Council’s Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book, the contest offers state winners a chance to compete at the national level for an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for themselves, their parents, and their teacher. The three Maine winners will also receive cash prizes plus a $50 Target gift card.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and the Weekly Reader Corporation, sponsors this national reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12.To enter, students write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their view of the world or themselves. Young readers can select authors from any genre—fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic.

Deadline for entries is December 6, 2003. To obtain the required entry coupon, visit the Center for the Book Web site at www.loc.gov/letters, the Maine Humanities Council’s website at www.mainehumanities.org/letters/index.html or call the Council toll-free at 1-866-MEreader.