Cost:������������������������������ Free and open to the public, however��
Location:���������������� Online via Zoom
�ٲ��ٱ�:������ �� �� �� �� �� �� June 4, 2021 Noon to 6:30 p.m.

The �鶹APP and the University of Southern Maine are partnering to host “One sun rose on us today”: Stories from Maine’s Long 20th Century, a virtual half-day conference on June 4, 2021.�� This conference consists of three panels — Wabanakiscapes, 20th Maine Jewish Culture, and 20th Century Queer Maine — concluding with a keynote by Monica Wood, award-winning author of When We Were the Kennedys.

The conference will explore some of the many peoples that have claimed Maine as their home, bringing together scholars from across the state to discuss aspects of Maine’s long 20th century, which has received relatively little sustained critical attention to date. The panel discussions will seek to illuminate and articulate not only how we want to understand Maine’s past and present, but also how we want to configure our future.

This event is part of���鶹APP Maine’s Mid-Century Moment��events exploring the artists, writers, and innovators who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution.��Maine’s Mid-Century Moment��has been made possible in part by a major grant from the����and received financial support from the Maine Bicentennial Commission.

Conference Schedule and Panels

Noon – 12:30 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Wabanakiscapes

Wabanakiscapes is a conversation with citizens of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac nations and their allies about profound–as well as everyday–events of the twentieth century that have shaped Wabanaki lives, then and now.

Featured speakers include Micah Pawling, Donald Soctomah, Richard Silliboy, Maulian Dana, Anthony Sutton, Suzanne Greenlaw, Jason Brough, and Natalie Dana.
Introduced and moderated by Lisa Neuman and Darren Ranco, of the University of Maine.

2:15 – 3:30 p.m. 20th Century Maine Jewish Culture

Abe Peck, USM. “Between a Haven and a Home: The Historic Journey of Maine’s Jewish Community”
Natasha Goldman, Bowdoin College. “William Zorach’s Model for Holocaust Memory (1949)”
David Freidenreich, Colby College. “College attendance among Jewish Mainers during the interwar years”

3:45 – 5:00 p.m. 20th Century Queer Maine

Cathleen Miller, UNE. “‘What a lot o’ queer folks there used to be about here’: Artistic community in Mid-Century Maine”
Erica Rand, Bates College. “Queer Indirections in the Maine 1990s”
Wendy Chapkis, USM. “Queering/Querying Maine: the LGBTQ Oral History Project”

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. KEYNOTE – Monica Wood

Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright. Her most recent novel, The One-in-a-Million Boy, has been published in 22 languages in 30 countries and won�� a 2017 Nautilus Award (Gold) and the New England Society Book Award. She is also the author of When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller, Oprah magazine summer-reading pick, and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award and the 2016 Maine Literary Award.

Below image: “Reflections,” Puwyakoninut Creations by Natalie Dana Lolar. Photo courtesy Natalie Dana Lolar.

Event Details:

Kosti Ruohomaa’s Beloved Maine

May 20, 2021, 6 p.m. via Zoom. This event is open to the public, however an��.

FMI:�� Please visit:��

Ruohomaa’s lens captured the villagers taking a “gander” in the general store, the tough farmers, woodsmen, river drivers, and fishermen who worked with their hands close to land and sea.��Kosti Ruohomaa’s Beloved��Maine��selects images of Ruohomaa’s poetic��sensitivity not only of the people and rugged geography, but his visions of Maine’s winter, winter nights, and the rugged coastal landscape.

Ruohomaa was a storyteller with his camera. He captured the spirit and culture of Maine through its people and landscape like few other photographers have ever done. Ruohomaa’s photographs were featured in various publications including��Life Magazine,��Look,��National Geographic,��Ladies Home Journal, and��Down East. In 2018, a large collection of Ruohomaa’s work was given to Penobscot Marine Museum by his agency, Black Star of New York. This collection is a remarkable resource. While his published work is fairly well known, it represents less than 10% of the photographs he made; the rest of his photographs had never been seen by the general public.

This event is part of �鶹APP’s series exploring the artists, writers, and innovators who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution.��Maine’s Mid-Century Moment��has been made possible in part by a major grant from the��.

Cost: Free and open to the public, however, registration is required.
Location: Online via Zoom, limited to 500 attendees

The �鶹APP and the present a screening of LOST BOUNDARIES (1949, Alfred Werker, director) followed by a facilitated discussion with University of Southern Maine Professor Dr. Ardis Cameron.

The film is based on William Lindsay White’s book of the same name and narrates the experiences of a black doctor who passes for white to work in a New England hospital. Based on the real story of a black family in early 20th century New England, LOST BOUNDARIES was filmed in Kittery and York, Maine, as well as parts of New Hampshire, and released in 1949.

Historically, this film is part of the movement that spawned socially conscious films in Hollywood in the 1930’s and 40s, but few such films directly addressed racism in New England. This film provides an opportunity to consider the larger context of racial politics in mid-century Maine and the significance of setting a story of racial “passing” in New England.

This event is part of �鶹APP’s bicentennial events exploring the artists, writers, and innovators who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution. Maine’s Mid-Century Moment has been made possible in part by a major grant from the .

What Do You Know campaign seeks your input.

Be a part of the celebration! Share your memories of Maine’s Mid-Century Moment through our What Do You Know campaign! Oral histories are an important part of any community. If you have a story about a mid-century individual or experience please share it with us via self-addressed stamped postcards disseminated at each event or online��as we seek to illuminate the interconnectedness of the Maine experience at mid-century.

More information about *.

*Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs, resources, and related websites, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

UMA transforms the lives of students of every age and background across the State of Maine and beyond through access to high-quality distance and on-site education, excellence in student support, civic engagement, and professional and liberal arts programs.

The preserves the heritage and history of Maine: the stories of Maine people, the traditions of Maine communities, and the record of Maine’s place in a changing world. Because an understanding of the past is vital to a healthy and progressive society, we collect, care for, and exhibit historical treasures; facilitate research into family, local, state, and national history; provide education programs that make history meaningful, accessible and enjoyable; and empower others to preserve and interpret the history of their communities and our state.

Mid-Century Maine Women Writers Panel

In partnership with the University of New England’s Maine Women Writers Collection (MWWC), the �鶹APP (UMA) will bring together a distinguished panel of professors to discuss three mid-20th century Maine women writers during this period in history and the significance of their work.

On November 6, UMA will partner with the University of New England (UNE) to present a panel discussion focused on three authors represented in the archives of the MWWC at UNE’s Josephine S. Abplanalp Library. Participating in the panel will be Ellen Taylor, professor of English (UMA); Susan Tomlinson, associate professor of English (UMass Boston); and Joseph Conforti, distinguished professor emeritus (USM). Jennifer S. Tuttle, professor of English at UNE and the director of the MWWC, will facilitate the panel discussion.

The three writers from the MWWC archives who will be highlighted in this program are Elizabeth Coatsworth, Ruth Moore, and Mary Ellen Chase.

Elizabeth Coatsworth, who called Chimney Farm in Damariscotta her home for most of her adult life, was a best-selling children’s book writer, poet, novelist, and essayist on rural Maine living. Very popular during her lifetime, she won the Newbery award for her children’s book The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1930) and wrote over ninety books between 1910 and 1976. Taylor will discuss her MWWC archival findings as they relate to Coatsworth’s travels in the Far East and their influence in writing her celebrated children’s book.

Born and raised in Maine, author Ruth Moore was probably best known in her own time for the novel Spoonhandle (1946), about a Maine island family. This novel sold over a million copies and was made into a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox called Deep Waters (1948), filmed on Vinalhaven, ME. Tomlinson, who has conducted archival research on Moore, will explore the ways in which Moore’s earlier experience working for the NAACP impacted her later writings.

Joseph Conforti will discuss Mary Ellen Chase, who was born and raised in Maine. The author of over thirty books, she wrote a great deal of Maine-based fiction, including the bestselling novel Windswept (1941). In a 1936 interview in the Portland Sunday Telegram, Chase declared that she wrote “largely because I want to acquaint others with the background of Maine life, with the splendid character of Maine people, and with the unsurpassed loveliness of Maine fields, shores, and sea.”

This event, originally scheduled for March but postponed due to COVID-19, is part of �鶹APP’s bicentennial events exploring the artists, writers, and innovators who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution. Maine’s Mid-Century Moment has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

What Do You Know campaign seeks your input

Be a part of the celebration! Share your memories of Maine’s Mid-Century Moment through our What Do You Know campaign! Oral histories are an important part of any community. If you have a story about a mid-century individual or experience please share it with us via self-addressed stamped postcards disseminated at each event or online, as we seek to illuminate the interconnectedness of the Maine experience at mid-century.

.

*Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs, resources, and related websites, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

UMA transforms the lives of students of every age and background across the State of Maine and beyond through access to high-quality distance and on-site education, excellence in student support, civic engagement, and professional and liberal arts programs.

is Maine’s largest private university, featuring two distinctive campuses in Maine, a vibrant campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of innovative offerings online. Our hands-on, experiential approach empowers students to join the next generation of leaders in their chosen fields. We are home to Maine’s only medical and dental colleges, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care programs, and nationally recognized degree paths in the marine sciences, the natural and social sciences, business, the humanities, and the arts. UNE. Innovation for a Healthier Planet.

The was founded in 1959 by Grace Dow and Dorothy Healy to preserve and make available the writings of Maine women who had achieved literary recognition. Geographically, our holdings concern the state of Maine; Dawnland, the traditional territory of Wabanaki people; and the northern New England region. We collect the work of anyone who identifies as female, femme, transfeminine, or non-binary. While many of the people included in the Collection would self-identify as authors, many others are writers of unpublished material (such as letters) and producers of other forms of creative work.

Event Update (10/30/2020):

Participating in the panel will be Ellen Taylor, professor of English (UMA); Lisa Botshon, professor of English (UMA); and Joseph Conforti, distinguished professor emeritus (USM). Jennifer S. Tuttle, professor of English at UNE and the director of the MWWC, will facilitate the panel discussion. Program note: Susan Tomlinson, associate professor of English (UMass Boston) was originally scheduled to participate and discuss writer Ruth Moore, but she is unexpectedly unable to attend.

In the interest of community health, this event will be rescheduled in the fall.

Mid-Century Maine Women Writers Panel: In partnership with the University of New England (UNE), the �鶹APP (UMA) will bring together a distinguished panel of professors to discuss three mid-20^th century Maine women writers during this period in history and the significance of their work.

Mid-Century Maine Women Writers Panel

March 27, 2020, 4 to 7 p.m. | Free Public Event
Reception, Maine Women Writers Collection, Abplanalp Library, UNE Portland 4 to5 p.m.
Panel Discussion in Newbury Room, Alumni Hall, UNE Portland campus, 5 to7 p.m.
For more information, contact Cathleen Miller, Curator, , 207-221-4334

On March 27, UMA will partner with UNE to present a panel discussion focused on three authors represented in the archives of the Maine Women Writers Collection (MWWC) at UNE’s Josephine S. Abplanalp Library. Participating in the panel will be Ellen Taylor, professor of English (UMA); Susan Tomlinson, associate professor of English (UMass Boston); and Joseph Conforti, distinguished professor emeritus (USM). Jennifer Tuttle, professor of English at UNE and the director of the Maine Women Writers Collection, will facilitate the panel discussion.

The three writers from the MWWC archives who will be highlighted in this program are Elizabeth Coatsworth, Ruth Moore, and Mary Ellen Chase.

Elizabeth Coatsworth, who called Chimney Farm in Damariscotta her home for most of her adult life, was a best-selling children’s book writer, poet, novelist, and essayist on rural Maine living. Very popular during her lifetime, she won the Newbery award for her children’s book The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1930) and wrote over ninety books between 1910 and 1976. Taylor will discuss her MWWC archival findings related to Coatsworth as they relate to her poetry, especially her collection Compass Rose (1929).

Born and raised in Maine, author Ruth Moore was probably best known in her own time for the novel Spoonhandle (1946), about a Maine island family. This novel sold over a million copies and was made into a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox called Deep Waters (1948), filmed on Vinalhaven, ME. Tomlinson, who has conducted archival research on Moore, will explore the ways in which Moore’s earlier experience working for the NAACP impacted her later writings.

Joseph Conforti will discuss Mary Ellen Chase, who was born and raised in Maine. The author of over thirty books, she wrote a great deal of Maine-based fiction, including the bestselling novel Windswept (1941). In a 1936 interview in the Portland Sunday Telegram, Chase declared that she wrote: “largely because I want to acquaint others with the background of Maine life, with the splendid character of Maine people, and with the unsurpassed loveliness of Maine fields, shores, and sea.”

The �鶹APP is pleased to provide a yearlong program of events exploring the artists, writers, and innovators who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution. Maine’s Mid-Century Moment��has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Events throughout 2020

For a full listing of the year’s events, Maine’s Mid-Century Moment. All events are free and open to the public. Please plan to take part in this yearlong celebration and exploration into mid-century Maine culture.

‘What do you know Campaign!’ seeks your input

Be a part of the celebration!�� Share your memories of Maine’s Mid-Century Moment through our What Do You Know campaign! Oral histories are an important part of any community. If you have a story about a mid-century individual or experience please share it with us via self-addressed stamped postcards disseminated at each event or online as we seek to illuminate the interconnectedness of the Maine experience at mid-century. Share your story »

Learn more about : Exploring the human endeavor.* *Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs, resources, and related websites, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

transforms the lives of students of every age and background across the State of Maine and beyond through access to high-quality distance and on-site education, excellence in student support, civic engagement, and professional and liberal arts programs.

is Maine’s largest private university, featuring two distinctive campuses in Maine, a vibrant campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of innovative offerings online. Our hands-on, experiential approach empowers students to��join the next generation of leaders in their chosen fields. We are home to Maine’s only medical and dental colleges, a variety of other��interprofessionally aligned health��care��programs, and nationally recognized degree paths in the marine sciences, the natural and social sciences, business, the humanities, and the arts.��UNE. Innovation for a Healthier Planet.

Community Read: We Took to the Woods, on January 28, 2020, in partnership with the Maine State Library is the first in a series of yearlong events highlighting Maine’s cultural history.

The �鶹APP is pleased to announce a yearlong program of events exploring the artists, writers, and innovators, who shaped and chronicled Maine’s mid-century cultural evolution. Maine’s Mid-Century Moment has been made possible in part by a major grant from the .

On January 28, 2020, UMA will partner with the on a community read from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. focused on Louise Dickinson Rich’s bestselling 1942 memoir We Took to the Woods, facilitated by scholar Candace Kanes. Those familiar with this writing are encouraged to attend and those who have not and wish to participate in the discussion are encouraged to read We Took to the Woods, copies of which may be borrowed from the Maine State Library now through January 28.

Additionally, a variety of objects owned and used by Louise Dickinson Rich, including her typewriter and metal writing desk, will be displayed at the neighboring Maine State Museum. The museum will be open late and free of charge on the evening of January 28th.

While less well known today, We Took to the Woods proved to be a literary touchstone nationwide, garnering serialization in the pages of the Atlantic, selection by the Book-of-the-Month Club, multiple translations and re-issues, and even an Army edition. This work is one of the first rustication memoirs, blending humorous anecdotes about living off the grid with observations about Maine woods culture, flora, and fauna; generalized advice; musings on contemporary society; charming dog (and skunk!) stories; and the occasional recipe.

Events throughout 2020

For a full listing of the year’s events, please visit: Maine’s Mid-Century Moment. All events are free and open to the public. Please plan to take part in this yearlong celebration and exploration into mid-century Maine culture.

‘What do you know Campaign!’ seeks your input

Be a part of the celebration! Share your memories of Maine’s Mid-Century Moment through our What do you know Campaign! Oral histories are an important part of any community. If you have a story about a mid-century individual or experience please share it with us as we seek to illuminate the interconnectedness of the Maine experience at mid-century. Share your story »

About Candace Kanes

Candace Kanes

Candace Kanes, a historian and former newspaper reporter and editor, became interested in people’s accounts of their time in the Maine outdoors while working as curator and historian of Maine Memory Network at the Maine Historical Society, trolling the archives for interesting photos and documents to put on the MMN website. Besides discovering dozens of such accounts – from Charles Turner’s ascent of Katahdin in 1804 – to journalist Emmie Bailey Whitney’s newspaper columns and her husband, G. Herbert Whitney’s photos of their hiking, camping, and climbing adventures in the 1930s– she read numerous books and articles that portrayed Maine through its outdoors pursuits, whether recreational or occupational. Kanes turned those discoveries into an exhibit, “Umbazooksus and Beyond: The Maine Woods Remembered” at Maine Historical Society in 2005, an��, and a Let’s Talk About It reading series, “Defining Wilderness, Defining Maine” for the Maine Humanities. That series includes Louise Dickenson Rich’s best-selling account of her time in the Maine woods,��We Took to the Woods, published in 1942.

For more information about National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor* please visit: . *Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs, resources, and related websites, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.