Hawthorne and Longfellow

FAIN: ES-50107-05

Maine Humanities Council (Portland, ME 04102-1012)
Charles C. Calhoun (Project Director: March 2005 to October 2007)

A three-week institute for thirty school teachers exploring the personal and professional relationship between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

This 3-week interdisciplinary summer institute for 30 school teachers will explore the personal and professional relationship between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Often seen a reclusive, solitary genius, Hawthorne in fact had close ties to many other New England literati. Never allowed in the 20th-century’s version of the literary canon, Longfellow is undergoing a re-evaluation, not only as a poet but as a major 19th century American cultural force. Participants will engage with scholars in close reading of texts, discussion of historical context and new scholarship, and guided field trips to pertinent sites. This institute will be offered in connection to the NEH’s We the People initiative.