Maine Historical Society

"Author and Historian Allan Levinsky will discuss his new book, “A Short History of Portland.” Devastated by Indian attacks in the 17th century, British naval attacks in the 18th century, and a conflagration in the middle of the 19th century, Portland has risen from the ashes each time. The city ... (more)now called Portland is today a most desirable address noted for its mix of culture, education, and first-rate restaurants. No wonder Portland’s motto is Resurgam: “I shall rise again.” FREE"

"Although usually envisioned as sitting quietly—and comfortably—in his study, Longfellow spent a good deal of his life within sight of the sea. Biographer Charles Calhoun draws parallels between some of his lesser known poems and the paintings of Fitzhugh Lane and other 19th-century American Luminists."

"Moby Dick is often described as the great American novel. It is not a novel, however, but a sprawling, unconventional, monumental literary achievement that captures the energy, expansiveness, ferment, and moral contradictions of mid-nineteenth-century America. "

"Melville's expansive novel is not just an archaic "Big Fish" story with Shakespearean overtones. Among its other challenges and rewards to 21st century readers, Moby-Dick asks us to consider the nature of American freedom, and reminds us of the sometimes frightening proximity of that freedom to something ... (more)like terror."