Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 pm
25+ Years of Intertidal Research on Swan’s Island
Peter Petraitis, Steve Dudgeon and Erika Rhile will share highlights of their 25+ years of doing intertidal research on the island, which has resulted in numerous scientific publications and presentations. They will answer such pressing questions as, “Where have all the mussels gone?” Their presentation will prepare you to accompany them on a walk in the field to be scheduled on a separate date and time.
Tuesday, July 18 at 7 p.m.
Gracie and Sullivan: The Story of a Lightkeeper’s Child
Fabric artist Elaine O’Neil will present Gracie and Sullivan, a children’s book that chronicles the Eagle Island childhood of Elaine’s grandmother Gracie, whose father was the last resident keeper of the Eagle Island lighthouse. Elaine wrote this chronicle with Gay Bogard (her mother) and illustrated it with her art, which is imbued with her own Maine childhood. Elaine will be bring her books with her. The library will NOT be selling her books, she will.
Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m.
Two Places on Earth: Color Photographs by Chan Chao
Island summer resident Chan Chao will present highlights from his 2022 collection and fourth book, Two Places on Earth (Nazraeli Press), which juxtaposes color photographs of UN peacekeepers in Cyprus and female prisoners in Peru to engage how the humanity of these individuals has “been shaped by global forces and personal choices.” Chan Chao’s work is included in collections in The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Wash, D.C.), the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York). Chan’s books may be purchased at https://www.nazraeli.com/complete-catalogue/chan-chao-two-places-on-earth
Tuesday, August 8 at 7 p.m.
A Reading by Poet Ellie O’Leary
Ellie O’Leary, Poet Laureate of Massachusetts, will read from her 2020 poetry collection Breathe Here (North Country Press) and her 2023 memoir Up Home Again, which chronicles how a trip back to Maine re-engages both the beauty and the loss that defined her girlhood in Freedom. O’Leary skillfully engages her audience, drawing perhaps on what she has learned as a teacher, a radio show host, and the Education Director of the Gloucester Writers Center. Her work is celebrated by island poet Gary Rainford.
Tuesday, August 15 at 7 p.m.
Marking Lives: COVID-19 Community Art Project
Concord-based (and Swan’s Island summer resident) artist Elizabeth Awalt will address the genesis and legacy of a project she launched within the visual arts community commemorating lives lost to COVID-19. She invited other artists to render works with at least 1,000 marks to represent 1,000 lives lost. Artists posted their works on social media at #markinglivescovid19. The exhibition, “Remembering Together,” was at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; the catalog from this exhibition is currently on sale. Liz’s book may be purchased at https://www.elizabethawalt.com/catalog/covidcatalog
Tuesday, August 22 at 7 p.m.
Shakespeare in a Box of Wonders
Join Shakespeare scholar Pamela Macfie in a hands-on Shakespeare experiment that is sure to make you love the bard, even if you (like Professor Macfie) HATED Shakespeare in high school. Come prepared to be, as Shakespeare would put it, “translated” out of your ordinary identity into something inspiring laughter if not magic. Costumes, props, and scripts will be distributed for your instruction and delight. This workshop was a long-running favorite among Macfie’s students at Sewanee, the Sewanee School of Letters, and British Studies at Oxford.