2016 – Page 4 – Maryland Humanities

Reading Between the Lines

Posted on June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 by Maryland Humanities

By Rona London

These are my deep dark secrets: I know my 14 digit library card by heart but don’t know my teenage son’s cell phone number, relying time and again on speed dial. I remember with certainty that the Little House on the Prairie books were located on the bottom shelf in the furthest musty corner of my Baltimore County elementary school library. When the weather gets hot and steamy, I can be instantly transported back to when I was 12 years old and on the camp bus reading Judy Blume. I take more books than clothes on vacation, much to my husband’s chagrin, and each book I take will forever remind me of that particular locale.

At every stage, reading has made my life richer. As with many adults I know, my life has taken a circuitous route, with twists and turns along the way. First I worked as a graphic designer, then an art teacher, followed by time spent as a stay-at-home mom, and now I am the Children’s Book Curator for The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore. I often wonder: how did I end up here? The truth is, those of us with an abiding love of books can’t resist their siren call. Through the different periods of life many find comfort, encouragement, entertainment, and an enduring connection through books. Customers often throw open the Ivy’s front door, inhale deeply and declare themselves in love with the smell and feel of books. Most want to pass that along to our youngsters and intuitively know that if we don’t, something vastly important will be lost.

The challenge for all of us is engaging children to be equally enamored with books. Time and time again, statistics emphasize the importance of reading. As the National Education Association states: “according to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics only 53 percent of children ages three to five were read to daily by a family member. Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty. The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher students are in reading proficiency, and the students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores according to the Educational Testing Service.”

This is compelling evidence and yet motivating children to read is a challenge. How do books compete with the ever-increasing allure of electronics and the media cacophony? I struggle mightily with this in my own home. How much easier it is to reach for a remote or give into the undemanding glow of a screen. I can honestly say that I don’t know the answer, though I keep trying. What I do know is that we can teach children that “easy” and “rewarding” are not one and the same. When we finish watching a night of television, do we find ourselves enriched and think the time well spent? Perhaps both watching and reading are habits and routines and if parents, teachers, neighbors, and friends encourage reading as a part of a balanced life, over time the value will be self-evident.

So in my journey to put books in the hands of children I try to articulate the worth of the endeavor. Is the habit of reading a method of escape, an enrichment activity, a way of learning about the world, or a means by which I become more in touch with myself? Perhaps it is all of these reasons and more, depending on the day, the hour, or the minute. The moment I select a book, I am determining my voyage, be it a mere diversion, truth-seeking, introspection, or something in between. There are times a light “chick-lit” book will do and others when I crave a classic, a best seller, or a selection of critically-acclaimed literature. I have found that this is true of children as well. Listen to what they like, where they are at, and in what they show interest, and we may find inroads to the perfect read. If we make it personal and routine then perhaps we will find a way to make books a critical part of children’s lives.

If we put all the compelling statistics aside, what remains is the intangible, immeasurable impact of reading. Our mandate as a community is to listen, to learn, and to find just the right time and just the right book to make the importance of reading known in words and deed so a child’s relationship with books is one that constantly feeds their soul and accompanies them as they learn how to move in the world.

Rona London has found a wonderful home at The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, where she is the Children’s Book Curator. After graduating with her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of Art in Teaching from Maryland Institute College of Art, Rona ran her own graphic design firm and worked as an art teacher in Baltimore County. She retired to be a stay-at-home mom to her two sons, volunteering at their schools – where her favorite activity was running the book fair, of course! Rona is also a freelance writer and an after school art teacher. When she is not reading, she loves gardening, ballet, theater, and the symphony.

Chautauqua – “The most American thing in America”

Posted on May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Lou Williams

“The most American thing in America.”

So said President Theodore Roosevelt of the education movement known as Chautauqua. The origins of Chautauqua (pronounced “Shuh-TAW-Kwa”) can be found in the Chautauqua Lake area of upstate New York, where the movement began in 1874. Initially organized by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller as a Methodist summer retreat, Chautauqua quickly grew to be a popular source of adult education as the lectures presented the latest thinking in politics, economics, literature, science, and religion.

Chautauqua Park — Chautauqua in Garrett County in the early 20th century

The Chautauqua Model

By 1900, more than 400 summer communities had developed from the original Chautauqua model, and touring companies presented lectures, debates, and performances at sites throughout the country. However, the growing popularity of radios, movies, and cars in the early twentieth century led to the gradual decline in the Chautauqua movement.

Tradition Continues

In Maryland, where the tradition dates back to the late nineteenth century when Chautauquas took place

at Mountain Lake Park in Garrett County and at Glen Echo Park in Montgomery County, Maryland Humanities launched the modern Chautauqua in 1995 at Garrett College. The theme of the first Chautauqua was “Democracy in America” and featured seven historical figures: Maria W. Stewart, P.T. Barnum, Alexis de Tocqueville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Horace Greely, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, and Frances Wright. Since then, this popular program has spread to other parts of the state, educating and entertaining thousands of Marylanders every summer.

This summer, Chautauqua enters into its 22nd season as we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes as three Pulitzer winners come to life on the Chautauqua stage. Duke Ellington, the incomparable showman, was one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century with a career that spanned over fifty years. Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, captured the black experience in America through her poetry. Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest American literary figures of the twentieth century, continues to influence modern literature with his trademark style of simple yet perceptive prose.

Join us and your fellow Marylanders this July at seven sites across the state with “Masters of their Craft.”

A Writer with Writers: Deconstructing, Understanding, and Sippin’ Lemonade

Posted on May 18, 2016May 19, 2016 by Maryland Humanities

by Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D.

Some events have such deep and lasting impact that you will always remember where you were and what you were doing when they occurred. My parents talk about how they were having an afternoon snack when they heard the news that Dr. King had been assassinated, and my grandmother used to talk for hours about how she was washing clothes when she heard about President Kennedy’s assassination. I was getting ready for New York Fashion Week on 9/11 and my sons were having lunch when they heard about Freddie Gray’s death. These are moments that you never forget, pivotal ones that shift your perspective, change your direction, and make you think long and hard about the world that we are living in—the one that you are helping to co-create.

Within the black feminist community, a pivotal moment happened on the eve of April 23, 2016. HBO aired Lemonade, Beyoncé’s second visual album, and the world (or at least the world within this community) paused and took notice. The reactions were immediate and many asked folks not to release any “think pieces” until people had had an opportunity to digest the pain and love and feelings of hope and frustration that Beyoncé offered up on the altar of black feminist critique. For some, Lemonade provided further evidence that Beyoncé had finally and firmly claimed her black feminist roots and for others, like the feminist writer bell hooks, it only served as a reminder that for some artists (like Beyoncé, for example), feminism was/is a commodity, a tool that could be wielded carelessly and casually by those who are not intimately connected to the true struggle. It also became a teachable moment with professors and humanists across the country immediately calling for and working on gathering resources to create a #LemonadeSyllabus. This is the type of reaction—where people are immediately compelled to create work, gather resources, hold listening parties and blog about them—that I want to explore in my reoccurring blog series A Writer With Writers, featured here on the Maryland Humanities blog.

So this month, we take a moment to sit down with Dr. Janell Hobson and Dr. Jessica Marie Johnson to explore and examine their work to create #Lemonade: A Black Feminist Resource List. In addition to including think pieces and resources that explore black feminism and black womanhood, the list also includes essays and interviews that explore and examine the visual album by discussing the women who were involved in the creative work, the women who were featured (including Serena Williams who twerked her way through a song before taking a seat on her throne), and, the meaning behind some of the visual images. As we did last month, this feature has two parts. We begin our discussion here with Dr. Johnson, discussing the resource list and her work to compile complementary resources on her website, and conclude on my blog with an interview with Dr. Hobson and her extensive work to record and write about Beyoncé as a black feminist artist.

NOTE: Much like the album Lemonade, some of the resources in #Lemonade: A Black Feminist Resource List contain sexually explicit language. Please note that this resource list is intended for mature audiences only.

Kaye Whitehead: Why did you decide to work on this project?

Jessica Marie Johnson: Earlier this year, after Beyoncé released Formation, I curated a number of think pieces and essays that explored this work. Since this song and video were specific to New Orleans (and I am scholar of that area), I decided to center the voices of black women first, then the voice of New Orleans, and then the voices of Southern women. Janell and I are colleagues and she is very familiar with my work as a historian (as I am with her work on black feminism) so when she approached me after Lemonade aired, I was excited about the collaboration. We decided to curate and compile some of the resources that were being written about Lemonade as a teaching tool for black women’s politics; as a way to explore Beyoncé and her understanding of herself as an artist, a woman, and a wife; and, as a way to join the broader discussion that everyone was engaging in about the work. […] Regardless of what people may think, Lemonade is not a shallow text and we, as scholars and researchers, need to think through it, to digest it, and to explore it.

KW: Which writers inspire you?

JMJ: I am inspired by the work of Octavia Butler and the ways in which she wrote about slavery, justice, complicated futures, and about community. I am also inspired by the work of Simone Browne and the ways in which she thinks and writes about the past as the past and the ways in which this work informs current justice projects.

KW: What does being a writer mean to you?

JMJ: I believe that writers are committed to being really engaged with the written word. They are interested in thinking about how we find and tell complicated stories to share all aspects of our human experience. Writers are artists—similar to those who use dance or music or paint. As a writer, my work helps me to process the world and hopefully help others process it as well. Being a writer is a heavy responsibility because we must be committed to creating and writing texts (good and solid work) that can stand the test of time.

KW: What books do you wish you could have written?

JMJ: I don’t have any book that I wish that I could have written but I do have books that when I read them, they spoke to me and my personal experience. The first is Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed. When I first read it, it spoke to everything that I wanted to see in the world. Toni Morrison once said that, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Butler wrote books that I wanted (needed) to read. Her work gives people agency and power to go out and do great work.

The second is Alice Walker’s The Way Forward is With a Broken Heart. Walker has a way of excavating emotions and personal experiences that we do not really want to touch. She forces us to confront these issues. As a writer, I want to be able to write about these things. I want to be brave enough to confront these same issues with care, with generosity, and with bravery.

KW: What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

JMJ: My advice is to write every day. I know that this is the standard advice that writers always give but there is some real truth behind it. There is something very empowering about sitting down every day—regardless of whether you are tired or angry or frustrated or down or anxious—and writing something.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Daniel José Older has a great essay, “Writing Begins With Forgiveness,” that argues against writing every day. What I find most interesting about this piece is that he suggests that when you sit down to write, you start by forgiving yourself for what you did not write or what you did not do. You give yourself permission to start over. In both cases, whether you show up at the page every day or not, the only way that you can be a writer is to write.

KW: Fifty years from now, how would you like your work to be taught/explained and/or built upon?

JMJ: Recently, I was talking with some sister scholars and we were reflecting on the number of scholars that have recently died. We were talking about our work and about our legacies as scholars. When I look ahead, to fifty years from now, I would like my work to be taught with an excessive amount of pleasure and “inappropriate” behavior. I want my work to be able to speak to what it not seen or condoned in the academy. I want it to be read by everyone, particularly black women/black feminists who are not in the ivory tower. I want sex workers and strippers to read my work in the back rooms. I want it taught to everyone from activists to people who live in elderly homes. I want my work to be rich and engaging, transgressive and delicious. I want my work to give us back to ourselves without shame and without fear.

About the Interviewees:

Janell Hobson, Ph.D. is the author of Body as Evidence: Mediating Race, Globalizing Gender (SUNY Press, 2012) and Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture (Routledge, 2005). She also writes and blogs for Ms. Magazine.

Jessica Marie Johnson, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor of History at Michigan State University. Beginning in July 2016, Johnson will be an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and History at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of two blogs: Diaspora Hypertext and African Diaspora PhD.

Ready for more about #Lemonade? Head over to Kaye Whitehead’s blog to read about Dr. Hobson and her extensive work to record and write about Beyoncé as a black feminist artist.

About the Interviewer: Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland and the Founding Executive Director at The Emilie Frances Davis Center for Education, Research, and Culture. Her new anthology, RaceBrave, was published in March 2016.

Celebrating Maryland’s Young Writers

Posted on May 4, 2016September 19, 2017 by Maryland Humanities

On April 23, Maryland Humanities celebrated Maryland’s 91 Letters About Literature (LAL) state finalists at the 2016 LAL Awards Ceremony. More than 300 people gathered at the University of Baltimore School of Law to celebrate the finalists. With nearly 2,000 entries from Maryland, these 91 young writers represent less than 5% of Maryland’s entrants. What an accomplishment!

After a special welcome from University of Baltimore president Kurt Schmoke, Senator Paul Sarbanes, Congressman John Sarbanes, and Phoebe Stein, executive director of Maryland Humanities, began the ceremony with the announcement of the Sarbanes Teacher of the Year Award. The 2016 recipient is Diane Curry, who has opened a world of creative reading and writing opportunities for her students at Howard County’s River Hill High School. Read more about Ms. Curry and the Sarbanes Award.

Keynote speaker and local author Laura Shovan entertained the audience with an interactive presentation on the lasting influence of stories based on a poem by William Shakespeare, whose 400^th birthday coincided with the ceremony. After the ceremony, Ms. Shovan chatted with aspiring authors and signed copies of her new book, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary.

Emcee and LAL judge Joanna Guy introduced each finalist to be recognized individually with a special certificate, followed by the announcement of the winners and runner-ups. Then the standing-room-only crowd got the ultimate treat: hearing the winning letters read aloud. State winners Margaret Kato, Noor Saleem, and Lauralee An captivated the audience with their personal stories of how literature changed their lives.

Congratulations to all of Maryland’s 91 state finalists! We couldn’t be prouder of these young readers and writers. We wish Margaret, Noor, and Lauralee the best of luck as they enter the national judging phase of the Letters About Literature contest.

Can’t get enough LAL? Check out the full list of finalists, read the winning letters, and learn more about on our brand new Letters About Literature webpage.

2016 Letters About Literature Awards Ceremony Highlights

Maryland History Day-Frequently Asked Questions

Posted on April 26, 2016May 6, 2016 by Lou Williams

You are getting ready for the big day – the Maryland History Day state contest at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on May 7^th. The Maryland History Day staff is here to answer some of our frequently asked questions.

Where is the competition being held?

Various buildings on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus. The address is 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 2120.

Where should I park? Is it free?

Parking is free all over the campus. Here is a map of various parking options.

Where should I go when I get to campus?

All students should first report to the third floor of University Center in order to pick up their student packet. From there, you may make your way to your judging location.

What time am I scheduled to present?

The competition schedule has been posted online. Students should arrive at least 45 minutes before their scheduled time to give themselves time for traffic, finding a place to park, registering, and finding their judging location.

Exhibit students should drop of their projects between 8:00am – 9:00am, if they are presenting between 9:30am – 10:30am. Students who are traveling greater distances and have a later interview time can drop of their exhibit when they arrive.

What should I bring with me?

Exhibit Category – bring 4 copies of the process paper and annotated bibliography to place in front of your exhibit (3 for first round judges, and 1 additional copy in case it is needed for the runoff round).
Documentary and Performance Categories – bring 4 copies of the process paper and annotated bibliography (3 for first round judges, and 1 additional copy in case it is needed for judges in the runoff round).
Website Category – although your process paper and annotated bibliography are integrated into your website, we suggest that you bring 3 copies of your process paper and annotated bibliography to the contest in case judges would like to look at hard copies of these materials during the interview.
Paper Category – although judges already have a copy, we suggest that you bring one copy of your paper and annotated bibliography with you for reference.

What is the judging like?

The judging at the state competition might be slightly different from your experience at the district level. Students are not asked to present their project as they would a project in class. With the exception of documentaries and performances, the judges have had some time to look at your projects ahead of time. Instead, the judging is more of a conversation. Judges will ask various questions regarding your process in the creation of the project: how did you find your primary sources, why did you choose this topic, etc.

Is the judging open to the public?

With the exception of papers and exhibits, all category judging is open to the public. However, we ask that the general public remain quiet in the rooms and out in the hallways so as to not disturb the students and the judges during the interview.

What is there to do?

We are hosting a documentary film festival with a selection of History Day documentaries that will run from 11am to 2:45pm in Lecture Hall 1. At 2:15pm, documentary filmmaker Matt White will discuss his work and show clips from his upcoming documentary on the Beatles! Morning first round judging and afternoon runoff judging in the documentary, performance, and website categories is open to the public, and the exhibit hall will be open to the public when judging is not taking place. Students and their families may also choose to travel to Baltimore to take in historical and cultural offerings there. We have put together a list of things to do and places to see.

Do I have to attend the awards ceremony?

Attendance at the awards ceremony is not required, but it is encouraged. All first and second place winners will be announced, as well as special prize winners. Students can still win special prizes even if they did not self-nominate – the judges also nominate projects for prizes. If you are unable to attend the ceremony and you win a prize, we will reach out to you the week following the contest.

When will I receive the judges’ evaluation comment sheets?

Following the contest we will sort and scan thousands of evaluation sheets. We will make every effort to email all of the scanned forms to every teacher within 10 days (to 2 weeks?), and teachers will be asked to share the comments with you.

If you have more questions, please contact Judy Dobbs, jdobbs@mdhc.org, or Courtney Hobson, chobson@mdhc.org.

The Baltimore Uprising: my protest next time

Posted on April 20, 2016April 25, 2016 by Lou Williams

*In a unique offering this month, Part 2 of this blog post about Kaye Whitehead’s experience watching her two sons protest during the Baltimore Uprising is posted on her personal blog.

I have been writing poetry for as long as I can remember. It is the power of the pen on paper that has sustained me and has kept me. It is the one place that I consider to be my familiar, where I am most at home and I do not feel like I am alone. I wrote my first poem when I was 12 years old and there are days when I go back and read it to remind myself of who I used to be. Poetry, in so many ways, saved my life and on those days when I felt that I was done, it would remind me that I still had more to say, more to share, and more to give to the world.

I published my first chapbook, red zinger lov/starved blues: notes of a wummon/child, in 1995and it sold exactly 100 copies (they were numbered). I used to travel around with them in my bag and like every other starving poet I would pull them out and try to sell them on the spot. I was young then and the world through a poet’s eye seemed bleak. I was depressed all the time and was absolutely convinced that the racism and sexism that was rampant in this country was going to kill me before I turned 30. I never thought I would grow old, never thought I would get married, or have children, or get gray hair. But I did and over time, my poetry gave way to essays, my short stories gave way to academic papers, my depression gave way to enjoying the moments of extraordinary joy that just come from still being here. I have spent years struggling in the darkness, thinking about what it means to be brave, to be a fighter. I have spent years trying to remember what my voice sounded like. I have spent hours trying to trust myself enough to be as honest on the page today as I was when I first began. I have stepped out into darkness, time and time again and without fail, there has always been something very strong for me to stand on or I have been taught how to fly.

I started writing RaceBrave on July 7, 2014, on the day when Eric Garner was murdered when my sons challenged me to write something everyday about what was happening around the country in the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. It was on that day, two years after the murder of Trayvon Martin and after coming through Ferguson being repeated throughout the country, that I realized that I too could no longer breathe. I could no longer swallow the lies. I had to find a way to be RaceBrave and to give a voice to my pain. And so I wrote poetry and along the way, Tamir Rice was killed, Freddie Gray was killed, the Baltimore Uprising happened, and I watched the birth of a spirit of activism in my sons.

The following poem, entitled “black mommy activism p1,” was written while we were standing in Freddie Gray’s neighborhood waiting for the start of another march and “the birth of your activism” was written in pieces every evening when we arrived back to our car after marching from his neighborhood to City Hall. It has taken me almost 25 years but I have finally returned to the poet that I used to be…

“black mommy activism p1,” excerpt from RaceBrave

for ten days without fail

you marched for freddie gray

you marched for justice

you marched in dream of a better world

in search of a better tomorrow

away from all of our yesterdays

you marched because you wanted to be free

having spent your life listening for the whispers of freedom

you thought you were on your way to free/dom

and that the road went straight through east baltimore

straight through freddie gray’s block

straight through his home

straight through his life

and so you marched

never having marched before

never having struggled before

never having … before

you marched and marched

you complained while marching

you cried out while marching

and then you found yourself while marching.

I marched too

But I simply marched for you.

About the Author: Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland and the Founding Executive Director at The Emilie Frances Davis Center for Education, Research, and Culture. Her new anthology, RaceBrave, was published in March 2016.

Advice for Maryland History Day Hopefuls from an Alum

Posted on April 13, 2016April 18, 2017 by Lou Williams

It’s the big day. The project is done, you have all of your written materials printed, you have your lines memorized, your exhibit finished, or your documentary is on file. At this point, you’re probably on at least the 4th draft of your project, and everything has been reviewed and polished more times than you can count. Beware of physical or technical difficulties! Demetri and I had a very bad moment at the State competition when part of the audio for our documentary was deleted the day of the competition. We barely got the audio fixed in time to go on. This provided a very valuable lesson: take every precaution against malfunction or misfortune that you possibly can. If you are making a documentary, produce it in as many formats and as many copies/backups as logically possible. Find some way to back up or store your website if you are doing that. If you made an exhibit, do not let it get damaged! I would even consider making backup parts for your exhibit in case one gets damaged. If you are doing a performance make an extra costume if possible. If you are in a group, plan for how you would present if a member was ill or missing. Make multiple copies of all written materials and give several copies to each person. Chaos happens! Be prepared for it as much as possible. It would be a shame to be disqualified because of some silly misfortune.

Regardless of category, there is something that everyone has to do in the preliminary judging round: an interview. After you are done presenting your project, performance, documentary etc. a panel of three judges will ask you several questions about your project and topic. It seems like the simplest thing, but it never fails to intimidate students. I’ve watched many other students go through this, and I’ve been through it multiple times myself. The first thing that you have to remember is that the judges never “have it in” for you. You don’t have to worry about a judge being mean to you. What the judges will do is prod you to make sure that you know what you are talking about, and can argue your conclusion effectively. Be prepared for them to challenge any point or argument that you make in your project. This is especially important for controversial topics. If your project is about the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, and you conclude that America was justified in its decision to drop the atom bomb, you must be able to back up this assertion. If you can use the historical evidence and research you’ve been compiling to support your arguments well, a judge will not penalize you even if he or she disagrees with your conclusion.

Other questions the judges may ask will require you to explain your research process or apply your knowledge of your topic to broader scenarios. The judges may ask what you would have done if you had more time to research and present, why you interpreted a certain source the way you did, or how the topic you studied relates to modern issues. The reason they ask you all of these questions is because they want to be sure that you are truly knowledgeable and well versed about your topic, and they want to test your analysis and reasoning skills. That means that all you have to do to impress them in your interview is know what you’re talking about! Beyond that, there is one thing you need to avoid doing, and one thing that you always must do in the interview. You need to avoid making any sort of false or weak claim while speaking; if you can’t back up a point, don’t make it. You need to always answer the question. If a judge asks why you chose a certain source, your answer needs to begin with, “I chose that source because…” It’s a very good idea to practice presenting your project to a group of people. If you can find someone to stage a mock interview and ask you about your project, you will get an excellent chance to practice explaining and defending your project.

As a practical consideration, be sure to dress up nicely for the interview. I won’t tell you what to wear, but I will say that I always upstaged the competition by wearing a suit and tie. Finally, don’t get nervous! If you truly have done your research well and know your way around your topic, all the interview can do is make you sound intelligent.

Good luck to all the students competition in the Maryland History Day competition on May 7, 2016 at UMBC – Maryland History Day Staff

Pulitzer: Behind the Prizes

Posted on April 6, 2016July 29, 2016 by Maryland Humanities

There’s nothing like a Pulitzer Prize to make industry professionals and average readers alike take note of great literature and the importance of narrative in our collective experience. We know that journalists, photographers, novelists, and historians often work for decades before they win the coveted Pulitzer Prize. Many more are recognized as talented leaders in their fields, but never receive the honor. But what do we know about the original Pulitzer, whose name has become so revered?

Joseph Pulitzer (originally “Politzer”) was born in Hungary in the spring of 1847. Though he had many siblings, only Joseph and his brother Albert survived to adulthood. The brothers received the finest education available and each knew at least three languages. When he turned 17, Joseph Pulitzer was intent on joining the military. He was turned down by the British, Austrian, and French forces. In 1864, he finally enlisted in a German unit and began his journey to New York City to fight for the Union in the American Civil War, even though he couldn’t speak English.

Pulitzer was discharged from the army within a year, leaving him desperate to find a job. New York was full of other unemployed veterans and limited jobs, which meant he was often jobless and sometimes homeless. In the fall of 1865, Pulitzer took a train to St. Louis, shoveling coal to pay for his passage across the Mississippi River.

Once he arrived in St. Louis, Pulitzer worked a series of odd jobs ranging from grave digger to mule caretaker. Finally, he was offered an opportunity to track land rights for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Discovering law inspired Pulitzer to learn more. In 1867, he became a naturalized citizen. He was admitted to the Missouri bar within a year.

To Pulitzer, the pinnacle of St. Louis was the Mercantile Library. He spent entire days inside the Mercantile’s stacks, delving into new subjects and strengthening his English. It was at this library where Pulitzer met Carl Schurz of the Westliche Post. Schurz was impressed by Pulitzer’s intellectual appetite and hired him to work on the paper. As a reporter, Pulitzer was famous for his exhaustive detail, which tended to infuriate his peers.

In a strange turn of fate, Pulitzer was nominated for a city representative seat while covering a political convention in 1869. At the age of 22, Pulitzer surpassed all expectation and won the seat. He quickly made his mark as a staunchly anti-corruption official. Within three weeks, his accusations put him in physical danger. A local contractor, whom Pulitzer had accused of being corrupt, punched Pulitzer and Pulitzer shot him in the leg. The incident stunted his political future and Pulitzer threw himself back into his work as a journalist.

In 1872, Pulitzer was offered and accepted part ownership of the Westliche Post, coupled with the position of managing editor. He sold his share in 1876, using the profits to travel home to Hungary and to buy the St. Louis Dispatch once he returned to Missouri. He convinced the owner of the Post to merge with the Dispatch, creating the Post-Dispatch. Pulitzer called the paper a “vehicle for truth,” and used the platform to denounce corrupt officials.

While Pulitzer made many enemies, he gained public support. His personal life also flourished; he married Kate Davis in 1878, with whom he would have seven children. Yet for all his success, Pulitzer’s health was in decline. And though he knew blindness was eminent and his nervous system would only get worse, Pulitzer could not pass up opportunity when he saw it. In 1883, he purchased the New York World and moved back to New York City. Pulitzer continued to manage both the Post-Dispatch and the World, often from his soundproof bedroom or his yacht. After a brief stint as a congressman, Pulitzer surrendered his seat and focused on building the World’s power and reputation. The World became known for its investigative journalism, including coverage that ended Standard Oil’s monopoly and forced campaign contributions to be public.

However, even Pulitzer was not immune to the temptations of competition. In 1895, William Randolph Hearst bought the New York Journal, the World’s competition. Desperate to sell more papers, Hearst and Pulitzer practiced “yellow journalism”: their papers were dominated by shocking reveals, glitzy photos, and gory headlines. Nearly a decade passed before Pulitzer would once again report only facts.

Despite his mounting health problems, Pulitzer’s intellectual power never dimmed. Secretaries were hired to read and banter with him. He controlled the editorial page of the World and the Post-Dispatch until his death in October 1911.

Prior to his death, Joseph Pulitzer created a will in 1904 that would help to cement his legacy in the field of journalism. Two million dollars was allocated to Columbia University to go towards the creation of a journalism school; in 1912, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism was established. Its inaugural student body consisted of over 100 graduate and undergraduate students from twenty-one countries. In addition to the journalism school, Pulitzer also stipulated that $250,000 would be “applied to prizes or scholarships for the encouragement of public service, public morals, American literature, and the advancement of education.” Initially awarding prizes in journalism, letters, and drama, the number of prizes awarded has increased to twenty-one and now include prizes in photography, music, and poetry.

The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded on June 4, 1917: Herbert Bayard Swope of New York World (Reporting); New York Tribune (Editorial Writing); With Americans of Past and Present Days, by His Excellency J.J. Jusserand (History); and Julia Ward Howe, by Laura E. Richards and Maude Howe Elliott assisted by Florence Howe Hall (Biography and Autobiography). Pulitzer Prize recipients over the years have included: Arthur Miller (Drama, 1949), Bob Dylan (Special Citation, 2008), Toni Morrison (Fiction, 1988), and John Steinbeck (Fiction, 1940). Three Pulitzer Prize winners will be featured in our annual Chautauqua in July.

MHC is commemorating the centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes with a year-long series of events highlighting the impact of this award-winning work on our lives.

These events are part of the Pulitzer Prizes Centennial Campfires Initiative, a nationwide celebration funded by the Pulitzer Prizes, in partnership with the Federation of State Humanities Councils, and made possible through a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Programming began in March with panel discussions featuring acclaimed journalists discussing their craft and will culminate in the fall at a special event featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch.

Join us at one of our upcoming “Journalism & Its Power to Inform” panels. All panels are FREE, open to the public, and begin at 7 p.m. at The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St.

• April 19: Challenges Faced by Baltimore – Justin Fenton, Erica Green, E.R. Shipp (Pulitzer 1996), Diana Sugg (Pulitzer 2003)

• May 10: The Environment – Will Englund (Pulitzer 1998), McKay Jenkins, Elizabeth McGowan (Pulitzer 2013), John McQuaid (Pulitzer 1997, 2006)

A Writer with Writers: EcoJustice – Finding Ways to Love What We Have Been Given

Posted on March 23, 2016October 7, 2016 by Maryland Humanities

Like most people, I try to be a good steward of the planet: I try to recycle, I think about sustainability and environmental destruction, and I am trying to understand the social roots of environmental problems. I do care about the environment but – like most people – I am not actively involved in nor do I really understand what it means to practice the art of daily ecojustice. This is a new area of study for me and through reading and studying the work of Dr. Rita Turner, I am learning about what it means to be personally involved in and connected to trying to do the hard work to save our planet. I have also learned how to share and teach this work to others. If activism, according to Alice Walker, is our rent for living on the planet then practicing the art of daily ecojustice is the work we do to keep the lights on for the next generation.

Environmental justice cultural studies is a relatively new area of study that combines the fields of environmental history, critical legal studies, social science, ethnic studies, women’s studies, cultural geography, and other forms of cultural criticism and as such, practitioners have been actively working to take this information into the K-12 classrooms.[1] As we begin to start preparing for Earth Day 2016, I sat down with writer and ecojustice activist Rita Turner to discuss her new book, Teaching for EcoJustice—which focuses on a curriculum that she developed to take ecojustice activism into humanities-based educational settings.

Kaye Whitehead: Why did you decide to write this book?

Rita Turner: I think this book was motivated by fear for the world, and by love for it. I look at the serious environmental and social problems we’re facing today, and I’m terrified and angry. But I also feel so much love for the land, for other living beings, and for people. I want to help young people to connect with the love that we as humans can inherently feel for and desire from the world around us, and I also want them to learn to think very critically about why we treat the world the way we do and what the alternatives could be for a better, more just, more abundant and healthy world.

Despite all the terrifying problems looming over us in the world today, I feel that, as a society, we rarely have real conversations about the roots of environmental and social issues. Our behavior is motivated by our belief systems, our attitudes, our values – and these belief systems too often go unexamined. How do we see the world around us? What do we believe our relationship should be, to other people, to other species of animals, to the land? Our culture encourages and maintains certain answers to these questions, whether we realize it or not. And when we look at these culturally reproduced beliefs, we find that they’re often based on hidden assumptions and hierarchies of value, about who is more or less important.

I feel it’s essential that we begin to incorporate into our public lives real strategies for analyzing and reformulating the underlying beliefs and assumptions that have produced such damaging consequences in the world. Schools and other educational sites are some of the best places to begin. I also think we owe it to the students we are teaching to give them a clearer view of their own culture and of the roots of the problems that they will have to tackle in their lifetimes. Schools should be places that encourage sustainability and justice, not places that simply reproduce the status quo.

So I started designing and testing curriculum materials that help students take a closer look at their relationship to the larger world around them, at their own cultural belief systems, and at the effects of those beliefs as they play out in our actions. I spent years designing and testing the materials, and I’m so excited that now they’re collected into a form that high school and college teachers can use in their own classrooms.

KW: Which writers inspire you?

RT: David Abram is a beautiful writer whose ideas have also been extremely influential to me in my own work. Other sources of inspiration come from far and wide! Wisława Szymborska, William Faulker, Terry Pratchett, Mark Doty, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Virginia Woolf… I could go on!

KW: What does being a writer mean to you?

RT: I think of myself as an educator more than as a writer, but in some ways for me those are the same. Language has so much power – it can be used to mask truths or reveal them, to open us up to connections or isolate us from others. I want my writing to be a force for connection, and for unflinching examination of ourselves and our world. I want it to push us to look at things we’re not used to seeing.

KW: What book do you wish you could have written?

RT: Oh goodness, The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram has made such an impact on me. I admire David Abram’s perspective.

KW: You refer to yourself as a scholar/writer – can you explain what this means to you?

RT: It may be obvious by now that I think critical examination of our culture is so very important. To me this means blending scholarship and writing and education. There shouldn’t be just a handful of people in the world who have closely examined the cultural belief systems that influence all of us each day – we should all be doing that. My scholarship, to some extent, is about finding ways to make such examinations part of public life and educational life.

KW: What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

RT: Write for those you love. Write to give something to the world for their sake, to make their futures better, or to honor them, or to share what they’ve taught you. Be moved by what the world has given you.

KW: What advice would you give to your younger self?

RT: I guess I would say keep following your path wherever it takes you! It will all add insights and experiences to who you become in the future. And give yourself as fully as you can to your work and your loved ones and the world.

KW: Tell us about the cover and how it came about.

RT: The book cover was a collaboration with my terrific editor. I’m very happy with the image. I want the book to help move us toward healthier, more just, and more reflective relationships with other beings, and I hope that’s captured in the cover image. There are possibilities for living more collaborative and more respectful lives, shared with other people, other creatures, and the land. We should be finding those possibilities.

About the Writer: Rita Turner, Ph.D., is a Lecturer at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she studies the cultural roots of environmental and social problems, and develops curricula to analyze these cultural roots through education. She received her PhD in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2011. Prior to her graduate studies, Dr. Turner taught high school English in a Baltimore City public school and ran a national nonprofit environmental advocacy organization for high school and college students. She is a resident of Baltimore City, where she also works on issues of food justice, environmental racism, and urban agroecology. Teaching for EcoJustice: Curriculum and Lessons for Secondary and College Classrooms is her first book. Read more about the book and find out how to purchase a copy on the Teaching for EcoJustice website.

About the Interviewer: Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor, Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland and the Founding Executive Director at The Emilie Frances Davis Center for Education, Research, and Culture. Her new anthology, RaceBrave, was published in March 2016.

[1] For more information on environmental justice cultural studies, see http://culturalpolitics.net/environmental_justice/introduction

Writing 50 Great American Places: An Exercise in Public History

Posted on March 16, 2016July 29, 2016 by Maryland Humanities

by Brent D. Glass, Director Emeritus, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

I wrote 50 Great American Places with three goals in mind. First, I want to encourage historical literacy. By this, I am not referring to the memorization of dates and names although that kind of information can be useful. By historical literacy, I am talking about understanding the context of events and the relationships between people, places, and historical events. Perhaps the term historical curiosity is a better way to describe what I mean. In any case, historical literacy is directly connected to being a citizen in a democracy.

Second, I want people to experience history first-hand through heritage tourism. We can enjoy reading good books about the past but there is nothing like being at the Mt. Clare Shops in Baltimore or the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania or the historic town of New Castle, Delaware to be inspired by the stories of these great historic places. Visiting an authentic historic place stirs our imagination and inspires us to pursue greater knowledge about our shared heritage.

View of Taliesin — Taliesin East, the home and estate of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, located near Spring Green, Wisconsin

Finally, I wrote the book to encourage historic preservation. We owe so much to the visionaries who made an extraordinary commitment to saving the physical presence of the past. Beginning with the Mount Vernon Ladies Association who saved George Washington’s home in Virginia in the 1850s, there are dozens of examples of preservation initiatives that allow us to enjoy our national heritage today. In addition, we owe a debt of gratitude to the professionals and volunteers at historic sites throughout the country who continue this valuable preservation work today. In my book, I include many sites that are managed by the National Park Service, a government agency that observes its centennial this year and plays a leadership role in historic preservation.

I used several criteria in selecting the sites in 50 Great American Places. Regional representation was important to me as well as examples of sites from every time period including sites from pre-colonial periods. I also selected sites that were open and accessible to the public. I emphasized historic places where a major event had occurred rather than museums with great collections. Above all, I identified places that reflect essential and enduring themes in American history. These themes are 1) story of freedom; 2) the impact of war; 3) the influence of innovation and technology; 4) the contributions of diverse cultural traditions; and 5) the influence of America’s dramatic landscape.

The sites featured in my book are great because they illustrate these major themes. My hope is that readers will understand that history is not inevitable. It is the result of decisions by men and women who were trying to solve technical problems or address significant issues. They were not certain of the result of their choices and they were doing their best. When we visit the sites where they lived and worked, we should approach these historic places with a sense of empathy and gratitude.