Blog

Image says "National Poetry Month Wrap-Up!" There is a graphic of a piece of paper or with a feather pen.
On World Poetry Day, we asked for your favorite line(s) of poetry and said we’d compile them. In honor National Poetry Month, which wraps up tomorrow, here’s the compiled piece we’ve woven into a single work just for fun. The selections ranged eras, tones and topic. Thank you to Facebook Followers for sharing their favorites: Baltimore Hon Hive, Mary Mencarini Campbell, Susan Parker Coleman, Wayne Drozynski, William Derge, Tara A. O’Brien Elliott, Fred Fox, Sarah Hartwick, Michelle Kreiner, Suzy Mazer, and Aravinda Pillalamarri,  
April 28, 2024
Two photos next to each other in one. The first (on the left) is of Stephanie Gomer, a white woman with dark curly hair worn down and glasses. She wears a gray t-shirt with a "P" on it, showing a falcon mascot, the mascot for Poolesville High School where she teaches. The second is of Erin Spahr, a blonde/dirty blonde-haired white woman wearing her hair down. She smiles and wears a long blue t-shirt. She is in in a classroom and on the wall is a bulletin board that says "American Studies 1."
Erin Spahr, Social Studies Teacher at Urbana Middle School and Stephanie Gomer, English Teacher at Poolesville High School, were named this year’s Maryland History Day Statewide Middle and High School Teacher of the Year, respectively. The teachers discuss the impact of Maryland History Day program on students.
April 16, 2024Sarah Weissman, Communications Specialist
Two pictures side-by-side: the book cover to "What Storm, What Thunder" by Myriam J.A. Chancy and Chancy herself. The book cover has quotes "Sublime" from Edwidge Danticat and "Stunning" from Margaret Atwood, as well as, "Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist." Chancy is a Black Hatian-Canadian-American who wears a printed white shirt, black sweater, and hair in a ponytail.
Our Maryland Center for the Book Program Assistant delves into our 2024 Selection!
March 12, 2024Eden Etzel
Image that says "2024 One Maryland One Book Top 10" with images of the covers of the following books: “Friday Black,” stories by Nana Kwame Adeji-Brenyah; “What Storm, What Thunder” by Myriam J.A. Chancy; “Behind You is The Sea,” a novel by Susan Muaddi Darraj; “’The Office of Historical Corrections,” a novella and stories by Danielle Evans; “How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures” by Sabrina Imbler; “How Beautiful We Were,” a novel by Imbolo Mbue; “How High We Go In the Dark,” a novel by Sequoia Nagamatsu; “Noor” by Nnedi Okorafor; “The World Doesn't Require You,” stories by Rion Amilcar Scott; and “The Immortal King Rao,” a novel by Vauhini Vara. For all the books here designated with a genre or type, the cover includes that genre.
We announce our top ten contenders for One Maryland One Book 2024! This year's theme is "Restorative Futures."
January 16, 2024Eden Etzel, Program Assistant for Maryland Center for the Book
Two combined images. First image, on the left, taking up about 4/5 the total picture: Image that's collage a with text in the middle that says "Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources." The collage is of various photographs of students with each other or with teachers. The second image, on the right: a photo of Lia Atanat, a white woman in her thirties. . She has brown hair a little past the shoulders and wears a cream-colored button- down blouse.
We spoke with Lia Atanat, our Maryland History Day Outreach & Professional Development Coordinator, about our new collaboration with tribal consultants and teachers in creating inquiry kits about the Indigenous history and culture of the land now known as Maryland.
August 31, 2023
Emily Ross, a twenty-something white woman with blue eyes and light brown or dirty blonde hair straight. She smiles and wears a white sweater and small and gold hoop earrings. Her hair is in a halfway ponytail. She is indoors in front of a window where it is sunny outside.
Emily Ross joined Maryland Humanities as the Program Officer, Grants in June. She talks with us about what she’s looking forward to in her new position, what appeals to her about leading Maryland Humanities’ Hatza SHINE Grants Program, and more.
August 15, 2023
A headshot of a Lindsey Baker. She is a white woman with brown, curly hair past her shoulders. She wears a royal blue blouse with a V-neck and small dangly earrings. She is inside a building with brick background.
Executive Director Lindsey Baker looks at how organizations can fight stagnancy and reflects on Vu Le's latest Nonprofit AF blog post: "You’re not lazy. Here’s what lazy looks like in our sector."
July 13, 2023Lindsey Baker
Teens and kids mostly stand in pairs as part of a dance. There is one not in a pair. Almost all of the teens and kids are Black.
Breai Mason-Campbell is the Artistic Director of Moving History, what she calls Kinetic African American History. Kids and teens involved with Moving History learn dance, cooking, musicianship, and/or visual art. The organization, a recipient of one of our Strengthening the Humanities Investment in Nonprofits for Equity (SHINE), started when Mason-Campbell reflecting about poverty.
June 9, 2023Sarah Weissman
A white woman gives a keynote address at a conference. There is a screen with a slide that is the name of the presentation: "Prioritizing Joy and Showing Grace: A Small Museum Call to Action"
“What would it look like if we took steps daily to care for ourselves and our colleagues in the same way as we do for the objects in our care?" This winter, Executive Director Lindsey Baker gave the keynote at the Small Museum Association Conference. The conference theme "Creating a Culture of Care."
May 18, 2023Lindsey Baker
Two young Black teens and one white teen in the State House in Annapolis. One Black teen wears a black-and-white houndstooth jacket, the other a red blazer and slacks and the white girl wears a dress and cardigan.
Lillian Merrill, Saniya Pearson, and Aliyah Smith placed second at the 2022 Maryland History Day State Contest. They advanced to National History Day, where they won the Gold Medal in their category. In 2023, along with other national honorees, they visited the State House. We spoke with them about their experience.
May 2, 2023Sarah Weissman