A monthly serving of illuminating programs for all Granite Staters

Currently on exhibit at
River Valley Community College in Claremont, NH

The celebration of New Hampshire Humanities' 50th anniversary continues with a new project to unite Granite Staters around our shared history– in particular, how our small towns have evolved and continued to look for opportunities for growth and development. Now through August 2025, New Hampshire Humanities and Vermont Humanities are partnering with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program to bring a traveling exhibit, Crossroads: Change in Rural America, to small towns in both states. Currently on view in Claremont, NH, each host site has engaged their local communities to plan, shape, and implement the exhibit, defining what the project means to them. The public is invited and welcome to join events in both states, each one unique to its location. 

TOUR DATES:

Join us for our November Humanities at Home!

Friday, November 15 at 5:00 pm on Zoom

Dr. Melinda Negrón-Gonzales teaches courses on global affairs, development, and conflict studies at the University of New Hampshire. She's the founding director of the Global Conflict and Human Security master's program at UNH's Carsey School of Public Policy.

UPCOMING NHH GRANT-FUNDED EVENTS
(Free and open to the public)

Latino Poetry:
Places We Call Home

Poetry Reading featuring Diannely Antigua
Nov. 12, 5:00-7:00 pm, Durham Public Library
Free & open to the public

The Center for the Book, in collaboration with New Hampshire Humanities and UNH, with support from a Library of America grant, invites the public to a celebration of Latino poetry here in the Granite state. The celebration will center around Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, edited by Rigoberto González, 2024.

The Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence, Diannely Antigua, will read her poem, "Golden Shovel with Solstice" from the Latino Poetry anthology and will share more of her work. Poems from the anthology focusing on themes of voice and resistance, family and community, and language will be read by Daniel Chávez Landeros and Lucía Montás, both from UNH, and Mary Russell, Center for the Book. 

Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home is a major public humanities initiative in 2024-2025 that celebrates and explores the multifaceted legacy of Latino poetry. It is directed by Library of America and funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Lugares que llamamos hogar es una gran iniciativa pública en el campo de las humanidades, que se proyecta para el 2024 – 2025. Es dirigida por Library of América con el generoso apoyo del Fondo Nacional para las Humanidades.

More information here

THE S1 PROJECT
"What Did You Call Me?!”
An Exploration of Labeling and the Ethics of Democratic Citizenship
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 8:00 am-1:30 pm
NH Institute of Politics, Manchester

This half-day, multi-generational seminar for high school students and mixed-age adults, encourages discussion, reflection, and exploration of how labeling others – and being labeled ourselves – can impact our encounters with fellow citizens. Details

Supported in part by a New Hampshire Humanities Community Project Grant, a film by SALT Project and Canterbury Shaker Village tells the story of Alberta "Birdie" MacMillan Kirkpatrick (1918-2016), who was raised by the Canterbury Shakers. Birdie, the eldest of four children, was six years old when her mother died. Her father, desperate to find care for his four children, sent them to different foster homes. Birdie came to Canterbury Shaker Village on December 29, 1929, and lived with the sisters, many of them orphans who had also come to the Village as foster children. In this film, she recalls her childhood with the Shakers. Birdie left the Village in 1936 but returned many times throughout her long life.

"In true Shaker fashion, Birdie is the result of a community of caring creators: film documentarians, technicians, illustrators and animators,  historians, archivists, and curators," said Shirley Wajda, Curator of Research and Collections at Canterbury Shaker Village. "We are indebted to Birdie's daughter Marcy O'Brien and to SALT Project's Matthew Myer Boulton and Elizabeth Boulton for their insightful vision and caring distillation of Birdie's story. Of course, this work could not happen without friends and supporters such as New Hampshire Humanities."

Upcoming deadlines for Community Project Grants:  

MINI Grant Applications
Applications for Mini Grants (up to $2K) are accepted on a rolling basis. Details

MAJOR Grant Deadlines
Major Grant draft proposals are due December 15, 2024.
Final proposals are due January 15, 2024.

For more information and to access the application materials, click here.

Welcome to new and familiar faces at NHH...

Read more about Beth and Larissa in our next quarterly newsletter, Engage!

A new role: Lynn Douillette, Sr. Communications Associate

Our long-time Director of Annual Giving, Lynn Douillette, has transitioned to a new, part-time role as Sr. Communications Associate. Since 2006, Lynn has been responsible for a wide range of important fundraising projects and the recent implementation of an organization-wide data system. Her creativity and skills in writing and editing, along with her deep connections with supporters and abiding passion for the humanities in New Hampshire, will help us expand our reach and vision across the state and beyond.

In an era marked by political divides, the humanities serve as a refuge for constructive dialogue and understanding. With your help, we can continue providing programs that enrich our communities, bridge divisions, foster critical thinking, and celebrate the rich cultural heritage that binds us together. 

Please click the blue button or click HERE to make a secure, online donation today.

We thank you!

“The humanities have the power to revitalize endangered languages, to enrich our understanding of climate change, and to strengthen our democracy," said NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo). "The humanities help us to remember the forgotten and cherish our lives together. During National Arts and Humanities Month, let us take note and lift up these important, fundamental ways of learning and imagining.”  Read more

PARTNER NEWS

The UNH Center for the Humanities invites the public to its FIRST  MONDAY series which centers around short, informal talks by faculty members. On Monday, November 4, 5:00-7:00 pm, Nina Windgätter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, will speak about how calls for transparency can threaten referees’ and professors’ expertise. The event will be held at the Tideline Public House, 15 Newmarket Road, Durham, with appetizers and a cash bar (beer and wine). Please RSVP at humanities.center@unh.edu or 603-862-4356.

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The Cohen Center’s annual Kristallnacht Remembrance: Join the Cohen Center to mark the upcoming anniversary of Kristallnacht and remember those who were affected by this pogrom (wave of antisemitic violence) in 1938. The event will take place at Keene High School on Monday, November 4 at 5:30 pm. To register, please click HERE. This event includes survivor Kathy Preston, interfaith clergy, city officials, and the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany. All are welcome.

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Applications are open for the 2025-2026 NEA Big Read, a national program that offers matching grants of up to $20,000 to support community-wide reading programs. This year's theme, "Our Nature: How Our Physical Environment Can Lead Us to Seek Hope, Courage, and Connection," offers 22 available books from which applicants can choose. Nonprofit arts organizations, universities, libraries, service organizations, museums, school districts, and tribal governments are all encouraged to apply. Read more about eligibility and how to apply in the guidelines or visit the Arts Midwest website. 

Thank you to the following Annual Partners who provide year-round support for our work: