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Welcome to Your June 2018 Newsletter!
"House in Garden" by Auguste Macke (1914)
This month's newsletter is short, reflecting the advent of sunshine, fresh greenery, and budding flowers! Spring classes are coming to an end, and board members are taking well-deserved breaks. Across Maine, people are venturing out of doors (while also guarding themselves against menacing ticks!)
The Belfast Senior College Festival of Art is about to go into full swing. If you are lucky enough to be in the Belfast area between June 7-10, don't miss their outstanding Art Exhibition. They are also showing a presentation of the film "I Know a Man ... Ashley Bryan."
For those in the south of the state, I have a Summer Wisdom 2018 reminder. These Midcoast Senior College lectures are being held in the Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick.
Finally, there is an
exciting art exhibition in the Glickman Library on the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus.
Enjoy the sunshine!
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 The Gold LEAF Institute
"The American War In Vietnam Through A Different Lens."
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Photograph of Private First Class Russell R. Widdifield in Vietnam, 1969
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This spring term, a film series has been running for a class of engaged participants at The Gold LEAF Institute. Its title is "The American War In Vietnam Through A Different Lens."
Through five divergent approaches, the group is coming to a deeper and often somber understanding of the war in Viet Nam. The series is being presented by a veteran of that war, Doug Rawlings, and he brings a lifelong commitment to activism for peace, drawn from a trajectory and mission that sprouted out of his being drafted to Vietnam. One of the founding members of
Veterans for Peace, Doug works ceaselessly to confront the myths of war. He also runs a poetry workshop once a week with veterans at Togus VA Hospital. His work is aimed toward the healing of the moral injury that he sees is the ultimate result of war.
As the great historian (and Veterans For Peace member)
Howard Zinn
poin
ts out, there is no such thing as an objective historical account. After all, historians are human, too. The five films being shown frame,
each in a slightly different way,
the American War in Vietnam - not all of them exclusively "anti-war," but there is a definite leaning in that direction. Dr. Zinn used to begin most of his writing and speeches with a disclaimer at the front end - "here's what I think and why." As a veteran of that war, Doug holds firmly that the war was immoral, unjust, and profoundly damaging to the Vietnamese people and us (not to mention Australians and South Koreans,Thai, Laotian, and Cambodian people as well).
Here are the five films in sequence, and perhaps readers of this newsletter may want to pick them up or stream them and decide for themselves.
FIRST FILM: "DEAR AMERICA: LETTERS HOME FROM VIETNAM." This HBO special comes entirely from letters written home by soldiers, nurses, reporters as they wandered through the muck of that war. All letters are read by professional actors and much of it with amazing musical soundtracks. Running time: 84 minutes.
SECOND FILM: "HEARTS AND MINDS." This 1974 Academy Award-winning documentary, directed by Maine resident Peter Davis, is called "excruciatingly brilliant" by Paul Zimmerman of NEWSWEEK and touted by the N Y TIMES as "...the most all-encompassing records of the American civilization ever put into one film." Running time: 112 minutes.
THIRD FILM: "WINTER SOLDIER." This film shows the testimony given on January 31, 1971, by more than125 Vietnam veterans, testimony which included atrocities committed and witnessed, and filmed and circulated while the war was still raging. These veterans saw themselves as winter soldiers battling against the wrongs of the war and the brutal training that had made them capable of unthinkable violence." Premiered at the 1972 Cannes film festival. "...[O]ne of the most powerful anti-war films ever made and remains to this day a remarkable plea for peace." Running time: 90 minutes.
 FOURTH FILM: "SIR! NO SIR!" This documentary captures the vibrant GI anti-war movement that many claim was instrumental in ending the war. This film does four things: 1) Brings to life the history of the GI movement through the stories of those who were part of it; 2) Reveals the explosion of defiance that the movement gave birth to with never-before-seen archival material; 3) Explores the profound impact that movement had on the military and the war itself; and 4) also tells the story of how and why the GI Movement has been erased from the public memory. Running time: 90 minutes.
FIFTH FILM: "JOAN BAEZ: HOW SWEET THE SOUND" The final film is a real knock-out that Doug loves showing to his students in Peace Studies. Not only is Baez a remarkable singer and performer, but she is also one of the premier activists in our country's history. Think about it - at the age of 22, she is on the cover of TIME magazine for her iconic presence on the revitalizing folk music stage. So what does Joan Baez do? She joins the civil rights movement before most people even heard about it; she actively engages in anti-war activities throughout the American War in Viet Nam, and she continues her work to this day. All at great risk to her musical career. Running time: 110 minutes.
As you can tell, Doug chooses to lighten things up a bit at the end with some uplifting music and with the biographical story of Joan Baez. But the group is not shying away from the heaviness of this long saga: a part of U. S. History from which we all must continue to learn.
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Senior College Belfast
University of Maine Hutchinson Center
16TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ART
June 7- 10, 2018
Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
Schedule of Events:
Thursday, June 7
6:00 to 8:00 pm: Opening night and first viewing.
Friday, June 8
9:00 am to 5:00 pm: Exhibition hours.
Saturday, June 9
9:00 am to 5:00 pm: Exhibition hours.
2:00 pm:
Special presentation in the auditorium of the film "I Know a Man .... Ashley Bryan",
a tribute to the well-known artist and humanitarian. Hosted by the film's director Richard Kane, there is no admission charge to view the movie, all are welcome.
Sunday, June 10
12:00 noon to 3:00 pm: Exhibition hours.
Submitted by Cathy Bradbury, The Festival of Art Committee, Senior College at Belfast
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Midcoast Senior College Presents
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Colin Campbell Cooper, Summer (1918)
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Summer Wisdom 2018
At the Morrell Room of the Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick
Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., June 7, 14, 21, 28
Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by Sunnybrook Senior Living Community, Brunswick
Midcoast Senior College has planned another intellectually intriguing series of lectures for June 2018.
This year's Summer Wisdom lecture series will explore a variety of topics, both contemporary and historical. Each lecture and discussion lasts about 90 minutes.
June 6 - CAN POLITICAL POLLING BE TRUSTED?
Political polls are ubiquitous, but they have been wrong in recent years in predicting the outcomes of elections. Why do polls sometimes mismeasure the public's support for candidates or public policies? What characteristics of polls make them more or less accurate? This lecture will review common pitfalls of polls, but also review the many reasons to consider polls useful and valuable.
Michael Franz is Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College. He studies campaigns and elections, with a specific focus on campaign finance and political advertising. His most recent book is Political Advertising in the United States.
June 13 - AFGHANISTAN 2005-2017: A PERSPECTIVE ON AFGHAN LIFE AND CULTURE
This presentation will focus on the presenter's experiences with and general insights into Afghan society, changes over the past 12 years, and impact of political structures and international presence, especially in terms of aid and development projects, from the perspective of a veterinarian working in the country.
Susan Chadima is a veterinarian who has spent time in Afghanistan for over a decade. From 2013-2016 she was team leader for the Animal Health Development Programme, which is a long-term project funded by the European Union working directly with the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture's Directorate of Animal Health.
June 20 - AVOIDING THE CRACKS-A STORY OF SURVIVAL, 1939-49
This presentation will follow the ten-year story of the presenter's survival of both the holocaust and the communist dictatorship in Poland after WWII.
Rudy Horowitz was born in Poland and immigrated to the U.S. after surviving both the Nazi occupation and Polish communism. He lived and practiced architecture in New York until 2000. In 2017 he moved to Topsham, where he now resides.
June 27 - SALK VS. SABIN: THE CONFLICT OVER THE ERADICATION OF POLIO
The eradication of polio is one of medicine's greatest triumphs. However, the development of effective vaccines was marked by infighting, sniping and medical activities that would be banned today. This presentation will outline that fascinating story.
Richard Neiman, M.D. is Emeritus Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and of Internal Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine. He has had a longtime interest in the history of medicine.
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USM Portland Glickman Library
"Shadows & Light Exhibit"
The Art Group Tour 2018
May 19, 2018 - August 26, 2018
USM Glickman Library, 7th floor UNUM Great Reading Room, Portland Campus
May 19, 2018 through August 26, 2018
The artists will meet at the Glickman Library 7th floor Reading Room/Gallery on Friday, July 13, 2018 from 3:00pm to 5:00pm and will be available to talk about their works and answer any questions.
"The Art Group" show "Shadows and Light" coordinated by Peter Abate began its tour at the Gafney Library in Wakefield, N.H. and is now exhibiting at USM, 7th floor Glickman Library.
From curator, Peter Abate:
'The show includes art in a variety of mediums focusing on themes of shadow and light. Shadow and light are invaluable in art; both help the eye distinguish forms, space and distance. Shadow and light are experienced in many ways, including the physical interactions perceived by the eye through light and in shadows cast and attached, by light which is the result of natural effects or artificial light sources. Color interacts with light as a byproduct of the amount of reflected light on a particular object. Interpretations of shadow and light also fall into the realm of the symbolic, religious, metaphysical, emotional and the abstract, experienced in unlimited ways during our daily lives.'
The shows posters were designed by Maine graphic artist Bob Bond.
Artists participating are: Peter Abate, Darlene Bean, Bob Bond, Peggy Brewster, Steve Brown, Valerie Schurer Christle, Mabel Doyle, Ken Eason, Teresa M. Farina, Bob Farrell, Ron Fountain, JP Goodwin, Joe Keller, Elaine Klement, Gary LaPierre, Heather MacLeod, Emily Marsh, Anita Muise, Mikel OBrien, Shawn Pelech, Jeff Roberts, Norman Royle, Gabe Smith, Sharon Theiling, Jill Vendituoli, Lukas K. Weber, and Corina Willette
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Images Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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Portland, Maine 04104-9300
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