Carrie Cushman talks Museum of Art鈥檚 Marsden Hartley Legacy Project on Maine Public

Carrie Cushman, director of the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art, spoke about the museum鈥檚 current projects .

In conversation with Heather McDougall, manager of music and people at Maine Public Classical, Cushman, who joined the museum in August 2025, discussed the excitement of arriving at 乐播传媒. The museum is preparing to launch the Marsden Hartley Legacy Project, an online digital catalog of all known paintings and ephemera by modernist painter and Lewiston native Marsden Hartley, which has been in development since 2019.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really lucky that this is happening at 乐播传媒, and we will be the home of it and responsible for stewarding it into the future,鈥� Cushman told McDougall.

The 乐播传媒 Museum of Art was founded because of the Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Cushman explained, comprising over 400 paintings and ephemera by Hartley 鈥� by far the largest collection of Hartley鈥檚 work 鈥� which Hartley鈥檚 niece donated to the college in 1955. 

鈥淲e have people coming to the museum almost weekly requesting to see work from the collection, and many are artists who are looking for inspiration in this 20th century modernist who is finally getting his due,鈥� Cushman said.

Additionally, Cushman鈥檚 exhibition The Worlds of Ilse Bing was featured in a in the online magazine What Will You Remember?.

The exhibition is on view through May 24 at Wellesley College鈥檚 Davis Museum, where Cushman previously worked as the Linda Wyatt Gruber 鈥�66 Curatorial Fellow in Photography. Exploring Bing鈥檚 rise to prominence, coinciding with 35mm photography鈥檚 growing popularity, the exhibition 鈥渂rings her work into conversation with her creative influences and with those who she influenced in the worlds of modern art.鈥�

What Will You Remember? also included the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art鈥檚 exhibition Shellburne Thurber: Full Circle, co-curated by Thurber and 乐播传媒 assistant curator Samantha Sigmon, in its February roundup. On view through March 21, the exhibition demonstrates how Thurber鈥檚 photography has 鈥渧isualized interior work that is private, domestic, psychological, or insular.鈥�

Mara Tieken opines on rural schools, students in The Hechinger Report; Women Writers, Women鈥檚 Books

Though public school closures and consolidations are becoming increasingly common, they rarely serve their intended purpose of saving struggling school districts money, writes Professor of Education Mara Tieken in an .

For school districts with declining enrollment or decreasing state and federal funding, 鈥渟chool closures may seem logical,鈥� Tieken writes. 鈥淐lose schools, 鈥榬ight-size鈥� districts, save money. Problem solved.鈥�

However, she explains, school closures require additional transportation and renovation costs, often leading to districts saving little to no money, while students’ test scores and future college and employment outcomes decrease.

Tieken has extensively researched and written about rural schools and their students. On Feb. 5, she published a piece about the process of developing her latest book 鈥� Educated Out: How Rural Students Navigate Elite Colleges鈥擜nd What It Costs Them 鈥� in an .

While writing the book, which explores how students from rural places experience attending a small elite college, Tieken developed an approach to research characterized by slowly developing relationships with the students she was interviewing, she writes.

鈥淲e often think of research as a one-way process, a passing of 鈥榙ata鈥� from 鈥榮ubject鈥� to 鈥榬esearcher,鈥欌�� Tieken writes. 鈥淏ut that approach is neither ethical (in fact, it鈥檚 often quite exploitative) nor useful. So much more can be learned when the relationship is actually relational.鈥�

The 13 years that Tieken spent researching and writing the book taught her to be a more patient teacher, she says, with an expanded awareness of the struggles that her students from rural backgrounds may be facing. The book culminates with suggestions for how academic institutions can better support rural students.

鈥淎ll those recommendations that I make in the book鈥檚 final chapter?鈥� Tieken writes. 鈥淚 have to do them, too, and I feel obligated鈥攊n a really good way鈥攖o encourage others to do them, as well.鈥� 

Caylin Carbonell 鈥�12 gives public talk exploring daily life, labor dynamics in colonial New England

Caylin Carbonell 鈥�12, an assistant professor of history at Bowdoin College, gave a public lecture about labor dynamics in colonial New England households, .

The talk, entitled “Laboring Lives and Hidden Stories in Colonial New England,” was the second installment in a series of free online lectures hosted by the Lincoln County Historical Association, based in Wiscasset, Maine.

Carbonell shared insights on 鈥渢he daily lives inside colonial households as the country was beginning to take shape, with a focus on laborers, often a diverse group ranging from enslaved and indentured people to hired workers, including Indigenous, African, and European women and men.鈥�

She also discussed the challenges of uncovering the stories of 17th and 18th century laborers from incomplete or nonexistent records. Carbonell, who majored in history at 乐播传媒, is currently working on a book manuscript that closely explores daily life in colonial New England households.

Boston Globe, Sun Journal cover MLK Day at 乐播传媒

The held during 乐播传媒鈥� Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day,  鈥淔rom Silencing to Empowerment: Exploring Anger, Justice, and Post-traumatic Growth Among Refugee Women and Women of Color,鈥� led by Yun Garrison, assistant professor of psychology, and Fowsia Musse from Maine Community Integration.

During the workshop, Garrison and Musse presented a framework of healing from trauma that they developed by examining the experiences of refugee women. For Musse, herself a refugee from Somalia, and other Somalian refugees and immigrants living in Lewiston, the workshop was particularly topical, the Globe reports; Musse said that anxiety caused by the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration deportation agenda led her to reflect on past trauma from her immigration experience.

鈥淲hen something traumatic happens, how do we hold both anger and peace at the same time? Because sometimes they are pulling us in opposite directions,鈥� Garrison said. 鈥淢aybe love and healing can bridge this. I do not know, but that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 sitting with right now.鈥�

The Lewiston given by Myisha Cherry, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside.

Cherry’s address 鈥� 鈥淲hat Do We Do With All This Fear?鈥� 鈥� explored the day鈥檚 theme of 鈥淟ove, Anger and the Struggle for Justice鈥� by closely examining and interpreting MLK鈥檚 writings and words.

The Sun Journal quoted from President Garry W. Jenkins鈥� introductory remarks addressing the day鈥檚 theme, sharing his interpretation of how love and anger may intersect in the pursuit of justice.

鈥淚 would rather spend my days in a space of love rather than a space of anger,鈥� Jenkins said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 always get to make that choice. 鈥� In linking these two, we have to wrestle with how they exist together 鈥� both in tension and in harmony.鈥�

In sharing MLK鈥檚 thoughts about fear, Cherry explained that not all fear was negative; it can, in fact, be harnessed and transformed into a powerful force for change, the Sun Journal reported.

鈥淲e should be maestros as opposed to mere masters of our normal fears 鈥� and we should transition that normal fear into courage,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淐ourage is just not doing something in spite of your fear, it鈥檚 taking your fear and matching it up with confidence 鈥� and engaging in action.鈥�

As the Sun Journal reported, Cherry linked this healthy fear to MLK鈥檚 nonviolent protests and actions, urging all in the audience to use their 鈥渘ormal鈥� fear to advance causes they care about.

鈥淲hat we should do with this fear is make something beautiful out of it,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淭his is a time of fear for lots of us 鈥� Turning to King has been illuminating, and I find that fear doesn鈥檛 mean that we are weak, it doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檝e given people the upper hand. It means that we鈥檙e sensitive to injustice. It means we value the people we鈥檙e fearful for and we value the principles that we are scared we are going to lose.鈥� 

Brian Shankar Adler featured in DownBeat magazine鈥檚 cover story

Brian Shankar Adler 鈥� percussionist and 乐播传媒 instructor of drum set, tabla, and other hand percussion 鈥� and Grammy-award winning soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom released their debut album once like a spark, in their February issue鈥檚 cover story, 鈥淢aking music in the moment.鈥� 

The magazine used the stage at Olin Concert Hall as the setting for a photo shoot with the two musicians, who have performed extensively in Lewiston and Portland, Maine as a duo.

鈥淲e played each other鈥檚 compositions, and the music came alive instantly,鈥� Adler told DownBeat. 鈥淥ver the years, we built up a hefty book of tunes and a musical language with which to communicate.鈥�

Without chorded or bass instruments, the brass-drum duo is a rare one, DownBeat reported. The combination makes for a unique, melodic sound, with roots in jazz, North Indian Hindustani, and Indonesian musical traditions.

鈥淭he way I see it, music is interconnected and has the power to communicate beyond borders,鈥� Adler told DownBeat. 鈥淟istening to and playing jazz, it鈥檚 evident that the music has roots beyond America and arms that extend to virtually every corner of the world. When approached with open ears, curiosity and a sense of respect for the traditions, the possibilities for exchange are really limitless.鈥�

Art New England reviews current exhibition at the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art

On Feb. 5, of 鈥淧recision and Expression: American Studio Ceramics from the E. John Bullard Collection,鈥� the current show at the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art, co-curated by Assistant Curator Samantha Sigmon and Lecturer in Art and Visual Culture Susan Dewsnap. 鈥�…Bullard sought diversity and individuality in his acquisitions,鈥� Little writes. 鈥淗e also embraced humor and joy: many of the pieces will prompt a smile.鈥� 

Calling it an 鈥渆ntertaining and enlightening exhibition,鈥� Little highlighted an 鈥渆xquisite vessel鈥� by Mark Bell, 鈥淪pherical Vase,鈥� ca. 2011, which he said 鈥渆xemplifies the Blue Hill, Maine, artist鈥檚 seamless style.鈥�

Little also explained the motivation behind Bullard鈥檚 generous gift to the museum. 鈥淭he collector鈥檚 longtime ties to Haystack and the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, inspired his gift, as did the college鈥檚 ceramics program led by Susan Dewsnap, who co-curated the exhibition and accompanying catalogue,鈥� Little writes. 鈥淏ullard envisions future students exploring and learning from these singular objects. That vision is already happening: interns at the 乐播传媒 Museum researched artists for the catalogue and labels.鈥� 

Charles A. Dana Professor of English and Africana Ther铆 Pickens鈥� first volume of poetry, What Had Happened Was, published by Duke University Press in March, was the subject of a two-page spread in Down East magazine鈥檚 April issue. Headlined “Well Versed,” the article included an interview with Pickens and a reprint of one of the poems in the collection, 鈥淭he Amateur Gardener Considers a Time of Death.鈥� 

Pickens has had a busy spring. In conjunction with National Poetry Month, she appeared on Maine Public鈥檚 Maine Calling in April, as part of a panel of Maine poets and visited several universities to give talks and readings, including Rutgers (as the Clement A. Price humanities scholar in residence), the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and the University of Virginia. On April 3, she was celebrated by faculty, staff, and students at a book party in Commons. She also recently gave interviews to the online publication and .

In the Down East story, journalist Michaela Cavallaro reports that Pickens’ debut collection “showcases a distinctive knack for synthesizing diverse influences.”

She writes: 鈥淧ickens weaves together her academic training, her pop-culture interests, and her studies and experience of disability, among many other elements, in more than three dozen poems that are as readable as they are formally and linguistically inventive. Pickens traces her development as a poet all the way back to her New Jersey childhood (as a 5-year-old, she won a citywide writing contest for first to fourth graders on the subject of 鈥榃hy I鈥檓 Proud to Be an African American鈥�).鈥�

The Maine Calling panel included Maya Williams, poet laureate of Portland, 2021鈥�24, and Rose Lane, author of four poetry collections. 

Pickens told listeners what prompts her to start writing a poem: 

鈥淭here’s usually some sort of music, some sort of thought, some sort of observation that scratches my temple from the inside of my head, so to say, this urgent thing that’s begging to be let out on paper. I tend to think of myself a little bit in the vein of observational comedians. They see things and observe them and observe their absurdity and then tell you about it…. I’m always really gratified when I find an audience, in part because audiences can come from all over. Matthew Zapruder once said that he has to trust that, because he’s having a human experience, other people also having human experiences will find his work when they need it. And so I think I operate in that trust as well.鈥�

At the end of听the Maine Calling show, a caller asked if the panelists had any advice for aspiring poets looking to publish their work. Pickens weighed in with this advice, referencing one of her faculty colleagues, Jessica Anthony ’96, a senior lecturer in English and a National Book Award鈥搉ominated novelist:听

鈥淥ne of the other writers here at 乐播传媒, Jess Anthony, talked about poetry as a kind of punishing space because when you submit something, you don’t really get feedback,鈥� Pickens said. 鈥淵ou get, ‘Oh, it doesn’t work for us.’ And so you see enough of that, you wonder whether or not the poems work for anybody. So publishing poetry is quite difficult for that reason. But Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance gives us a sense of community in Maine and a space to think through things with each other.鈥澨�

At the campus gathering April 3, Pickens read a selection of poems from What Had Happened Was and was interviewed by moderator Samaa Abdurraqib, Ph.D., executive director of the Maine Humanities Council.

The book party also offered an opportunity to recognize Pickens鈥� recent appointment to an endowed professorship. In November 2024 the college announced she would serve as Charles A. Dana Professor of English and Africana from 2024 through 2034. 

Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, introduced Pickens at the packed gathering 鈥� which included an airing of pre-recorded messages of congratulations, accolades and gratitude from former colleagues across the country and many 乐播传媒 graduates. Hill reminded the audience that the Dana Professorship is the first endowed chair established at 乐播传媒 and recognizes professional excellence from professors working in any discipline.

鈥淒r. Pickens鈥� intersectional pathbreaking scholarship and pedagogy traverses the fields of race, identity and disability,鈥� Hill said, and went on to describe her writing across mediums as 鈥渋nventive, theoretically, and aesthetically attuned. She provides conceptual grammars and vocabularies that are of the present and for the future.鈥�

鈥淚 would love it if folks could find something in the collection that resonated” 鈥� Ther铆 Alyce Pickens

In March, Pickens described her hopes and aspirations for the collection in with poet Nefertiti Asanti in The Adroit Journal.

鈥淚 would love it if folks could find something in the collection that resonated and for folks looking to the collection, maybe for comfort?鈥� Pickens told Asanti. 鈥淔olks looking to be read, in that, 鈥楤lack, queer reading is fundamental鈥� kind of way, they could also find that. I don鈥檛 want the focus to be on how I, as a poet, put something or anything really autobiographical into the text. But rather that it鈥檚 a celebration of Black linguistic prowess and people can find something in it that speaks to them.鈥�

For The Cafe Review piece, Pickens was interviewed by a former 乐播传媒 colleague, Jefferson Navicky, who asked about her 鈥渨ide-ranging and masterful鈥� use of poetic forms, including the villanelle, the haibun, and the sonnet. Pickens offered the insight that she uses these forms almost as guideposts, because even though she has been writing poetry since the age of 8, she still feels “like a beginning poet.”

“So when I started practicing my craft in earnest in 2017, forms seemed like the best way to get into poetry…. They offer some degree of constraint, rules to follow, so that I don鈥檛 get too lost. What began as a way to practice 鈥� and shout out to Kiese Laymon, who said, ‘We鈥檙e not good enough to not practice’ 鈥� became more attractive once I saw other folks achieving loveliness with them.”

A selection of recent mentions of 乐播传媒 faculty in the news, including glowing coverage of an exhibition at the college’s Immersive Media Studio plus faculty commentaries on the importance of rural education, the expanding implications of AI in education, how homelessness impairs people’s sense of autonomy.

乐播传媒 IMStudio

鈥楥hronicle of a Fall鈥� showcases 乐播传媒 College鈥檚 Immersive Media Studio 鈥� Portland Press Herald

A recent , a flexible, high-tech space in Coram Library designed for multimedia installations that integrate video, sound, light, and interactive technology.

The story describes how the immersive video project Chronicle of a Fall, by artists Nadav Assor and Tirtza Even 鈥� on view at the IMStudio through May 2 鈥� helped to inspire the studio鈥檚 creation.

Reported by Megan Gray, the Press Herald story describes how Chronicle of a Fall successfully reflects the potential for magic and meaning making in the new IMStudio. The project depicts the layered sensory experiences of immigrant workers in the U.S. cultural sector using pointillized projections, bodycam footage, and surround sound.

View the installation trailer for Chronicle of a Fall:

Even emphasized the rarity of spaces equipped to properly present immersive video work to the Press Herald. 鈥淭his studio doesn鈥檛 exist, pretty much, in many places,鈥� Even said. Carolina Gonz谩lez Valencia, an associate professor of art and visual culture who is also a filmmaker, added that “it鈥檚 not just about having the technology, but why.鈥�

Coram Library and the IMStudio “sit at the very heart of the 乐播传媒 campus,” Gray noted in her story, adding that “the choice of location was deliberate.” The faculty-led 乐播传媒 Arts Collaborative, which helped design the studio, “wants this space to be used across disciplines.”

鈥淲e want it to feel like it could belong to anyone,鈥� said Assistant Professor of Music Asha Tamirisa, who along with Gonz谩lez Valencia is part of the arts collaborative. 鈥淎nyone could work there.鈥�

Mara Tieken

Commentary: Rural school closures 鈥� punishment for crimes never committed 鈥� The Daily Yonder

In addition to her recent op-ed in the Portland Press Herald offering a , Associate Professor of Education Mara Tieken recently published a in The Daily Yonder, a national news outlet dedicated to reporting on rural people and places.

Tieken, who studies rural education and previously worked as a third grade teacher in rural Tennessee, explains how school closures and consolidations harm students and their communities.

鈥淓very year, hundreds of thousands of children are displaced when their schools are permanently shuttered,鈥� Tieken writes.

School districts often anticipate that closing schools with low attendance rates or low grades will save money and improve educational opportunities, Tieken explains, and many states have laws requiring districts to shutter schools with consistently poor academic performances.

However, Tieken says, research does not support notions that school closures mitigate financial hardships and improve grades. Conversely, closures often lead to academic and behavioral problems.

鈥淐losure is not an answer to budget shortfalls, academic underperformance, or educational inequality,鈥� Tieken writes. 鈥淭here is no cheaper alternative; we cannot punish our way to excellence.鈥�

As a rural education scholar, Tieken regularly fields requests for support from rural schools facing closure and maintains a website, Rural Schools Open, which offers resources for understanding and combating school closure. She also regularly writes about rural education; Tieken鈥檚 second book, Educated Out, is set to release in May and profiles nine first-generation, rural students attending an elite private college Tieken calls 鈥淗illtop.鈥�

In the book, Tieken examines how the students鈥� rural and often low-income backgrounds affect their experiences at the school. Some of these students, for example, reported being unable to access certain opportunities, such as unpaid internships and expensive extracurriculars, due to their financial situations. Students also mentioned feeling judged for their rural backgrounds at Hilltop, while simultaneously feeling like they no longer fit in with their home communities.

鈥淎 lot of them felt kind of stuck in between: they don’t fully belong at Hilltop, they don’t fully belong at home,鈥� Tieken says. 鈥淎nd for some of the students, it felt freeing. They got to make their own road, do their own thing. But I think it’s also really alienating and disorienting at times.鈥�

Earlier this month, Tieken also op-ed about the impact that dismantling the Department of Education could have on Maine schools.

About 10 percent of Maine鈥檚 education funds come from the federal government and support some of the most critical statewide programs. In 2024, Maine received $62 million in federal funding for Title I education supporting low-income students and $66 million for special education support. 

鈥淎nother important program is the department鈥檚 Rural Education Achievement Program,鈥� Tieken writes. 鈥淩EAP helps offset the unique budgetary challenges that come with providing education in sparsely populated, remote places, and it is critical in a state like Maine, where more than two-thirds of schools are rural.鈥�

Additional federal funding supports Pell Grants for undergraduate students, vital research about public education, and early learning and adult education programs.

鈥淎ll of this work is threatened right now. These programs and grants make for strong schools, useful research and prepared graduates,鈥� Tieken writes. 鈥淭hey help produce teachers, doctors and business leaders and keep Maine on the cutting edge of educational and technological practice.鈥�

Carrie Diaz Eaton 

AI: privacy and security 鈥� Maine Calling on Maine Public

Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Carrie Diaz Eaton was part of a , earlier this month.

The other panelists were Michael Donihue, interim director at Colby鈥檚 Davis Institute for AI; Bowdoin鈥檚 Fernando Nascimento, assistant professor, digital and computational studies; and Berkeley Almand-Hunter, technical director of partner products at the Roux Institute.

Host Jennifer Rooks wanted to know how Diaz Eaton鈥檚 students at 乐播传媒 relate (or don鈥檛) to AI. 

鈥淲hat do 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds coming to 乐播传媒 understand about AI and where are there gaps in knowledge that you’re really working on helping them to understand?鈥� Rooks asked. 

Diaz Eaton described three students she鈥檚 got working for her now, helping her develop a new module for incoming students, a sort of AI literacy course.

鈥淎nd I have one that’s like, 鈥業’m so excited about this. We got to teach everybody how to do a prompt and get this information really well and how to use it and to be valuable in the workplace,鈥欌�� Diaz Eaton said.

鈥淚 have another student that’s like, 鈥業 really value my own thought process and what I bring to this as a human, and I just don’t feel comfortable using AI at all. I don’t trust it.鈥欌�� Then there鈥檚 the student who is focused on the ins and outs of the technological aspect of it all.

鈥淪o I feel like I’m always in this microcosm of really diverse opinions and preparedness from students,鈥� Diaz Eaton said. 

She also told listeners about her course, “Calling Bull: Data Literacy and Information Science,鈥� which she鈥檒l be teaching in the Fall. It鈥檚 a course she teaches regularly, but in recent years, discussion of AI has become a more substantive portion of that course. 鈥淏ecause you鈥檝e got misinformation being created at a scale, on purpose or not,鈥� Diaz Eaton told the audience.

Paul Schofield

An autonomy worth having 鈥� Jacobin

For Jacobin, Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Schofield, whose research focuses on moral and political philosophy, wrote about the , which is once again being offered as a solution in some quarters after being roundly rejected by both the left and the right 40 years ago.

Schofield describes the political alignments for and against it and then advocates for what he calls a 鈥渄eeper autonomy, a kind of autonomy worth having,鈥� outlining a new middle ground.

He uses the case of a homeless woman named Joyce Brown who was forcibly hospitalized in 1987 by the city of New York and successfully challenged the city鈥檚 right to detain her with the help of the New York Civil Liberties Union to demonstrate how involuntary hospitalization is not a solution.

Schofield then also examines two cases of homeless women in the Northwest, one who froze to death and another who gave birth on the street to a baby who quickly died of hypothermia, to illustrate how autonomy is more complex than people on either end of the political spectrum might admit. 

鈥淭hese are cases in which people are straightforwardly prevented by their sickness and circumstances from being able to weigh values, to fully understand the implications of their actions, and to act in ways that accord with what they care about.

“In other words, they are cases in which their mental illness and material circumstances undermine their autonomy. Leaving them alone might be a way to respect bare-bones libertarian freedom. But if it鈥檚 meaningful autonomy we care about, it鈥檚 entirely insufficient.鈥�

This area of moral philosophy is one Schofield has been examining to great success. He was recently honored by the American Philosophical Association for an op-ed he published in The Conversation .鈥� He was one of five winners of the association鈥檚 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest, which recognizes standout pieces that 鈥渟uccessfully blend philosophical argumentation with an op-ed writing style.鈥�

A selection of recent mentions of 乐播传媒 faculty in the news, from a glowing review of a new poetry collection to economic analysis of a big move by Samsung and an exploration of what The New York Times describes as still “taboo” for many women.

Ther铆 Pickens

‘A powerful exploration of storytelling and Black experiences’ 鈥� Library Journal

What Had Happened Was, the debut poetry collection by Charles A. Dana Professor of English and Africana Ther铆 Alyce Pickens, in February, which described the book as a 鈥減owerful exploration of storytelling and Black experiences.鈥�

What Had Happened Was is due out March 25 , which also published Pickens鈥� 2019 book Black Madness :: Mad Blackness, an examination of Blackness and disability.

Her poetry collection addresses topics ranging from Black life, popular culture, and history to individual encounters with emotional, love, and chronic disability. Pickens weaves in mentions of Li鈥檒 Kim and memories of the ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, then turns to subjects such as Harriet Tubman and Breonna Taylor.

In her review for Library Journal, Jessica Calaway called the poem titled “On March 12, 2020, Breonna Taylor” 鈥渟triking鈥� and an invitation to readers to 鈥渞eflect on Taylor鈥檚 legacy and broader implications.鈥� The full review is available only to subscribers, but here are some excerpts:

“The collection鈥檚 strength lies in its content and form. Through intentional sentence structures 鈥攈yphens, periods, or strategic placement of text on the page 鈥� the collection encourages readers to pause and absorb the gravity of historical moments. Pickens employs a variety of styles, yet all her poems share a common thread: they create a space for reflection.鈥�

And Library Journal鈥檚 鈥渧erdict鈥�? Pickens鈥� poetry is essential:

“This collection demands attention and introspection by offering a raw yet eloquent portrayal of the intersections of history, identity, and systemic oppression. It鈥檚 an essential read for people seeking to honor the complexity of the experiences of Black Americans.鈥�

An on-campus reading, Q&A, and book signing for What Had Happened Was is planned for Thursday, April 3.

Rebecca Herzig

Is facial hair the last taboo in women鈥檚 beauty? 鈥� The New York Times

A story in The New York Times for insights into historical assumptions made about women of color with facial hair.

The Times had asked female readers to respond to a questionnaire about their relationship with their facial hair. Almost 900 people responded and while some described pacts they鈥檇 made with friends to pluck each other鈥檚 facial hair into their dotage, when they were no longer able to care for themselves, others spoke of embracing what occurs naturally.

Writer Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff described some cultural changes around this 鈥渓ast taboo鈥�:

鈥淭his century, a shift of sorts has emerged around the norms of women鈥檚 bodies. There have been multiple movements, such as ‘Januhairy,’ which encouraged women to grow their body hair, including facial hair, during the month of January (the community鈥檚 official Instagram account has 42,000 followers).”

Brinkhurst-Cuff references Rosalie, a 2023 French film that featured a bearded female protagonist, and quotes its director: 鈥淚 invented the story of a young woman who frees herself by embracing her beard,鈥� said the film鈥檚 director, St茅phanie di Gusto. 鈥淲ith Rosalie鈥檚 beard, I wanted to reinvent femininity.鈥�

Brinkhurst-Cuff also draws on Herzig鈥檚 research in Plucked: A History of Hair Removal to discuss how women’s facial hair has been associated with “madness, degeneracy, and 鈥榠nferior races.鈥欌��

It鈥檚 been 10 years since Plucked was published, but Herzig still fields regular inquiries from journalists and students working on related topics. “It’s sort of astonishing,” she says.

Paul Shea

Samsung bought back $2 billion of its own shares. Now it鈥檚 canceling them entirely 鈥� Marketplace

Why do companies sometimes cancel (and then buy back) their own stock? Dowling Family Professor of Economics Paul Shea was among prominent economists who explain to Marketplace , including being able to avoid higher taxes.

鈥淚nvestors have a reason to prefer share cancellations to, say, offering a dividend,” Shea said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 pay a dividend tax rate on it. You pay a capital gains tax rate, which is lower for most people.鈥�

But, Shea said, the billions of dollars that Samsung spent to buy the shares it鈥檚 canceling means it鈥檚 not spending money on growth, like building new plants or acquiring other companies. 鈥淪o that could be a negative signal, but it could also just be that this is not a time where there鈥檚 great opportunity for expansion,鈥� Shea told Marketplace:

鈥淪hea said the cancellations would make him more nervous for a younger company that鈥檚 never turned a profit. With an older, more stable company like Samsung, he said there鈥檚 nothing wrong with returning money to shareholders this way.鈥�

Paul Schofield

APA announces Fall 2024 prize winners 鈥� American Philosophical Association

Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Schofield was recently honored by the American Philosophical Association for an op-ed he published in The Conversation, titled 鈥淏eing Homeless Means Not Being Free 鈥� As Americans Are Supposed to Be.鈥�

Schofield was one of of five philosophers honored by the association鈥檚 committee on public philosophy in the Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest, which goes to up to five philosophers who write standout pieces that 鈥渟uccessfully blend philosophical argumentation with an op-ed writing style.鈥�

In his prize-winning essay, .”

For example, he writes, “a person who is homeless and sleeps on a public bench will often be told by the police to move. Someone who sets up a tent on a sidewalk will usually have it confiscated. Someone who urinates or defecates in a park can be arrested.

“Now you can see why some think that homelessness compromises a person鈥檚 freedom. Sleeping and relieving oneself are necessary, life-sustaining tasks…. Given the way society protects private property and regulates public spaces, it seems that people who are homeless are left with no space at all in which they are free to do the things they need to do in order to live.”

Professor of Sociology Michael Rocque has been an expert source for the media on gun violence for years and has also regularly authored opinion pieces on the topic. In the wake of the mass shootings in Lewiston, one year ago, he wrote , calling for legislative action, as well as .

But in , Rocque took a new approach to the issue, delving into the available data around weapons used for hunting versus self-defense, and calling for more nuance in discussions on how gun volume in the U.S. relates to violence.听

Raised in Maine, Rocque has been a hunter since he was a boy. He vividly recalls taking his required hunting safety course with his father at his side. As a sociologist, he鈥檚 long puzzled over why Maine, a place with a high rate of gun ownership, has had low rates of gun crimes. But as he writes now, 鈥淚 was overlooking the reality that a large portion of guns [in Maine] are likely meant for killing wildlife. What鈥檚 the difference? I would argue a lot.鈥� 

鈥淭here is a symbolic difference between owning weapons for hunting and owning weapons for sport or defense. The former is not infused with the implication of violence against humans. The latter carries with it that possibility.鈥�

乐播传媒 News had questions for Rocque about how this piece came about, his evolving thoughts on how a decrease in hunting nationwide might be linked to the data around guns and violence and what鈥檚 next for him in terms of scholarship.

BN: When did you realize that you鈥檇 been overlooking this differential between Maine鈥檚 relatively low gun violence rates versus its high rate of gun ownership? 

MR: I thought about this initially when the Maine Legislature was considering a group of gun laws a few years ago and the media was asking me questions about how much of a likelihood there was for a mass shooting in Maine. We have low gun crime but relatively high gun suicide rates, which is part of this puzzle. 

BN: In the piece you review some of the studies available and outline what we are missing in terms of data. There鈥檚 no national registry of guns in the U.S., or comprehensive data on the amount and type of guns that Americans own. There have been some analyses around types of firearms, such as handguns, but not much in the way of studies around a possible connection between hunting and crime.

While you as a hunter are horrified by even the idea that a gun you buy for hunting could be used to harm a human being, you write, 鈥渁n argument can be made that hunting would be related to a higher propensity to commit crime. After all, hunters kill animals and are used to handling weapons. Perhaps a willingness to take a life translates to a greater willingness to cause pain across species.鈥� But you haven鈥檛 found any data that show a conclusive connection between hunting and crime, one way or another. Does this mean you鈥檙e about to dive deeper into this as a scholar?

MR: I would very much be interested in exploring this topic further on more than a surface level. I think there are interesting logical arguments to be made about how hunting may be related to crimes. Putting data to work to better understand this relationship is important and can add nuance to the gun debate we鈥檝e been having for 50 years.

BN: What has the response to the Slate article been so far? Have you heard from a lot of hunters? You write about being in the woods with your dad鈥檚 old hunting buddy Jack and his stance that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not the guns, it鈥檚 the people鈥� behind these mass shootings. While you write, “No, guns on their own don鈥檛 kill people, but they do allow a person intent on killing an easy way to do so,” you’re not picking a fight with him. You’re more interested in nuance, and frustrated by the way both sides, as you write, “overlook so many shades of grey.”

Have you heard from Jack since the piece was published? Or others? 

MR: I have not heard from Jack but I鈥檓 looking forward to discussing the ideas with him. I have heard from a few people who have appreciated the perspective and a few who think I missed the mark. It鈥檚 always great to write something that people are considering and thinking about even if they disagree though.

BN: You seem to draw the conclusion that the decrease in hunting nationwide 鈥� i.e., gun ownership not just for sport but also literally for filling freezers for families to eat 鈥� and the increase in gun crime might be linked. Is this right?

MR: Yes, and more specifically, if the decrease in hunting is linked to mass shootings. The connection is a bit complex and not likely to be direct, but to the extent that there are more guns in circulation now and fewer hunters suggests that those guns are meant to be used on humans, not animals.

BN: Do you mean that given that the number of hunters continues to decline, it鈥檚 hard to overlook that, overall, the purpose of gun ownership has shifted? 

MR: Yes, I think that鈥檚 a fair question to ask. We know that the NRA, for example, shifted quite significantly from advocating for gun safety initially to now primarily being concerned with making sure there are no limits to gun ownership. So I think culturally there has been a big shift in the US. .in terms of what guns mean and what they symbolize.

BN: How did this piece end up in Slate?  

MR: My 乐播传媒 colleague [Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies] Tyler Harper let me know that one of their editors was interested in essays exploring the gun debate in unique ways, and she mentioned hunting in her list of possible topics. I pitched the idea to her, and she accepted it in the spring but wanted to wait until hunting season before running it.

BN: I know you鈥檝e been working , which sounds fascinating. Will you have to put that aside to do this work on gun ownership?

MR: The lobster project is my main priority in terms of research but the violence and gun crime topic is still one that I鈥檓 working on with some colleagues across the country. I like to diversify the topics that I work on to avoid burnout!

Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Schofield has become an expert source on the social and moral issues surrounding homelessness, writing opinion pieces on what he calls the “unique injustice” associated with being unhoused and prompting further conversation on the topic.

In August, a Seattle publication featured a profile of a photographer who chronicles the homeless in his community. The author of that profile had learned about photographer J.M. Simpson from Schofield’s posts on X about him.

乐播传媒 News had a conversation with Schofield about his exploration of homelessness in America 鈥� including his widely distributed Washington Post opinion piece 鈥� and the ways he hopes to deepen the progressive response to the issue.

BN: In April you , formerly known as Twitter, about photographer J.M. Simpson鈥檚 work in Washington State, humanizing the lives of unhoused people living communally and otherwise. Your first post was shared something like 24,000 times, and it drew the notice of a writer for Seattle Metropolitan magazine who contacted Simpson and that ran last month. How did you come to know Simpson鈥檚 work?

Schofield: 滨鈥檇 and when you do that, you get some e-mails! Some were encouraging, some were angry, and some were just attempts to share thoughts.

One came from a formerly unhoused individual who linked to something he鈥檇 written. After a little back and forth, he told me I should look at the photography of someone he knew. Now, I didn鈥檛 really know what to expect鈥攖his was a more or less random person telling me to look at his friend鈥檚 pictures, and my expectations were low, quite honestly. But I got in contact with the friend and when I opened up the attachments to his e-mail I was absolutely astounded. It was just a wonderful gift that fell right into my lap!

BN: Were you surprised by how widely your posts were shared? Have you been in touch with Simpson since the Seattle Met piece appeared? 

Schofield: It took off more than I could have hoped. But I was intentionally aiming to get a wider audience for his work and so I thought for a while about when and how to write a thread that might get some attention.

I asked Simpson ahead of time if he was OK with this, and he said, 鈥淪ure.鈥� After the post went viral, I told him about it (he鈥檚 not on Twitter/X), and he said that was great, but his main hope was that this would bring more attention to the issue of homelessness.

Some people say things like that just because that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e supposed to say. But I feel like he really meant it. How odd! At any rate, I was glad his work got so much recognition (in addition to being glad about bringing attention to the issue, of course). And yes, he and I have talked recently. We鈥檝e Zoomed several times in the last few months, and I鈥檓 going out to Olympia during fall break to meet with him and to visit the encampments out there. Hopefully some collaboration will come out of it.

BN: This issue has seemingly become a key part of your scholarship. In 2022 you were featured in the University of New Hampshire鈥檚 Philosophy Colloquium Series, arguing that homelessness should be considered in a different light than other social justice matters because it tests our democratic commitments as a liberal democracy.

This May, you gave a talk entitled 鈥淗omelessness and the Lewiston Auburn Community: Can We Move Forward Together?鈥� that was , What sparked your interest in this topic? Is it a typical subject for a philosopher to tackle?

“I began thinking philosophically about the ways in which homelessness was a unique form of injustice and not just an instance of extreme poverty.” 鈥� Paul Schofield

Schofield: During COVID, while we were all told to go to our homes and stay there, I read some stories about how unhoused individuals had nowhere to go and how this was creating an enormous burden for them. Mostly out of boredom, to be honest (the early days of COVID were boring), I began volunteering at a food pantry and soup kitchen. It seemed like a way to be helpful.

But I鈥檓 a philosopher, and so while I was scooping mashed potatoes or handing out bags of apples, I began thinking philosophically about the ways in which homelessness was a unique form of injustice and not just an instance of extreme poverty.

Homelessness, it seemed to me, was more like wholesale exclusion from society. So much of what we do in society presumes that people have a home to go to (like when we all retreat to our homes during a pandemic). This point seems even more relevant now that the Supreme Court has said cities can make laws prohibiting sleeping outdoors 鈥� if there鈥檚 such a law, and you don鈥檛 have somewhere to go, it鈥檚 as if your very right to exist has been taken away!

“Progressives should be more concerned about the crime and disorder that results from homelessness because crime and disorder make it hard for everyone to live together peacefully.” 鈥� Paul Schofield

Anyway, I started talking about these ideas with people while volunteering and they encouraged me to write about them. So that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing now. There鈥檚 been some writing by philosophers about homelessness, but not a ton. It鈥檚 been rewarding to think and write on a topic that hasn鈥檛 already been debated to death.

BN: That Washington Post piece from November 2023 spread far and wide. Many other publications republished it. What was the impact of such a prominent opinion piece placement?

Schofield: The basic idea in the piece was that progressives should be more concerned about the crime and disorder that results from homelessness because crime and disorder make it hard for everyone to live together peacefully. Crime and disorder also generate resentment toward those who are unhoused, making it more difficult to address the problem in a decent way.

I heard from a lot of readers when the piece came out. Some of the reactions were unsurprising 鈥� there were people who resent the homeless and were happy that I was (they believed) affirming their resentment, and there were those who were angry that I was giving aid and comfort to conservatives.

That said, I received a lot of thoughtful feedback from people who see the homelessness in their community and the strife it creates, but want to be humane toward those who are suffering. These correspondences made me realize the extent to which people are genuinely conflicted about homelessness and are struggling with how to deal with it. I hope the op-ed helped them think through things a little bit.

BN: You were on in April, talking about the social contract and common decency and that op-ed came up. You told listeners you were trying to make a progressive case for taking seriously those sorts of complaints. Which relates to the social contract. Can you elaborate? 

Schofield: I strongly believe that we should have compassion for those who are unhoused. But I also think we need to consider things from the perspective of the parents who can鈥檛 let their child play in the park because there are syringes everywhere, or the woman who is working as a cashier and is afraid to walk home from her night shift because there are people with mental-health troubles on the streets who harass her. Their perspectives matter and a productive conversation with them will take their worries seriously.

BN: As you continue to explore this topic, what comes next? A book?

Schofield: I have been working on a book tentatively called Exiled in Their Own Land: How Our Unhoused Citizens Get Excluded from Everything and the Need for a Homeless Civil Rights Movement. My agent and I are approaching publishers as we speak. Stay tuned!

This month’s selection of media coverage highlighting the insight, expertise and achievements of 乐播传媒 professors has a little bit of everything, from the presidential election to personal economics, news about a top literary award, and even, a major fish tale.

For a creative writing professor who is also a novelist, there’s nothing like being in the running for a major book award to spread the word about your novel in a wide variety of publications. That’s what happened to Lecturer in English Jessica Anthony ’96 this week when her novel The Most was longlisted for the National Book Award.

Meanwhile, economics professor Paul Shea weighed in on American personal savings rates for Marketplace and the newest issue of The Atlantic includes a deep dive by Tyler Austin Harper, assistant professor of environmental studies, into the secret world of extreme fishing. Wetsuit required. Read below to learn more and get links to coverage of other faculty members in the news.

Jessica Anthony ’96

National Book Foundation announces the longlist for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction 鈥� People

The fourth novel by Lecturer in English Jessica Anthony ’96, The Most, made the National Book Foundation’s longlist of 10 books for its 2024 Fiction prize. The news was featured in numerous outlets, including , and , along with .

Here’s what the had to say about Anthony’s book:

“This year鈥檚 Fiction Longlist features two titles that interrogate the role of gender in marriage, in sex, and in artmaking. On an unusually warm Sunday in November, housewife, mother, and former tennis champion Kathleen Beckett puts on her old, red bathing suit, enters her apartment complex鈥檚 semi-abandoned pool, and refuses to come out. Set over the course of eight hours, Jessica Anthony鈥檚 The Most paints an intimate portrait of marriage in the late 1950s 鈥� and the secrets, expectations, and lost loves that tells the story of one seemingly unremarkable couple and a larger cultural moment.”

The finalists will be announced Oct. 1.

For more on Anthony’s much-lauded novel, and her insights into her craft, see earlier coverage from 乐播传媒 News.

Paul Shea

Americans are spending a lot and not saving much. Economists aren鈥檛 too worried. Yet 鈥� Marketplace

Marketplace tapped into Dowling Family Professor of Economics Paul Shea’s expertise for a story about news from the Bureau of Economic Analysis . The savings rate in July was only 2.9 percent, while at the same time consumer spending increased.

“The spending part is a sign of a strong economy,” Marketplace‘s story read. “But the data shows we鈥檙e continuing to buy stuff while not putting money away. You can see the problem here.”

Paraphrasing Shea’s reassurances, Marketplace reporter Caleigh Wells wrote “it鈥檚 not that saving rates are frighteningly low, it鈥檚 just that they鈥檙e coming down from when they were听really high early in the pandemic, when people had money to spend and nothing to spend it on. Now things are different.”

Then she quoted Shea directly: “The average household is, in a way, normalizing. They鈥檙e starting to move towards more normal levels of debt.”

Francesco Duina

Who cares about inequality, and what should we do if we want less of it? 鈥�Researching Sociology

Writing for the blog Researching Sociology, Dana Professor of Sociology Francesco Duina and colleague Cary Wu . 

Historically in America, across party lines, the richer one was, the less worried they were about income inequality. 鈥淚n 1987, for instance, poorer Democrats and Republicans [both] perceived income differentials to be too big,鈥� the scholars write.

But now, party affiliation plays a huge role in how people view income inequality. Across all income levels, 鈥渢hose who identify as Democrats care a great deal about income inequality while those who identify themselves as Republicans…care a lot less.鈥� But 鈥渃oncern [about income inequality] among poorer Republicans has actually dropped over time.鈥�

For the blog post, the scholars drew from their recent article, , 鈥淧olitical Polarization and the Dynamics Between Actual Income and Perceived Income Inequality in the United States, 1987 to 2021.鈥�

John Baughman

Maine political scholars see no precedent for divisive, unpredictable presidential race 鈥� Portland Press Herald

Published prior to President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, , associate professor of politics, and other Maine politics scholars about the fraught race.

Baughman spoke to comparisons to the 1968 election, when incumbent Lyndon Johnson declined to seek a second term. While comparisons to the 1968 election are valid, today’s political climate is driven more by negative partisanship than in the past, Baughman said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to overplay how fraught politics are today in light of what was happening then with Vietnam and civil rights, but I think there is one thing different now that is important to consider, and that鈥檚 the role of negative partisanship in driving behavior of voters.鈥�

Tyler Austin Harper

Inside the dangerous, secretive world of extreme fishing 鈥� The Atlantic

Tyler Austin Harper, an assistant professor of environmental studies who is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, writes about his penchant for . Eighty nights a year no less.

This despite some expert guidance he got when first getting into the sport of “wetsuiting” a few years ago: “The advice I received from another fisherman was simply: 顿辞苍鈥檛.”

Wetsuiting is a form of saltwater fishing that involves wearing a wetsuit and wading or swimming out to offshore rocks 鈥� almost exclusively at night, often during storms 鈥� to access deeper water or faster currents than can be reached in traditional waders.

For Harper, the quarry is striped bass, a popular gamefish that migrates every spring, mostly from the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, to as far north as Maine, and back down again in the fall.

White Dudes for Harris’ was a missed opportunity 鈥� The Atlantic

Harper, who also has an interest in politics, wrote in another piece, in July, that , a group of voters supporting the Kamala Harris presidential campaign. Democrats have 鈥減eddled condescending, divisive, and often bizarre rhetoric in the name of 鈥榓nti-racism.鈥欌��

鈥淪o imagine my shock when I found myself, slowly but surely, charmed by the White Dudes for Harris call.鈥� 

Still, he writes, the 鈥淲hite Dudes鈥� name 鈥渞isks solidifying the public鈥檚 impression that the Democratic Party is for overeducated elites with laptop jobs and performative progressive politics. That is a shortsighted move 鈥渨hen the GOP is on its way to achieving a multiracial working-class coalition, cobbled together with increasing shares of Black and Hispanic voters driven by male defections from the Democratic coalition.鈥�

Harper’s other recent writing for The Atlantic includes:

• ““
• ““
• ““

Paul Schofield

‘These people are looking back at us’ 鈥� Seattle Met

Paul Schofield, an associate professor of philosophy whose research focuses on moral and political philosophy, writes frequently on the issue of homelessness. Last month Schofield was quoted in a Seattle Met story about a retired history professor, J.M. Simpson, in Washington state. 

The writer of the article had learned about Simpson鈥檚 work via in April, lauding the photographer and sharing some of his photographs. The thread has over 24,000 likes and three million views. In the story, the writer quotes extensively from Schofield鈥檚 response to Simpson鈥檚 work:

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to imagine them having friends and having dreams and having things that they care about just as a result of sitting there with the photo for a few minutes,鈥� noted Schofield, whose writing on homelessness had caught Simpson鈥檚 attention.

鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be something about him that brings this out,鈥� Schofield concluded.

Lecturer in English Jessica Anthony 鈥�96 has had some dazzling reviews for her new novel, The Most, since it was released by Little, Brown & Co. in July.

NPR鈥檚 reviewer said the slim novel, just 133 pages, 鈥渂lindsided me with its power.鈥� The Washington Post called The Most 鈥渁 spare, elegant novella鈥� and the Chicago Review of Books compared her to mid-century critical darling Richard Yates: 鈥淛essica Anthony renders the pathos of older domestic dramas such as Revolutionary Road, but with an admirable economy of words and a creative omniscient narrator.鈥�

In the midst of that response to her fourth book of fiction, Anthony did something unusual. While she speaks on the topic of craft constantly in her creative writing courses at 乐播传媒, she rarely writes about it.

But last month (better known as Lit Hub), the online publication devoted to all things literary. In it, she celebrates using time as a form of structure for her fiction, and both showing and telling. 

The Most takes place on one November day in 1957, when a housewife named Kathleen climbs into the pool at her apartment complex and spends the whole day there, contemplating choices both before and behind her while her husband Virgil and two young sons watch in wonder and consternation. There are some flashbacks to her life as a youthful tennis star before she met Virgil, via self-reflection, which Anthony puts in the category of telling, but Kathleen and Virgil鈥檚 story unfolds in the course of that day.  

In her LitHub essay, Anthony connects her use of time as a form of structure with what she learned from teaching her students at 乐播传媒, particularly in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, when she had to use Zoom. As a decidedly un-tech-oriented person, this initially felt like an impossible task. 鈥淚 had no idea how I was going to teach structure on a screen, because the only way I鈥檝e known to teach structure is by intimately connecting it to character and style.鈥�

Anthony went back into her own writing practice 鈥渁nd realized that what I had been doing was teaching myself, through experimentation and failure, about the art of time.鈥�

“This superb short novel, about a marriage at its breakpoint, deserves to become a classic.”

Anthony鈥檚 other books include The Convalescent (2009), a graphic novel called Chopsticks, published in 2012, and Enter the Aardvark, which came out in 2020.

Anthony writes:

鈥� I started to see scenes differently, not as a structural apparatus, but as a magical contradiction of time. When I sat down to write Enter the Aardvark, I gave myself three days to bring down the re-election campaign of a U.S. congressman. How different would that novel have been if I gave myself a full year? What about twenty minutes? How much time would I have spent in scene versus narration? When I wrote The Most, I gave myself one working day. Eight hours. We know how much we can get done in a day according to our clocks. So it can go in story. What if we only met Emma Bovary for two days, and not a lifetime?鈥�

In a note to 乐播传媒News, Anthony added a few more thoughts: 

鈥淭ime’s malleability is one of the reasons why I suppose I have not grown tired of the novel. Time allows for an infinite parade of formal constructions. An entire act of a character’s life can occur in the seconds it takes to simply recall, remember. A whole season can occur over a single day. (Virginia Woolf understood this, perhaps, better than anyone.) The writing of this novel encouraged me to reimagine how I communicate structure to the fiction writers here at 乐播传媒. The best tools for a writer are always the simplest, and Time is a useful tetherer.鈥�

More on The Most, from critics:

• From NPR: 鈥� Heller McAlpin reports that The Most 鈥渂lindsided me with its power, much like the cunning tennis strategy from which it gets its title. I don鈥檛 say this often, but this superb short novel, about a marriage at its breakpoint, deserves to become a classic….”
• From The Washington Post: 鈥� “The Most is darkly funny in its own way, and in the end is less a comedy than a smoldering, Cheeveresque mediation on mid-century, middle-class disappointment.”

•  From Chicago Review of Books: 鈥� Anthony elevates The Most “from a simple marriage story to a portrait of an era, a minute event firmly entrenched in a larger world.”

Joe Hall, an associate professor of history at 乐播传媒 whose course offerings include Native American history broadly and also specifically 鈥� that of the Indigenous people of Maine 鈥� got a call for help in early August. His expertise was needed to correct, or deepen, the record about how two Maine landmarks came to be.

Both stories covered the history of places as they related to European settlers. And that caused concern for members of a group Hall belongs to, the Pejepscot Portage Mapping Project, which has been working to record the history of the Brunswick area as home to Indigenous people.

Concerned that the stories recounted history within a vacuum, leaving out the stories of the Wabanaki people, they asked Hall to write to the papers鈥� editors to provide more context. 

Two stories about the development of Brunswick had just appeared in the Portland Press Herald and Times Record, intriguing pieces explaining how a Brunswick swamp had been developed in the early 19th century, and why one of the town鈥檚 other claims to local fame, its (according to the author, to create a buffer 鈥渋n case of an ambush鈥�).

Hall, the volunteer historian of the group, quickly wrote two responses and within days of the first story (the one about the Brunswick Mall, as the town green is known), his guest column, “,” appeared on the papers鈥� sites. (His second response, about the origins of Maine Street, has not yet run.) 

For starters, the colonists found that swampy area unsightly and inconvenient 鈥� the cattle they had sold at the market on the shores of the Androscoggin River and were taking to Maquoit Bay to be loaded on ships for trade kept getting bogged down in the mud. Plus, mosquitos abounded. But for the people who came before them, who had walked the route of Maine Street before it became a street, that swamp had true benefits, Hall wrote:

In the centuries before Brunswick, Wabanaki lived in the area, fishing at Pejepscot Falls, farming along the banks of the Androscoggin, gathering blueberries on the pine barrens, and digging clams at Maquoit.

The swamp also provided for these residents and travelers. It fed a reliable stream of water that saved thirsty Wabanaki the trouble of a steep descent to the Androscoggin. It grew cattails, which have edible roots, leaves that can be woven into mats or bags and downy seed pods that can wrap infants for warmth. It grew fiddleheads, which are the spring shoots of ostrich ferns, providing food at the end of long winters. To be sure, it also bred swarms of mosquitoes that plagued Wabanaki as well as later colonists, but a swamp is more than its nuisances.

The Pejepscot Portage Mapping Project is working to create a digital map of the Brunswick area as the Wabanaki people used it.  For the last three years, Hall has been contributing his historical perspective to the group effort and finding it deeply rewarding. The group includes non-Indigenous and Wabanaki people from the Brunswick area who are interested in highlighting the Wabanaki history of the area.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really interesting mix of people,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淲hich is a fun way to do scholarship. To be involved is really gratifying. I feel like I鈥檓 doing something that is not going to end up on a shelf. You won鈥檛 find it in a library. It鈥檚 not some big scholarly thing, but I hope people are going to read it and think, 鈥極h I didn鈥檛 realize that was part of the story.鈥欌��

These places, including Maine Street itself, are 鈥渇undamentally defined by Native history,鈥� Hall says. It鈥檚 true that Maine Street was built 鈥渢welve rods鈥� wide to avoid ambushes by Native people. But they were being blocked from using their traditional fishing grounds by settlers, who built a fort there to claim it.

Moreover, Maine Street also travels the same path the indigenous people used as a portage, walking from the falls to the waters of Casco Bay carrying their canoes. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a Wabanaki foundation to all of this.鈥� (On Oct. 6, Hall will participate in a historical walking tour centered around that portage with , which is in the process of completing seven guided walks of old Native areas in Maine this year.)

Because the Pejepscot Portage Mapping Project seeks to highlight Wabanaki history of the region, the group has also consulted with a variety of Wabanaki educators over the years. Hall and his partners have found the conversations vital for framing their work. They have learned important information, and they have also gained a sense of which lessons Wabanaki find most meaningful.

The project is educational, but who knows where raising awareness might lead. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little humbling to feel like my partners and I are part of something with an unknown destination or end-point. Wabanaki history is interesting, sure, but what does it mean? Reparations in the form of giving land back? This work raises hard questions, fundamental questions. There鈥檚 a reason why it鈥檚 a lot easier if colonial peoples like me don鈥檛 know that Maine Street was a portage, and that an old swamp was actually a place of sustenance, as opposed to just an eyesore where cows got stuck in the mud. Which is what a newspaper article I read from 1853 was saying. Basically, 鈥榩oor cows.鈥欌�� 

Earlier: In 2019, during the celebration of Auburn鈥檚 150th birthday, Hall , addressing Native history within a commemoration of the era of settlers.