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W LONDON, NH - The Center for the Arts is pleased to recap the end of their 2023 line of Tapestry Tuesday speakers. Throughout the year, 10 different speakers presented a one-hour long talk in New London, New Hampshire on the third Tuesday of the month focusing on different New Hampshire history, stories, artifacts, and locations. To start off the program in early 2023, Literary Arts Guild’s member Dinalee Velie hosted an evening reading entries from her six books of poetry on January 17th at The New London Inn.
Velie’s poetry is written from different times in her life and her most recent book is all about her poetic journey through Italy with poems about her experiences teaching poetry in Cortona, Cannero Riviera on Lago Maggiore, and Santa Croce di Camerina, Sicily while visiting family. A wonderful group of her poetry followers came to the evening talk to listen to her work and ask questions about creating poetry. You can view her talk here.
“On January 18, 2023, Tapestry Tuesday, I read excerpts from my six books of poetry written at different periods of my life while sharing my life between the lines about how they came to be written,” Velie said. “Reading poems from my most recent book, Italian Lesson, I took attendees on a poetic journey through Italy with poems about my experiences teaching poetry in Cortona, Cannero Riviera on Lago Maggiore, and in Santa Croce di Camerina, Sicily while visiting my cousins. I hope everyone there fell in love with the sights and sounds of these poems and developed a yearning to read more poetry and also to write poems about their own life experiences whether near or far. I have published 6 books of poetry and a collection of short stories, have taught poetry, memoir and short stories both in New England, New York and abroad, and have had poems and short stories published in hundreds of magazines and journals. In addition, I am a member of the Literary Arts Guild. I have founded and led the John Hay Poetry Society, which has been meeting for over 20 years. I have also created a permanent poetry path between the Newbury Library and the Velie Memorial Playground that honor New Hampshire State Poet Laureates. My goal has always been to share my love of poetry with students and the public hoping the love of poetry will be contagious.”
In February, Jenna Carol from New Hampshire Humanities presented “Jennie Powers, the
Woman Who Dares,” about a local woman who took a stand against social vices in New
Hampshire and Vermont in the early twentieth century. Jennie Powers was a humane society
agent in Keene from 1903 to 1936 and was one of the first humane society agents to become
deputy sheriff in New Hampshire. About 25 people attended this talk and were enthralled with Jennie Powers bravery.
March 21st, Liz Tentarelli from the League of Women Voters NH presented “Votes for Women; A History of Suffrage Movement” at Tracy Library in New London, New Hampshire. The powerpoint presentation focused on the campaign for women’s right to vote from the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York to ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. Tentarelli is the president of the League of Voters NH, a non-partisan organization that is the direct descendant of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. You can view her talk here.
On April 18th, popular storyteller and author of Live Free and Eat Pie! and Moved and
Seconded: Town Meeting in New Hampshire The Present, The Past, and The Future presented a talk called “Moved and Seconded: Town Meetings in NH” at The New London Inn. Rule regales audiences with stories of the rituals, traditions, and history of town meeting, including the perennial characters, the literature, humor, and wisdom of this uniquely New England Institution.
Robert Perrault presented “Putting Human Faces on the Textile Industry” part of a New
Hampshire Humanities on May 18th. Perrault shed light on the daily life for the Amoskeag
Manufacturing Company’s textile workers in the mills. People from a variety of European
countries as well as from French Canada made the transition from an agrarian to an industrial
society and how that change affected families, cultures, the nature of work, and relationships
among workers themselves.
For June’s Tapestry Tuesday, John C. Porter presented “History of Agriculture through Barns” at St. Andrew’s Church in New London to a large audience. Porter is the author of Preserving Old Barns: Preventing the Loss of a Valuable Resource and focused his talk on majestic barn structures representing Yankee ingenuity, hard work, and skilled craftsmanship as well as providing a link to our past that adds to New Hampshire’s scenic beauty.
In July, Literary Arts Guild member David Balford presented “Take a Little Walk With Me - A Life In Remembrance,” where he explained his process of writing his own memoir and recapping his life to the present day. He took many questions from the audience where attendees asked about his writing process. This Tapestry Tuesday took place on July 18th at Tracy Memorial Library in New London to a well attended group. You can view his talk here.
“People ask me who can write a memoir; does it take someone special? My response is that
anyone who can string together two coherent sentences can write their memoir. All it takes is
remembrance of notable things past and a burning desire to express these remembrances to others. The rest is pure mechanics.” - David Balford New London
August 15th, New Hampshire Humanities presented Jeremy D’Entremont’s talk titled “New
England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them” at Tracy Memorial Library to a large
audience of almost 30 people. D’Entremont told the history of New England’s historic and
picturesque lighthouses primarily focusing on colorful and dramatic stories of lighthouse keepers and their families.
New Hampshire Humanities presented John Moody and his talk titled “Abenaki/Penacook
History of the Lake Sunapee/Upper Sugar River Watershed” on September 19th at St. Andrew’s Church in New London to a full house of attendees. Moody explores the history of New Hampshire’s Abenaki and Penacook peoples with a focus on our local region and the ancient and continuing Native American history.
To wrap up the 2023 Tapestry Tuesday offerings, New Hampshire Humanities presented Robert Goodby: “Visual Digging into Native History in New Hampshire” on October 24th at St. Andrew’s Church in New London. Goodby revealed archaeological evidence showing deep presence in New Hampshire and the Abenaki history that has been reduced to near-invisibility as a result of conquering culture that has placed little value on the Indian experience. The audience of over 25 people was very engaged in this presentation and asked many questions.
“We're proud to offer this humanities series, inviting the public to explore our remarkable region. This has been an excellent platform for storytellers and artists, fostering shared learning and exploration to enrich our communities,” Executive Director Dena Stahlheber said.
Looking to 2024, the Center for the Arts is excited to announce a brand new series replacing
Tapestry Tuesday called ‘Humanities Monday,’ where on the third Monday of the month a
different offering from New Hampshire Humanities will be available at Whipple Hall in New
London starting at 5:30pm. Each speaker will be free and open to the public. The lineup of
presentations will be announced in December.
The Center for the Arts supports over 100 area arts and related businesses and provides
opportunities for artists to create, perform, or write. The Center for the Arts mission is to
enrich lives by supporting, promoting, and connecting literary, performance, and visual
artists of all ages to our communities.
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