Written from Columbia University, the letter congratulated a Gardiner author on winning the Pulitzer Prize for biography. The author, who compiled scrapbooks of her family life and day-to-day goings on, dutifully pasted the letter on the next available page in her Family Log and moved right along….
Neither she nor the letter made note of the fact that that she and her sister were the first women to win a Pulitzer. In fact, as 1917 was the inaugural year of the most celebrated prize for literature, the event made little more than a tiny ripple in Laura E. Richard’s daily life. No one yet understood just how monumental a moment it was — nor just how often Gardiner and the Kennebec Valley region would come to celebrate future prizes and commendations for authors who called it home.
This week, in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize, we are proud to be kicking off a six-event program celebrating our place – in history, in geography, and (especially) in literature.
Join us in celebrating our region through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winners Laura E. Richards, Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Robert P. Tristram Coffin. Explore how history, family, and community stimulate great works of literature today.
Come hear the stories of how local authors — Pulitzer-Prize winner Barbara Walsh, Maine Literary Award winner Deborah Gould, and historical author, Representative Gay Grant — have come to create compelling works that transport readers through time and place.
See how place and history can enrich creative works. Explore your own voice in putting words to the page at a full-day writing workshop and/or join us for the finale of our series.
See all the events explained below:
We look forward to welcoming you to any or all of the events. Call us at 582-6890 if you have any questions.
We will also have some wonderful artifacts and photographs on display in the Hazzard Reading Room for the coming weeks — here’s are a few teasers:
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| L.E.R. compiled over a dozen Family/Home Logs covering half a century of life in Gardiner. They include personal notes, local newspaper clippings, family photos, items of national relevance (e.g., a letter of congratulations from the Pulitzer Prize Commission, invitations to the White House from President Roosevelt, celebrations of Julia Ward Howe (L.E.R.’s mother)), and historical touchstones including WWI and Women’s Suffrage, among much else. We will have some on display and others on hand for reference, research, and reverence. |
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| Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) grew up and created his first poetical works in Gardiner, Maine. He self-published his first work, The Torrent & The Night Before, in 1896 (an original is shown here and will be on display). He went on to earn three Pulitzer Prizes in poetry. |