MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The young poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow explains the trials and tribulations of his life as an up-and-coming poet and harried Cambridge professor on Sunday, December 11th from 2:00 to 3:00 pm, at the historic Friend’s Meetinghouse, 120 Friend Street, Amesbury. (Continued below)

Follow the young Longfellow through 1854, when his prospects in poetry suddenly begin to mature. Presented by literary historian Rob Velella, we will also discuss Longfellow’s friendship with John Greenleaf Whittier and how, as did Whittier, he supported the anti-slavery movement through his poetry. Sponsored by a grant from the Amesbury Cultural Council this event is free to the public.

The Whittier Home Association Board of Directors will host a Holiday Community Open House immediately following, with a Victorian Christmas sure to put visions of sugarplums in anyone’s head.

Enjoy the festive decorations and sumptuous holiday fare at the home of John Greenleaf Whittier, 86 Friend Street. Entertainment by classical guitarist Sharon Netzley, “What I love about Sharon Netzley’s artistry…is that her joy for life and music comes through in her playing.  And, that joy is just completely infectious.” says Donna Zitzelberger, Guitarist and Guitar Instructor from Thousand Oaks, CA.

Parking for these two events will be available at EV Jutras & Sons Funeral Home, 118 Friend Street, a short walking distance from the Friends Meetinghouse and Whittier Home Museum. For more information call 978-388-1337 or contact www.whittierhome.org.

About the Presenter: Rob Velella is an independent literary historian and playwright specializing in American literature of the 19th century. Velella has published articles on figures as varied as Margaret Fuller, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Walt Whitman. Nicknamed the “Prometheus of American Literary Scholarship,” he has taken his research outside of academia by lecturing at various historical sites, libraries, and colleges. He recently served as guest curator for “Margaret Fuller: Woman of the Nineteenth Century” at Harvard’s Houghton Library and as research associate for “The Raven in the Frog Pond: Edgar Allan Poe and Boston” for the Boston Public Library.

In his ongoing efforts to bring the writers of yesteryear to the readers of today, he has dramatically brought to life a number of literary figures, including the young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe. Velella is a member of Solo Together, a group dedicated to living history presentation. He maintains the American Literary Blog, which Velella describes as “a rich and almost-daily celebration of important (and not-so-important) dates in 19th-century American literary history.”