[On March 20, 1852,
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s titanic novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published
in book form for the first time. So this week I’ve AmericanStudied a
handful of Stowe contexts, leading up to this special post on the wonderful
Stowe Center in Hartford!]
On three
inspiring sides to the Harriet
Beecher Stowe Center (beyond its important focus on Stowe herself, of
course).
1)
The Salons: As I highlighted in Monday’s post,
two of Stowe’s earliest forms of public engagement and activism were communal
conversations: her membership in the Lane Seminary’s Semi-Colon Club; and her
successful efforts to bring a series of debates over slavery and abolition to
that Cincinnati school. As such, I think she would be especially excited about
the Salons
at Stowe, a series of “courageous conversations on social justice” that
feature impressive invited speakers, difficult and important topics, and a
great deal of community attendance and participation. I’ve had the chance to attend
a couple of the Salons over the last few years, and would rank them near the
top of the many impressive and inspiring public scholarly conversations I’ve been
part of in my career.
2)
The
Prize: In that hyperlinked post I reflected on my chance to be part of the Stowe
Prize lecture and celebration in 2017, when the amazing Bryan Stevenson received the semi-annual
Literary Prize (there’s also a concurrent semi-annual Student
Prize). Given how much Stowe wed her lifelong commitment to activism and
reform to her equally lifelong career as a professional writer, I might
challenge my earlier statement and say that she’d be especially excited about
the Center awarding a prize for “a distinguished book of general adult fiction
or non-fiction that illuminates a critical social justice issue in contemporary
society in the United States.” But it’s not either-or, and indeed it is
precisely the combination of the Salons and the Prize that makes the Center so
much more than just a historic house or museum (although it does that very well
too).
3)
The Nook: The Salons and the Prize ceremony take
place at particular times throughout the year; but honestly the Stowe Center is
worth a visit at any time, and again not just for what it offers as a historic
house & museum. No, just as inspiring is the West Hartford neighborhood known as Nook
Farm in which the Center is located (and which it shares with the Mark Twain House). Twain and Stowe were neighbors
who became friends, and walking the grounds of Nook Farm offers a glimpse
into a world shared by two of the 19th century’s (and America’s)
most prominent and important authors. I don’t know any other place in America
that feels quite like that, one more reason to visit and support the Harriet
Beecher Stowe Center.
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Other great sites you’d highlight?
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