Wednesday’s presentations proved to be lively, poignant and brain-busting!
Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters, spoke on Louisa’s trips to Europe in her presentation titled, “Our Foreign Correspondent Louisa May Alcott’s Travels Through Europe.” She read extensively from Shawl Straps (Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag) and had the room in stitches. Gabrielle has a unique quality for tapping into Louisa’s humor; she read descriptions of various people Louisa met on the train and the writing literally leaped off of the pages! She also offered wonderful insight regarding themes in Little Women and the complex relationship between Louisa and youngest sibling May.
Jeannine Atkins continued on the theme of May with her presentation, “May Alcott Painting a Way Home.” Jeannine has written a splendid historical fiction novel about May which will be coming out this September; it is titled Little Woman in Blue. Her talk featured many of May’s sketches from Concord Sketches, a book that can only be viewed in the Special Collections at the Concord Public Library. She continued on the theme of sibling rivalry, focusing on the dynamic between older and younger sister. In a poignant ending to her talk, Jeannine read Louisa’s poem, “Our Madonna;” Jeannine was not the only one with a lump in her throat after that reading.
Kristi Martin presented a scholarly paper on “The Wilderness of Books Literary Concord,” drawing a history of how Concord came to be the home of so many distinguished authors, and how the homes of these writers became museums, attracting people from around the world. Kristi brings a unique experience to her work having been a tour guide at just about all the house museums in Concord. Her knowledge is vast and the presentation dense with wonderful information. Unfortunately my slow brain could not take notes fast enough so I only offer a general summary of this fine talk.
Here are my notes from Wednesday: notes for wednesday 7-15-15
Steven Burby was kind enough to send along his presentation that he gave on Monday; I will read it over on Friday and comment on it.
Unfortunately I cannot attend the Thursday presentation by John Matteson; if anyone has notes they wish to share please send them to me at louisamayalcottismypassion@gmail.com.
I do have a little surprise however which I will post tomorrow.
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Thank you for the great recap of a wonderful day of learning and laughter, too.
A pleasure! It was a wonderful day.
Yes, it was a great day, with the morning focused on May Alcott and her very considerable achievements — with Louisa’s help, of course. There was sibling rivalry, but LMA liked being able to help the members of her family. In Little Women, when Jo gets her first check for her writing she reflects on how she likes having the power that money gives her. An honest response!
Absolutely! And nothing wrong with it at all, especially considering their living situation. So great to see you on Wednesday!