First World War: The War to End All Wars Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/25/2008 - 22:21
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Image, World War I U.S. propaganda poster, c. 1917, First World War
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The stated purpose of this website is to provide an overview of World War I. This it does effectively through hundreds of essays, 3,100 encyclopedic entries, 618 biographies, 318 resources on the war's major diplomatic and military events, and a timeline. Primary documents include over 100 diaries and firsthand accounts of soldiers and politicians, 3,900 photographs, 651 propaganda posters, and 155 audio files of songs and speeches. Documents include treaties, reports, correspondence, memoirs, speeches, dispatches, and accounts of battles and sieges.

The site also provides 95 essays on literary figures who wrote about the war. While admittedly a work-in-progress, the site offers much material on the leaders who engaged their countries in war and on the experiences of ordinary soldiers who fought the battles.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park [OH] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:36
Description

The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park celebrates the history and accomplishments of Wilber Wright (1867-1912), Orville Wright (1871-1948), and Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Other topics addressed include changes in Air Force aviation technology. Sights include two interpretive centers; the Wright brothers' printing office, styled to period; a Wright brothers' bicycle shop; the brothers' third airplane, built in 1905; the Huffman Prairie Flying Field; and Dunbar's final residence. The Wright brothers are best known for creating the world's first successful airplane, while Dunbar was an African American poet celebrated for his 1896 poem "Lyrics of a Lowly Life."

The park offers two introductory films; exhibits; period rooms; guided tours of the Wright Cycle Company building, Wright-Dunbar Village, and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field; guided bicycle tours; children's programs; curriculum-based educational programs; and Junior Ranger activities. Tours of the Wright Cycle Company building are available on request only, and reservations are required for groups. Reservations are required for all school programs. The website offers an interactive timeline.

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present II Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, J. Frederick Marchant presents Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); Jill McDonough presents Amy Lowell (1874-1925); and Rosanna Warren presents Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Paul Revere's Ride Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Historian Charles Bahne examines Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," looking at Longfellow's motivations for writing it, its writing, its publication and reception, its historical inaccuracies, and its enduring impact.

The video may be viewed with or without captions.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as Translator Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Professor Colleen C. Boggs talks about poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's work as a translator, popularizing European literature for an American audience. Boggs also discusses the international exchange of literature as it occurred during the time in which Longfellow lived.

Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Writer Charles C. Calhoun, author of Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life, shows how the American poet Longfellow Henry Wadsworth blended the Federalist politics and Unitarianism of his parents' generation with the German romanticism he discovered on his own travels. Calhoun discusses Longfellow's life and his influences.

An Evening with Charles Hammond Gibson Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

According to the WGBH website:

"Charles Hammond Gibson, Jr. (1874-1954) was a Boston writer and bachelor bon vivant, best known for having preserved his family's Beacon Street home as a museum of Victorian style and taste. The Wounded Eros, a short documentary film by Todd Gernes, explores the aesthetic relationship between Gibson's literary production and the material culture contexts of his museum and library, set within the social history of turn-of-the-century gay Boston. Following the film, a dramatic reading, These Four Walls: A History of a Romantic Friendship, directed by Jacqueline Romeo and featuring John Anderson and Aleksander Feliks Wierzbicki, will extend the exploration of Gibson's life by depicting his enduring relationship with the eccentric self-styled "Count" Maurice de Mauny Talvande."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the Art of Friendship Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Biographer Charles Calhoun looks at the life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the society he encouraged and kept at his Craigie House, which included many major writers and intellectuals of the day.

The audio of this lecture is available independently as an mp3 file.

Passion and Reason in Irish-American Nationalism Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Professor David Wilson introduces the life and times of Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1826-1868), an Irish-Canadian journalist, poet, politician, and critic of Irish republicanism. McGee lived in the United States from 1842 to 1845 and from 1848 to 1857.

Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site [PA]

Description

The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site preserves one of author Edgar Allan Poe's homes. The site presents information on Poe and his historical context and the influence of Poe's writings on other authors, including today's masters of horror in film and literature. Poe (1809-1849) is credited with creating the detective fiction genre, as well as being an early writer of American short stories. He is classified as a Romantic author; and his poetry, short stories, and novels lean toward the macabre. Famous works include "The Raven," "The Black Cat," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "Annabel Lee."

The site offers an 8-minute biographical audio-visual presentation, exhibits, period rooms, self-guided tours, guided tours, audio samples of famous actors narrating Poe and Poe's work set to music, and Junior Ranger activities. Reservations are required for all school groups. The website offers a teacher's handbook and additional educator resources.