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Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
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Bowdoin community works in regional reading program
NICOLE COLUCCI
STAFF WRITER
For the past two years, the "Friends" groups at four Midcoast Maine libraries have organized "Community Reads," a program designed to bring together surrounding communities through dialogue and debate over a chosen book.
The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) are participating in this year's program by sponsoring several events on campus, including a discussion of arctic explorers at the Arctic Museum on March 7 and the screening of Frank Hurley's South: Shackleton and the Endurance on March 8. The BOC also brought adventurer Bob Powell to campus on February 9.
This year's book selection was Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Lansing's non-fiction book traces explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1917 polar expedition to Antarctica, chronicling the remarkable hardships faced by his crew. Drawing on diaries, letters, and photographs from the voyage, Lansing recounts the true story of leadership and improbable survival.
Participants in the "Community Reads" program generally read the selected book in January and February and then take part in discussions and sponsored activities in March. The BOC and Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum have chosen to participate in this year's program by sponsoring several related events. The Museum will sponsor a discussion of arctic explorers, such as Peary and Shackleton, followed by tours of the museum. Anyone interested in attending this event should meet at the Quad at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.
On February 9, the BOC brought adventurer Bob Powell to the Schwartz Outdoor Leadership Center to share experiences from his 1996 sea kayak expedition to Antarctica and South Georgia Island. First-year student Sam Weiss commented on Powell's talk and slideshow, explaining, "I found Powell's presentation to be very inspirational. It was interesting to hear how his perspective on life had transformed after facing unexpected challenges throughout the expedition." On Monday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m., the BOC will also be showing Frank Hurley's documentary, South: Shackleton and the Endurance, at the Schwartz Outdoor Leadership Center. The documentary will be followed by a discussion with Outing Club Director, Mike Woodruff.
Bowdoin students, faculty, and members of the greater Brunswick community are encouraged to pick up their copy of Endurance soon. "Community Reads" programmers hope to unite Midcoast Maine by providing the region with insight into this extraordinary story of unlikely odds and heroism.
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