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Special Event
Event
2024 Longfellow Birthday Celebration: Evangeline Marathon Reading
This event has already occurred. This page is provided for reference only.
Fee:
Free.Location:
Mount Auburn Cemetery (Story Chapel) 580 Mount Auburn Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138Dates & Times
Date:
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Time:
10:00 AM
Duration:
2 hours
Type of Event
Partner Program
Talk
10:00-11:15 AM Welcome and Evangeline reading 11:15-11:30 AM Coffee and cake reception 11:30-12:00 PM Walk to the Longfellow grave site and wreath laying
Description
Join us in Mount Auburn Cemetery's Story Chapel to celebrate the 217th anniversary of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's birth with a special marathon reading of one of his best-loved poems, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie. After a brief introduction to the history of the poem, enjoy a hourlong read-a-thon of Evangeline (slightly abridged). Sign up to read a section of the poem, or just come enjoy the unique structure and moving story of this iconic work.
Longfellow competed his first draft of Evangeline on his fortieth birthday, February 27, 1847, and published it later that year. The ten-canto poem tells the story, in unrhymed verse, of Evangeline and Gabriel Lajeunesse, childhood friends living in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia. They are engaged to be married, but are almost immediately separated when their entire community is forced into exile. Following the harrowing scene of their ejection, Evangeline spends the rest of her life traveling throughout North America, hoping to be reunited with her one true love.
The reading will be followed by birthday cake and, weather permitting, a visit to the Longfellow family tomb for a brief wreath laying ceremony.
This program is presented by Mount Auburn Cemetery and Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.
More information
Reservation or Registration: Yes
Free and open to all; advance registration required.