Each February in Brunswick Longfellow Days creates events to honor the legacy of Maine poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This year Longfellow Days joins Bowdoin College in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the graduating class of 1825. These were a remarkable group of young men, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jonathan Cilley, and other statesmen and professionals.  

In 1925 Bowdoin honored the 100th anniversary of this class with a Literary Festival. They hosted such poets and writers as: Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Willa Cather, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and many others.   

Events for this 200th anniversary include ongoing exhibits at Bowdoin College Art Museum and Special Collections at Bowdoin Library. Also, Longfellow biographer Nicholas Basbanes will speak on the lives and wives of Hawthorne and Longfellow. New this year is an Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop by David Sloan.

Longfellow Days is also collaborating with the Bowdoin Music Department to create an evening of music and poetry featuring compositions by Paul Sullivan, Stuart Gillespie, Ann MacDonald Diers, Jud Caswell, and Scott Woodruff,  performed by the combined Bowdoin Chamber Choir with chorus members from area community choirs.  There will also be two events with nationally recognized spoken word poet, Taylor Mali. 

Continuing annual events include: Sunday Readings at Curtis Library focusing on a different century of American poetry each week, Community Readings where Helene McLaughlin and David Sloan host informal verse-sharing sessions , and Henry’s Birthday Celebration with an open mic.  Also, area collaborations will offer tours of the Joshua Chamberlain house where Longfellow once lived, a Winter Wisdom talk by James McKenna, and the Unitarian Universalist interfaith service where Longfellow taught Bible classes during his time as professor at Bowdoin. 

For a full explanation of events and presenters go to: https://www.uubrunswick.org/longfellow-days-2025/

All events are free thanks to the support of sponsors:  Bowdoin College, Brunswick Downtown Association, Curtis Memorial Library, Nathaniel Davis Fund, Pejepscot History Center, The Senter Fund, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick.