Margaret Fuller's 199th Birthday - May 23, 2009

Mark your calendars, Margaret Fuller fanatics, itinerant Transcendentalists, and anyone else looking for a good time on Saturday, May 23.

A group of us who admire and honor the work, life, and legacy of Margaret have come together to plan for the bicentennial of her birth, which takes place next May 23, 2010.

We're seizing the moment of her 199th birthday to kick off the festivities. Please join us at 5 PM, May 23 (drilling in the date) at First Parish, 3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA, right in the heart of Harvard Square for a reception, featuring a stellar crowd, including:

• “Margaret Fuller” (aka Jessa Piaia)
• Laurie James (actor, author, Bicentennial Committee—New York area)
• Megan Marshall (author, historian)
• Judith Strong Albert (independent scholar, American Literature Association)
• Jacqueline Schwab (pianist, historical documentaries by PBS filmmaker Ken Burns)
• Jessica Lipnack (filmmaker with Ron Mortara, author—oui, c'est moi)
• Melody Lee (First Parish in Cambridge Women’s Sacred Circle)
• Dorothy Emerson (Unitarian Universalist minister, Bicentennial Comm—New England)

Proceeds from the event benefit the Margaret Fuller Bicentennial and will be matched by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism ($25 donation, light refreshments, great people). It's our good fortune that the reception coincides with the American Literature Association's annual conference here in Boston, where two panels about Margaret will take place. The scholars from those panels will join us for the reception.

And, early birds, I'll lead my annual expedition (2008 and 2007, both recorded  here) to Margaret's memorial at  Mount Auburn Cemetery at 9:30 AM on that very same day, Sat, May 23. As per last year, John Halamka, Japanese flute  player and, oh, by the way, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, will be with us.  

The Bicentennial Committee has kindly published "By genius belonging to the world," my tribute to Margaret on the committee's website. Come along and learn about Margaret's relatives, many of whom are buried there, including her parents and her famous descendent, Bucky Fuller and his wife, Anne Hewlett Fuller (that link takes you to a chain of posts about the Fuller family).

Enjoy a short reading from Margaret's work, some tidbits about Margaret's life, and, of course, singing Happy Birthday to this most remarkable of women. 

Stay tuned for many more events listed on the brochure that I've uploaded here:
Margaret Fuller 199th Birthday Brochure

Facebook page here for the Bicentennial group, with a hilarious picture.