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SPRING 2025: The Power of Words. Welcome to your bi-weekly newsletter from Connecticut Explored with the latest stories, the newest Grating the Nutmeg podcast, and programs from our partners.
Literary Activism: An American Genre That Spans History
Literary activism is more than an American genre of literature. During the 19th century American women had no vote and lacked political voice. Harriet Beecher Stowe used her skills to write such a compelling and carefully crafted narrative that some might argue she changed the world’s perspective through her words. The Hartford resident took the world by storm when she wrote the antislavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly (1852), becoming an international bestseller. When questioned about the truth of the events and characters in the novel, Stowe responded with The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Presenting the Original Facts and Documents upon Which the Story Is Founded, Together with Corroborative Statements Verifying the Truth of the Work (1853) Fisk writes,“This volume chronicled authentic stories of enslaved and formerly enslaved people, told in their own words. These anecdotes were the backbone of Stowe’s novel. She insisted that she “say what is true and only that.” Literary activism—in its best form—is based on truth.” Fisk further examines additional important works such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (1845) and Aunt Phillis’s Cabin; or, Southern Life as It Is (1852) by Mary Henderson Eastman, stating, “Each era of literary activism is affected by its historical context; each author is affected by their lived experiences.”
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Making History with Fiona Vernal
State Historian Andy Horowitz interviews people who are bringing the past into the present.
What does Connecticut history mean to you? State Historian Andy Horowitz interviews Fiona Vernal, associate professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Connecticut, on her journey from aspiring engineer to passionate historian and why oral histories are so important. Vernal states, “Most people don’t think that their lives and their everyday experiences really matter. We think big when we think about history—like, “You were at the Battle of the Bulge,” or when something really significant happened, and that’s why you matter. But oral histories offer a moment to pause, for people to remember just how important their own everyday lives are.”
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The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Book and Dagger: Yale Professors Become Successful WWII Spies
In her new book, Book and Dagger, How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of the World, Dr. Elyse Graham tells the story of academics like Yale literature professor Joseph Curtis who hunted down German spies and turned them into double agents and Sherman Kent, a Yale history professor who rose to become the head of analysis for all of Europe and Africa.
Listen: Book and Dagger: Yale Professors Become Successful WWII Spies
Thanks to the Connecticut Museum of Culture & History and Preservation Connecticut for their financial sponsorship of Grating the Nutmeg, helping us bring you a new episode every two weeks.
Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
Slater Memorial Museum
From our one-of-a-kind collection of plaster casts to collections of local Connecticut artists, you’re invited to come and experience Slater Museum for yourself! The museum is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding Sundays and Tuesdays, and features a regular rotating slate of guest exhibitions housed in the museum’s Converse Art Gallery. All up-to-date information on the exhibition schedule can be found online at slatermuseum.org.
108 Crescent Street, Norwich. slatermuseum.org; 860-425-5563
The Mark Twain House and Museum
Discover history and timeless stories with a visit to the Hartford home where Mark Twain transformed American literature! Daily tours take visitors through the richly decorated spaces in the 25-room Victorian home, many featuring the exotic interiors of Louis C. Tiffany’s Associated Artists. Museum artifacts include period furniture, photos, paintings, and books by Darwin, Hawthorne, and others, with margin notes written by Samuel Clemens.
351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. MarkTwainHouse.org; 860-247-0998
HPL 250th Books Through Time
In February 1774, a group of subscribers formed a corporation to purchase “a collection of useful and religious books, for the benefit of themselves and families, and the promotion of virtue and useful knowledge.” Hartford Public Library has evolved from that original intention into a 21st-century hub of access to all types of materials, information, and services. To celebrate this core mission, the library’s Hartford History Center created an online timeline of books from its collection spanning publication dates beginning in 1774 and going through 2024. Enjoy this online Hartford History Center exhibition by visiting hplct.org.
Hartford History Center at the Downtown Library, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford. hplct.org; 860-695-6297
Editor’s Picks:
Katherine Kane, “Harriet Beecher Stowe: The Most Famous American” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2011.
Mary Ellen Ellsworth, “Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Connecticut Feminist Prophet” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2011-2012.
Dawn C. Adiletta, “Connecticut Quilts to Warm Body & Soul” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2006.
Katherine Kane, “Lincoln and The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2012–2013.