Enduring Hawthorne: The House of the Seven Gables
SALEM, MA – Starting at 7:00 AM on Sunday, July 7th, and running until about 7:00 PM that evening, Salem Maritime National Historic Site and The House of the Seven Gables will be hosting “Enduring Hawthorne: A Marathon Reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables.” “In partnership with The House of Seven Gables and Essex National Heritage Area, and with a lot of help from the community, we are attempting to read The House of the Seven Gables in one sitting” says Chief of Resources Gavin Gardner. “After last year’s great reading of The Scarlet Letter, we wanted a bigger challenge. And really, what better place to do this than from the actual House of the Seven Gables?”
Born in Salem, Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited with the development of the distinctly American Novel. Originally published in 1851, The House of the Seven Gables is one of Hawthorne’s most famous books, which attracts people to Salem nearly 170 years later. Working in a continuing rotation from beginning to end, a series of Park Rangers, partners, and many, many, heroic volunteers with take turns reading for five minutes at a time. “This is not an easy book to read,” says Gardner, “in practice you get tired and need a break reading Hawthorne out loud after about five minutes.” Salem Maritime is currently looking for volunteers to assist in this epic feat. If interested, please contact Gavin Gardner by email at
gavin_gardner@nps.gov.
On July 7th, the reading will take place in the garden of the Seven Gables. While the reading is happening, The Gables have a ton of fun activities, including open gardens, lawn games, a talk by Jim McAllister at 12:00, tours of Hawthorne’s birthplace, a scavenger hunt, food trucks, and so much more! “This will be a fun event that we hope continues in the future,” says Gavin Gardner. “With the help of our friends and neighbors, we can celebrate one of Salem’s most famous residents. With your help, we can keep this from turning into a pure and uncontrollable mischief!”
About Salem Maritime. Located in Salem, MA, Salem Maritime National Historic Site is open daily May 1 through October 31 and Wednesday-Sunday from November 1 through April 30. Park information is available by phoning (978) 740-1650 during regular business hours, or by visiting the park website anytime.
www.nps.gov/sama
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This spring, The House of
the Seven Gables was able to develop a finding aid, cataloging a portion of its
archives, with the help of graduate student Megan Donoghue. Ms. Donoghue, a
Salem State graduate history student is enrolled in Salem State University’s
Archives and Records Management course taught by Professor Beth Bower. Working
under the direction of the Gables’ Collections Manager Susan Baker-Leavitt,
Donoghue focused on one specific part of the larger Gables archives collection –
the papers of founder Caroline O. Emmerton. The Emmerton papers, previously
un-processed, were inventoried and a finding aid document created that will make
the contents of the archive more accessible.
