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 an 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 completed 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.