Greensburg documentary premieres

The documentary film Greensburg premiered on May 4th, one year after a tornado devasted the Kansas community. The documentary was supported by a Kansas Humanities Council Grant. Click here to visit the Greensburg film website.

Talk About Literature in Kansas Catalog Available Online

Talk About Literature in Kansas (TALK) is a program for every Kansan who loves to read and discuss good books. The updated catalog highlights 31 TALK series and features 13 brand-new discussion leaders. Click here for the TALK catalog. For assistance, contact Deborah Pomeroy, Resource Center Coordinator at deborah@kansashumanities.org, call toll-free in state at 8oo/562-8057 or in Topeka at 785/357-0359.

Journey Stories: Call for Hosts in 2009
Application Deadline: April 18, 2008

Journey Stories is the next Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition to tour Kansas through Museum on Main Street.

Journey Stories explores the relationship between American society and transportation. By foot or horseback, along the trails or on the rails, by highways, byways, and even flyways Americans have always been "on the move." Using images, audio, and artifacts, Journey Stories looks at transportation's impact on American lives, culture, communities, and landscape.

For more information contact Dan Carey-Whalen at 785/357-0359 or dan@kansashumanities.org.

The Kansas Humanities Council seeks Board Members

The Kansas Humanities Council is currently seeking nominations of Kansans for service on its 22-member board of directors. Nominations for the upcoming selection round are due by April 11, 2008. Click here for more information about the Kansas Humanities Council Board of Directors.

2008-2010 Chautauqua hosts announced

The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua will tour two Kansas communities each June in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The following communities will host the event:

2008: Beloit and Lawrence
2009: Ottawa and Hesston
2010: Colby and Belleville

Click here for the 2008 Kansas Chautauqua schedule.

Grant Project Featured in National Publication

A Kansans Tell Their Stories project was featured in Humanities, the publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Click here to read the article about the National Orphan Train Museum in Concordia.

Kansans Tell Their Stories... About Books

The results are in! The Kansas Humanities Council asked students attending the 2007 Kansas Book Festival to recommend their favorite books. More than 200 titles were suggested. Here's the list of the top 6 most recommended books:

The Harry Potter Series, by J. K. Rowling
I Can't Believe I Have to Do This, by Jan Alford
The Naked Mole-Rat Letters, by Mary Amato
The Nancy Drew Series, by Carolyn Keene
A Child Called It, by Dave Pelzer
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini
So Be It, by Sara Weeks

2008 Humanities and Heritage Grants

Humanities and Heritage grants connect people with ideas and strengthen community through book and film discussions, oral history projects, or museum exhibits.

Spring 2008 Humanities and Heritage grant deadlines are:
Project outline (1 copy): February 1, 2008
Final Application (10 copies): March 7, 2008
Notification by: April 4, 2008
Projects may start after: April 18, 2008

KHC Seeks Hosts for 2008-2010 Chautauqua

Bring Chautauqua to your community! The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua is a five-day event available to two Kansas communities each June from 2008 through 2010. KHC is seeking community partners to host the Chautauqua over the next three years. Application deadline is October 31, 2007.

Bright Dreams, Hard Times explores the critical changes in political and cultural life in the 1930s through the lives of five historical figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Louisiana Governor and Senator Huey Long, Pentecostal leader Aimee Semple McPherson, Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, and humorist Will Rogers. Each evening, a scholar will portray one of the historical figures under the Chautauqua Tent. A Youth Chautauqua Camp, children and adult programs, and other festivities round out the five-day event.

Click here for the 2008-2010 Chautauqua Application.

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The second Kansas Book Festival, celebrating the state's rich literary, artistic, and historical heritage, was held October 5 & 6, 2007, at Koch Arena, on the campus of Wichita State University. Click here to find out more.

Chautauqua in Kansas

KHC continues the Chautauqua tradition with the Marion Cott Chautauqua Fund, an initiative that recognizes the leadership of the long-time KHC director in renewing Chautauqua in Kansas. Click here to print a donor form so you can join us in continuing the Chautauqua tradition. Click here to see the donors to the Cott Chautauqua Fund.

Click here to read about long-time KHC director Marion Cott's retirement reception, dinner, and program.