From Sea To Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America The BEautiful
Wednesday, October 22 At 6:30 PM
The Western Massachusetts premiere screening of the new PBS film "From Sea to Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America the Beautiful." The program will start at 6:30 pm and conclude by 7:45 pm. Co-producer Laurence Cotton will introduce the film, directed by John de Graaf, and Smith College faculty member Carrie Baker will join Laurence Cotton on stage for the talk-back session. Professor Baker is Chair of the Program for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. The film tells the story of Katharine Lee Bates, a Falmouth-born, Wellesley College-educated professor of English and poet. In 1893, Bates traveled across America by train. Her stops included Niagara Falls and Chicago, where she took in the spectacle of the White City of the World's Columbian Exposition. Her trip then took her across the heartland and the Great Plains to Colorado, where she took up a summer teaching appointment at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Bates traveled by prairie wagon to the summit of Pikes Peak. When she descended the mountain, the words for the poem "America" came to her. The heart of the story occurs during the eras of the Gilded Age and Social Reform, as well as the Spanish-American War and the First World War. The film conveys the maturation of Bates' writing and social philosophy, and unpacks the real meaning of the stanzas of the beloved national hymn. With America250 approaching, it is an opportune time to reassess the life and legacy of Katharine Lee Bates and the significance of "America the Beautiful."
This screening is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. There will also be an opportunity for voluntary contributions (a suggested donation of $10) to benefit the nonprofit organization Filmmakers Collaborative SF. Donations will support the costs of this screening and future distribution efforts, including those to schools and colleges.