The Journal was created in 1891 by four intrepid women, who took a 17-day literary retreat to Great Brewster Island in Boston Harbor. They created a scrapbook containing early snapshots, humorous narratives, and charming illustrations, along with daily entries that give us clues about their lives--and identities. This event will bring the Journal to life by adding additional dimensions: audio, literary, and musical. 

Well, I am a musician, and I love commissioning new works, so yes! This was a great opportunity to let the story of the Great Brewster Journal inspire a present-day Massachusetts composer: Adam Jacob Simon. You will hear a world premiere of Adam's new chamber suite for strings and voice spread throughout the evening. But there will also be sounds, words, and images; AND presentations by scholars (think very short, like a TED talk) that will teach us more about the social and literary lives of women in 1890s Massachusetts. You will even have an opportunity to ask questions, so come prepared!

The four women who created the Journal were from Lowell, MA, at the time an industrial powerhouse. They belonged to an all-female literary club, one of many around the country through which women educated themselves by reading a wide variety of literature, often out loud and in each others' company---you could think of it as a very intense book club. The Academic Arts Center, owned and run by the Middlesex Community College, occupies an 1875 building that was once Lowell's Boston & Maine railroad station.

Through the Journal, we learn that these self-styled "Merrie Trippers," had the same dynamics that modern-day friendships do: humor, teasing, irritation, playfulness, industriousness, sentimentality, and a love of adventure. A couple of things make their unique story still interesting to us today:

1.      Their incredible initiative. If you have planned a 17-day trip anywhere, especially when leaving your family behind, you can imagine how logistically challenging it would have been with 1890s technology. At the time, Great Brewster Island was lightly inhabited, but all supplies had to come from the mainland. They refused to pack light, though, even bringing fresh flowers to brighten the table for the first couple of days.

2. The document itself. Primary sources created by women are less-than-common in the historical record, and the Journal is truly a work of art. Their photographs are technically excellent and beautifully composed. Their watercolors and pen-and-ink drawings are exquisite. Their writing and musings on literature make the island itself a beloved companion with a personality all its own.

3. The fact that we know who they were at all! One of the most mystifying features of the Journal is that the creators used pseudonyms for themselves (Ye Acrobat, Ye Scribe, Ye Aristocrat, Ye Autocrat) and it was only in the past three years that their identities have been discovered. In fact, the researchers are still looking for their descendants and have uncovered new information only this year. 

Not really! Although several islands in Boston Harbor are open to the public as part of the Boston Harbor Island National and State Park, Great Brewster Island is now quite deserted and overgrown, with no easy place to land a boat. The Great Brewster of 1891 is in danger of being lost to history, so come join us for this virtual visit!

The September events will be filmed in preparation for a future digital project. And, as I mentioned, the research team has recently uncovered additional documents created by some of these literary ladies from Lowell, and more work is needed to make some updates available to the public. If you haven’t already, just scroll up to register for notifications. If you want to support this project and further research, you can make a donation via PayPal (see the home page) or Venmo (@emily-marvosh). 

At the event in September, the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands (major supporters of this project for years) will be selling merchandise and signed copies of the Journal. If you want to do your Christmas shopping early, pick up your own copy of the Great Brewster Journal at Bookshop.org.