2024 is L.M. Montgomery’s 150th birthday! The L.M. Montgomery Institute (LMMI) at the University of Prince Edward Island is celebrating with 150 tributes – celebratory statements or greetings – that reflect upon personal connections to Montgomery or on an aspect of her life, work, or legacy.
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This week’s tributes from Anna Czernow, Jo Godden, Susan White, Ana Ereddia, and Rebecca MacDonald celebrate Montgomery and the power of books to expand boundaries, both physical and mental.
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Anna Czernow’s reading journey
Najpierw była Ania. Byłam dziewczynką a seria stała na regale dla dorosłych. Mój tata podarował ją mojej mamie. Nie wiem, co mnie do tego skłoniło, może piękna ilustracja okładkowa Krystyny Michałowskiej, ale sięgnęłam po tom pierwszy. I zakochałam się.
Druga była Emilka. Tata kupił trylogię specjalnie dla mnie. Kolejna miłość. Czytałam raz za razem historię dziewczynki-poetki, która również miała tendencję do sięgania po lektury z regału dla dorosłych.
Trzecia była Pat. Mój tata kupował mi już wtedy wszystko z nazwiskiem Montgomery na okładce. Byłam nieco starsza, więc zdecydowanie faworyzowałam część drugą.
I miłość ostatnia – Jana ze Wzgórza Latarni. Opowiadała o mojej własnej tęsknocie: czytelniczki, która marzy, by choć na chwilę zaznać kojącego działania Wyspy Księcia Edwarda
Były jeszcze inne: Dolina Tęczy, Błękitny Zamek. Ale te cztery to kamienie milowe. Czytać L.M. Montgomery zaczęłam w wieku 10 lat. Od tamtej pory Wyspa Księcia Edwarda jest ważnym miejscem dla mojej czytelniczej geografii.
The first was Anne. I was a girl, and all the volumes stood on an adult bookcase in our home. My dad gave them to my mother. I don't know what made me do it, perhaps the beautiful cover illustration by Krystyna Michalowska, but I reached for the first book one day. And I fell in love. The most important scene? Matthew's reaction to the news that Anne had received an Avery scholarship.
The second was Emily. My dad bought the trilogy for me this time – another love. Again and again, I read the story of a girl poet who also tended to reach for the adult bookshelf. Influenced by Emily, I tried to write a diary. The most important scene? Emily's ghost night at Aunt Nancy's.
The third was Pat in the early 1990s, published in a characteristic series. By then, my dad bought me everything with Montgomery's name on the cover. I was a bit older, so I favoured part two. The most important scene? Tillytuck's first evening at Silver Bush.
And the final love – Jane of Lantern Hill. It told the story of my longing: that of a reader who dreams of experiencing the soothing effects of PEI, if only for a moment. The most crucial scene is Jane's lonely journey to the Island.
There were others: Rainbow Valley, The Blue Castle, and A Tangled Web. But these four are milestones. I started reading Montgomery at ten. Since then, PEI has remained a special destination in my reading geography.
Anna Maria Czernow, PhD, is a researcher at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (within the Children’s Literature & Culture Research Team at the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology). Her academic interests include the history and theory of children’s literature and translation studies. She has authored over twenty articles and book chapters and translated works of children’s and YA literature, popular literature, and essays from Swedish to Polish.
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Jo Godden on Montgomery’s books making the reader feel understood
Emily Starr was the first female character I read that seemed to truly understand my struggles with mental health. I didn’t come to Emily until I had reached the ripe old age of spinsterhood (23), but still Emily called to me in a way that Anne hadn’t (of course I still loved Anne). As Emily and I entered young adulthood together, Emily’s experience of loneliness and dread became a comfort to read, as I processed similar emotions. Although Anne’s moods of midnight rambling and melodramatic monologuing soothed the part of me that wanted to throw myself onto a chaise longue and wail, Emily’s quieter, tender emotions spoke to the writer in me.
L.M. Montgomery loved to torment her female heroines with the occasional “white night,” as Montgomery experienced herself. During one such troublesome night, Emily journals of feeling “a great and awful weariness-not of body or brain but of feeling, coupled with a haunting dread of the future-any future-even a happy one” (Emily’s Quest). Never had my feelings of anxiety and dread been articulated, and reflected, in a female heroine until I met Emily. Montgomery and her characters have an uncanny knack of understanding what is left unsaid, and how to make the reader feel understood.
Jo Godden is an English student at the University of Prince Edward Island, a non-fiction writer, poet, independent scholar, and lover of L.M. Montgomery.
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Susan White on inspiring young readers
As a reader and a writer, L.M. Montgomery has played a pivotal part in my life. I grew up wanting to be three things, all of which I witnessed Anne Shirley become: a teacher, a mother, and an author. I have accomplished all three. As an author, I fashioned an orphan story in my second novel Ten Thousand Truths and included this tribute in the acknowledgements: “I am one of the world’s hugest Anne of Green Gables fans and hold L.M. Montgomery in high esteem. Rachel is my Anne Shirley and Amelia Walton my Marilla Cuthbert. I applaud the author’s determination and tenacity and feel honored to join her in the ranks of Atlantic Canada authors. May some young reader care about Rachel Garnham as much as I cared about Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous red headed character.”
Susan White is a New Brunswick author with fourteen published books to date. Her first novel The Year Mrs. Montague Cried won the Ann Connor Brimer Award in 2012.
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Ana Ereddia on empowering readers to embrace life’s challenges as opportunities
My own call to Halifax, Nova Scotia rather mirrors Anne's exploration of new horizons in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of the Island. Enchanted by the idea of a city by the sea, I replaced Ontario's familiar lakes with the shimmering waves of the Atlantic as I embarked on a journey to attend my very own Redmond College. Standing before Dalhousie University’s clock tower, I found a scholarly haven under the vast maritime sky, living in a Montgomery novel of my own. The Forrest Building at Dalhousie University is the inspiration and physical embodiment of Montgomery’s Redmond, with its red dominating towers and main staircase encouraging the pursuit of boundless aspirations with courage. Rooted within Halifax’s prosaic beauty, Montgomery’s Anne of the Island illustrates the transformative power of optimism and tenacity – empowering readers to embrace life's challenges as opportunities like Montgomery and Anne.
Ana Ereddia is currently in her third year at Dalhousie University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts.
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Rebecca MacDonald on sharing love for Montgomery’s storytelling through fibre arts
Montgomery’s deep imagination and passion for storytelling has brought an immense amount of joy and connection to people all around the world. And that is truly inspiring. As an artist, I thrive on connecting with others through art. I teach embroidery to help people unravel joyful and mindful moments through an array of modern designs. My Green Gables Collection provided even more – a connection to the past and present as we stitch together and share our love for Montgomery’s storytelling. The designs sparked many joyful conversations as we learned how to hand stitch and braid Anne’s beautiful red locks as well as to explore the connection to PEI’s landscape as we hand stitched the shingles of the iconic Green Gables homestead. Art brings people together in a very special way. Thank you, Lucy Maud Montgomery for sharing your imagination.
Rebecca MacDonald is a passionate fibre artist and educator. www.UnravelingJoy.com
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Next week’s tribute will celebrate Montgomery’s depiction of a community at war.