Halifax Humanities Society holds free lecture

A pop singer, a pianist and a poet teamed up to put on an unforgettable show on March 29 to celebrate all things humanities at the Halifax Central Library.

Attendees gathered for a free lecture in the Paul O’Regan Hall, put on by the Halifax Humanities Society for the third time since 2024. 

The Halifax Humanities Society is a charitable organization that offers non-credit university-level humanities classes to low-income adults.

Renowned poet, author and honorary patron of the society, George Elliott Clarke, opened the lecture with a message about the importance of education.

“You cannot have a revolution for the public good unless the public is educated,” he said.

At the event, the society also launched its new book, Each Life a Poem, which features writing from members and teachers of the society to celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary. The event also featured a republication of the society’s first book, Each Book a Drum, which marked the program’s 10th anniversary. 

For the first time, the public lecture included music by singer Julia Tynes and pianist Simon Docking, who performed Clarke’s poems as songs.

Katie Carline, the interim director of the society, said they wanted to incorporate music to increase the appeal of the event.

“We initially approached [Clarke] and asked him if he would be willing to come and give a lecture. He sort of counterproposed that we include a musical element to it,” Carline said.

Clarke recited four poems and explained to the audience why he chose each poem, as well as his inspirations for writing them. 

Carline said the Humanities Today lectures, which examine the role the humanities play in communities “excluded from the traditional avenues of humanities education,” according to the society’s website, were first set up and organized by a donor to honour the legacy of Mount Saint Vincent University professor, Renate Usmiani.

“She was really committed to teaching and to making the humanities and literature accessible and enjoyable for everyone,” Carline said.

The society runs a free program called Halifax Humanities 101, which is based on the University of King’s College Foundation Year Program. 

Sheila Smyth, a society board member and program alum, says the class’s scaled-down approach is an excellent way to learn. Since class sizes are small, students benefit from a more conversational approach to teaching.

“We get teachers from King’s, Dalhousie University, Mount St. Vincent University, Saint Mary’s University, and they come in, and they’re not paid anything,” said Smyth. “Learning should be for everybody.”

Mary Lu Redden — the society’s director from 2006 to 2017 — says the society has grown and developed its partnerships with universities since launching the Humanities 101 course in 2005.  

“That was something that really developed during my time was by getting more book grants, and getting permission for our graduates to take courses free of charge,” Redden said. “It’s a much stronger organization than it was when it started.”

Carline said free public events are important because they invite people from every background to be part of an intellectual community.

“The sense of being in a room with other people who care about something and realizing that you don’t need big credentials to get joy out of reading, thinking and discussing with other people,” said Carline.