BRUNSWICK

M any readers know that J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S Lewis swapped manuscripts and proofread each other’s fantasy novels, but may not know that Ralph Waldo Emerson was Henry David Thoreau’s mentor. Or that novelists Henry Miller and Lawrence Durrell hung out on Corfu and were pen pals when apart. So were the fathers of the Beat Generation — Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

So it’s not surprising that this year’s Longfellow Days features a celebration of the literary friendship between Brunswick’s own Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Charles Dickens. Such literary liaisons are as much a part of the story of literature as literature itself.

Maryli Tiemann is a founding member of Longfellow Days. “We wanted to focus on that friendship. Supposedly they influenced each other. Longfellow’s poem ‘The Village Blacksmith’ inspired Joe the blacksmith in (Dickens) ‘Great Expectations.’ Or who knows? Maybe it was the other way around,” she said.

This year’s theme is “Longfellow & Dickens: A Transatlantic Friendship.” A bond was first formed between the two world-renowned, 19th-century authors in 1836, when Longfellow read and admired “The Pickwick Papers.” It was cemented when Dickens first traveled to the United States in 1842.

Although an ocean separated the American poet and the British novelist, they corresponded regularly, visited each other’s homes when abroad, championed each other’s work, and facilitated social introductions and publishing connections, Tiemann said.

According to the Longfellow Days committee, made up of Elizabeth Marr, Anne V. Marr, Maryli Tiemann, and Amy E. Waterman, “This theme allows us to look closely at this remarkable friendship, the literary influences between the two writers, and their ties of camaraderie and affection. Along with that, the series will explore connections between writers, and between writers and their communities, today.”

The month-long series of events, Feb. 2 through 27, draws inspiration from the poet, closely associated with Brunswick and Bowdoin College, to foster appreciation of our living literary heritage.

“This is an accessible celebration,” Tiemann said. “It’s not only about Longfellow, but of literature. The man Longfellow was so loved … worldwide and it would be a shame to let that die out.”

Among featured Longfellow Days events will be numerous poetry readings and writer talks, including one with Maine’s poet laureate, Wes McNair, on Saturday, Feb. 2; poetry writing in a local middle school; sharing of poetry by members of the Brunswick community hosted by The Highlands and Thornton Oaks; lectures by two experts on our key subjects, Longfellow-biographer Charles Calhoun and Dickens-specialist Lillian Nayder of Bates College; a tour of the Chamberlain House, where Longfellow once resided; a film screening; and some birthday surprises all over town.

The hub for Longfellow Days is downtown Brunswick, but the series draws participants from several towns in the Mid-coast region. In addition to sites previously mentioned, the series’ activities will take place at the Bowdoin College chapel, as well as Daggett Lounge and Main Lounge at the college; Curtis Memorial Library; and Eveningstar Cinema.

Programs are free to the public.

Longfellow Days is a program of the Brunswick Downtown Association, with support from Bowdoin College, Maine Arts Commission, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, Alfred M. Senter Fund,