Actress brings Shoals author to life for historical society event

Celia Thaxter (Courtesy/Shoals Marine Laboratory)

ROCHESTER - Actress Stephanie Voss Nugent will present "The Remarkable Life of Celia Thaxter" May 11 at the Rochester Historical Society Museum on Hanson Street.

Imagine being four-years-old and sailing off with your family to live at a lighthouse out in the ocean. It sounds like the stuff of fiction, yet this is exactly what happens in the unique story of Celia Laighton Thaxter, the wild and free child of the Isles of Shoals who became a famous poet, painter, and folklorist.

Nugent, an actress and researcher, invites participants to join her "backstage" as she transforms historical research into performance in this slide presentation, tracing Thaxter's life from her childhood on White Island Light to her unexpected fame as a writer.

Using archival photography and performing extended passages from the artist's prose and poetry, Nugent will explore the forces that shaped Thaxter's work, and introduce some of the writers, musicians, and artists who followed Thaxter to her beloved island home each summer.

The hourlong presentation begins at 8 p.m. and is appropriate for all ages.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Refreshments will follow the presentation.