Helping humanities professionals tap the power of the region's expansive cultural heritage to enrich community life, inspire visitors, and revitalize the economy.

About Cross Ties

MARCH began publication of Cross Ties as a bi-monthly newsletter in March 2006. In the words of MARCH Director, Dr. Howard Gillette,

"We have an outpouring of research over the past quarter century that we can tap, much of it capturing the rich complexity of our regional experience. MARCH takes up the task of leveraging these assets for a broad program of public education and institutional strengthening that can take place in a wide variety of venues. To do this effectively, we seek your help in sharing your experience. The more institutions and individuals share the resources of their communities and the stories of their sites, the more we all learn about the challenges of telling them effectively to the broadest possible audience. Through communication and exchange, MARCH can provide a vehicle to nourish our rich regional heritage and harvest the returns on the investments we have already made to bring it alive. Doing so will both enrich humanities practice and make the Mid-Atlantic a leading site for civic engagement. Cross Ties will highlight particular efforts, introduce important resources, and report on progresss and on what remains to be done. We will reach our goal of robust public exchange and enhanced understanding by using our regional heritage of pluralism to infuse our work with the energy of innovation."

Each issue of Cross Ties includes a thoughtful essay from a regional funder (Going to the Well) and a leader in humanities work (Famous Last Words). You will find news of people, events, and exhibits of interest in the Regional Roundup. Each issue will also feature an important source of professional knowledge or analysis that you might not otherwise readily find and put you in touch with Internet resources on themes and subjects of central to our region.

Here on the website, you'll find all Cross Ties articles complete, supplemented with hot links to additional information about the stories and the institutions and projects we cover. We invite you to stay informed by browsing the issue both in paper and electronically. We hope that Cross Ties becomes an essential part of your professional life. We warmly welcome your feedback, and your suggestions about people, events, and ideas that we should consider for inclusion.