BRUNSWICK – They’ll be partying like it’s 1807.

The monthlong bicentennial celebration of the birth of one of Brunswick’s most celebrated residents, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, kicked into high gear this weekend.

Longfellow Days, an annual celebration inspired by the Maine native poet and Bowdoin College alumnus and professor, takes on even more meaning this year. Residents will celebrate his 200th birthday on Feb. 27.

Poetry readings, lectures, exhibits and performances will be held throughout the next two weeks. Events began Feb. 11.

Longfellow, along with his classmate Nathaniel Hawthorne, graduated from Bowdoin in 1825. He was Bowdoin’s first professor of modern languages, creating his own textbooks for the courses and living with his bride, Mary Potter, in a home that later became the second story of the home of Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain.

Today, published poets will perform readings at Curtis Memorial Library in downtown Brunswick. Maggie Finch, Annie Finch, Joyce Pye and Arnold Perrin are expected to read. The free event will take place in the Fireplace Room between 1 and 2 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

On Friday, Feb. 23, authors Charles Calhoun and Christoph Irmscher will offer a lecture titled “Discussing Longfellow at 200: Why Henry Longfellow was the Most Famous Bowdoin Graduate Ever.” Calhoun and Irmscher are authors of recently published books on Longfellow and worked together at the 2006 Maine Humanities Council Longfellow Institute.

The event will take place on the third floor of Bowdoin’s Hawthorne-Longfellow Library from 7 to 8 p.m.

Following that presentation, Bowdoin students will accompany a second-floor gallery exhibit titled “Of Time, Place and Circumstance” with readings from Longfellow’s student letters. Refreshments will be provided during this free event. Seating is limited and early arrival recommended.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, music and dance presentations will kick off at the college’s Kresge Auditorium at the Visual Arts Center. It will feature performances from Maine Poet Laureate Betsy Scholl, Donald Lipfert, The Ballet School, Center Stage Players, the Bowdoin College Woodwind Quintet and “The Longfellows” among others.

The free event is from 1 to 2 p.m.

Later that day, “Longfellow Redux” author Irmscher will present “Longfellow & Friendship,” a lecture on Longfellow’s circle of friends with an emphasis on Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-American zoologist, glaciologist and geologist. Regarded as the most famous scientist in 19th century America, Agassiz was the first to theorize that the Earth had been subject to an earlier ice age.

That free event will take place at Kresge Auditorium from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

On Feb. 25, the public is invited on a free tour of Longfellow’s home at the Joshua Chamberlain House between noon and 3 p.m. The house is at the corner of Maine Street and Potter.

Later, at 3 p.m., a 19th century chapel service will be held at the Bowdoin College Chapel. The Rev. Brad Mitchell will reflect on Longfellow’s life in Brunswick. There will be musical performances by the Bowdoin College Brass Ensemble and organist Andrea Printy.

Feb. 27, the big day, will feature several activities and unveiling of a Longfellow sidewalk plaque at the Town Council meeting. From 7 to 9 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, Gary Lawless, co-owner of The Gulf of Maine Books, will lead readings by Brunswick schoolchildren of poetry written in their classes for Longfellow Days. A birthday cake provided by Wild Oats Bakery will be served. The church is at 15 Pleasant St.

PULLOUT:

What is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s connection to Brunswick?

According to the town of Brunswick, Longfellow graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick in the same class as Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1825. He served as Bowdoin’s first professor of modern languages, creating his own text books for the courses and residing with his bride, Mary Potter, in a home that later became the second story of the home of Brunswick’s Civil War hero, Joshua Chamberlain.

PULLOUT:

For a detailed birthday celebration schedule, go to www.brunswickdowntown.com