Mary
"Mimi" Havemeyer Beman
(b. 1948)
Descended from more than half of Nantucket's original proprietors
(thirteen times from Tristram Coffin alone), and more recently from
astronomer Maria Mitchell's brother Henry, Mimi helped her parents,
Mary Allen and Mitchell Havemeyer, plan and run Mitchell's Book
Corner when it opened its doors in 1968. She inherited the shop
in 1978, and has provided island readers with a literary haven under
its eaves ever since. Mimi spends every winter (and early mornings
year round) reading the upcoming books, and then offers booklovers
her expert opinion and personal recommendations in a vast range
of tastes and subject matter. Mimi has been active in the Nantucket
community, bringing her knowledge of books and bookselling and her
literary preferences to numerous boards and committees. Her other
passion is all things Italian - especially the language and literature,
in which she holds an advanced degree, with a concentration in the
works of Dante. In addition, she taught the Italian language for
eight years at universities in Colorado and Indiana.
The
embroidered narrative shows the position of the stars on the night
Maria Mitchell discovered her comet (October 1, 1847); a selection
of Mimi's favorite books; a map of Nantucket (referring to a collection
of island maps inherited from the Mitchell side of the family); and
a quotation from Dante's Paradiso, Canto 33, v. 145: "Love
that moves the sun and the other stars."
