The Discover Portsmouth Center will host art, music, theater and literature on six Sunday afternoons, starting Sunday, Sept. 21.

Presented by the Portsmouth Historical Society, Sunday Salons emphasizes the collaborative effort behind the Discover Portsmouth Center, said spokeswoman Stephanie Seacord. She said people invested in Seacoast culture, whether arts or history, have a connection at the center, which introduced visitors to area attractions. The performances are designed to be intimate and personal so that those interested can ask questions.

The opening show is called “Stories of the Seacoast,” by Pontine Theatre’s Greg Gathers and Marguerite Mathews. They’ll act out scenes from their original stage adaptations of popular literature about Portsmouth, drawn from Charles Brewster’s “Rambles About Portsmouth” and Thomas Bailey Aldrich’s “The Story of a Bad Boy.”

A week later, on Sept. 28, the center will host “A Visit to the Isles of Shoals,” a slide presentation by Stephanie Voss Nugent. The presentation introduces viewers to the rocky archipelago that lies just off the New Hampshire coast. It portrays the hardy people who lived on the islands and shares tales of pirates and ghosts, shipwrecks and grand hotels. There are also photographs from the 1870s that chronicle the transformation of Star Island from the tiny fishing village of Gosport into an island resort.

Seacoast historian J. Dennis Robinson examines the “bad boy” literary genre that may have begun in Portsmouth and sparked the later work of Mark Twain. The event, called “Lively Boys! Lively Boys!,” takes place on Oct. 5. Thomas Bailey Aldrich, author of “Story of a Bad Boy,” attended school at what is now the Discover Portsmouth Center, and his novel lives on in characters such as Dennis the Menace and Bart Simpson. This fast-paced slideshow also reveals much about Portsmouth’s past on the 100th anniversary of the Aldrich Memorial.

On Oct. 12, learn a “Short History of the Art Song and Theatre Music in America” with performers Angelynne Hinson and Alexandra Borrie as they explore songs of the 20th century and listen to the music of Copland, Ives, Barber, Kern, Bernstein and Sondheim. They will host “Second Sunday: Exploring Connections Between Theatre and Music” on WSCA 106.1 FM, the second Sunday of each month, beginning in October.

A slide presentation exploring the remarkable life of Celia Thaxter, from her childhood on White Island to her unexpected fame as a writer, will take place on Oct. 19. Participants may join actor Stephanie Voss Nugent “backstage” as she transforms historical research into performance. From the vantage point of the actor stepping into a role, the show examines the forces that shaped Thaxter’s work and introduces some of the writers, musicians and artists who followed her to an island home each summer.

A poetry reading called “Poems of Place,” on New Hampshire and the sea, will feature Portsmouth Poet Laureate Emerita Mimi White and fellow Seacoast poets on Oct. 26.

Performances will be on Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Discover Portsmouth Center, located on the corner of Middle and Islington streets. For reservations, call 603-436-8420. Tickets are $10, $8 for members.