Celebrating the Dead Bards of the Dirigo State

Ruth Moore Days in Bass Harbor July 17-23

Join the Bass Harbor Memorial Library and the Tremont Historical Society in celebrating RUTH MOORE DAYS
July 17-23

Sunday, July 17, 7pm
"I Have Seen Horizons"    Bass Harbor Memorial Library
Screening of the award-winning documentary on the life and work of Ruth Moore led by Hollis Hayward. Introduction by Sanford Phippen.

Tuesday, July 19, 7pm
MDI Reads Moore!    Bass Harbor Memorial Library
Book group and discussion of High Clouds Soaring, Storms Driving Low: The Letters of Ruth Moore led by lecturer Candice Stover. Copies of The Letters available for purchase ($10) at island libraries.

Thursday, July 21, 7pm  (Ruth Moore's Birthday)
'Lady Carpenters'    Bass Harbor Memorial Library
Sven Davisson, writer and grandnephew of Ruth Moore, discusses 'Lady Carpenters' Ruth Moore and her partner Eleanor Mayo, a literary relationship spanning 41 years and a combined 23 books. Cake and refreshments in celebration of Moore's birthday.

Saturday, July 23, 1:00-3:00pm
Ruth Moore and Eleanor Mayo House Tour
Lighthouse Road, Bass Harbor
A Tour of the property and home Ruth and Eleanor built in 1947, led by Moore's nieces and nephew and joined by Dennis Damon and Mary Jones. See the woodwork, gardens, and writing cabin and learn about Moore's life and inspiration. $15 in advance.

Maine Poetry Out Loud Finals now Onlinie

The 2011 Maine Poetry Out Loud Finals are now online, thanks to the Maine Arts Commission. I had the joy of being able to serve as a judge for the competition and can tell you these young people did a great job. Well worth listening to the poems.

 

Elizabeth Akers Allen's Grave

Tombstone art at the grave of Maine poetess, Elizabeth Akers Allen:

 

Wesley McNair Poems

Maine's new Poet Laureate has a website, where you can learn more about him and his work. He is the editor of the highly acclaimed "The Maine Poets: An Anthology" (The Google Books link has some free pages to view, but it is definitely worth buying).

His poetry has been chosen by former US Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, for the American Life in Poetry series. Two of them are "For My Wife", and "The One I Think of Now".

You can also watch a great video from the Library of Congress, where McNair shared the dais with Maxime Kumin in a 2006 reading.

Colby College also has a video online called "My Life as a Poet" which is a 51-minute presentation he gives about his life. It includes slides and pictures from his early family life and items from his papers, which are collected at Colby Special Collections.

Congratulations to Wesley McNair: New Maine Poet Laureate

Last night at the amazing Poetry Out Loud Maine State finals, Governor Paul LePage's daughter announced that Wesley McNair is the new Poet Laureate of Maine. I had the privilege of serving as a fellow judge with Wes at the competition (video from Lewiston Sun Journal)

Way to go Wesley!

Night, By Lousie Bogan

Robert Farnsworth reads Night, by Louise Bogan, at the 1st stop on the Dead Poets Grand Tour 2010.

The Consummation, By May Sarton

From Macbeth, Act 5 : Read by Ken Nye

New Biography of Parson Fisher of Blue Hill

The folks at the Fisher House Journal have an interview with the author of a new biography of the amazing Mainer, Parson Jonathan Fisher.

On October 7th we'll be reading some of the poetry of Rev. Fisher in Blue Hill, as part of the Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Maine.

Sardine Extravaganza: Beautiful Day; Great Event

The historic Sardine Extravaganza that took place in Belfast last Saturday was a great success. Music and Dance all devoted to the tiny, mighty sardine and the workers who made a living in the now-defunct Maine industry.

In a week or so we'll be posting some video taken that day.

Historic "Remembering Maine's Island Poets" Announced

On Thursday, October 7th, a day-long, 5-stop "Remembering Maine's Island Poets" series of community readings will take place up the coast of Maine, starting at sunrise in Harpswell and ending at sunset at Cadillac Mountain.

Visit our new blog for the event and check out the map of the route and the schedule of the 5 community readings that will highlight the lives and work of 36 Maine poets.

Participants are welcome to sign up to read a work from one of their favorite past poets of Maine poets by e-mailing maine (@) deadpoes {dot} org. Blog readers can make comments with suggestions for poems to be read that day (they all will have something to do with the "Islands" ie., fishing, shipbuilding, sailing, vacationing, the coast, storms, etc.)

Sardine Songs Extravaganza: Belfast, 8-21

You won't want to miss the great all-day event of song, poetry, and praise for the Sardine, happening in Belfast on Saturday, August the 21st.

Check out the list of events, speakers, and songs at the Sardine Songs & Herring Hymns Blog

"Maine in Four Seasons" Belfast Poetry Reading 7-27

The Belfast Library is holding a special poetry reading on the 27th of July7 which will feature four poets from a new book titled “Maine in Four Seasons: 20 Poets Celebrate the Turning Year” (Down East Books) edited by Wesley McNair. Each of the participating poets has poems from a different season in the anthology and will read poetry about that season. Elizabeth Tibbetts will represent spring; Martin27 Stengesser, summer; Patricia Ranzoni, fall; and Kristen Lindquist, winter.

“Maine in Four Seasons” includes not only contemporary poets from around the state but a range of Maine’s earlier poets, from Longfellow to Robinson to Millay. The readers will sample some of the earlier work together with their own. The book’s illustrator, Jan Owen, will kick off the reading by showing some of her original work for the book and describing her creative process

Historic Grand Tour Report Now Online

The initial report of the historic Dead Poets Grand Tour 2010 is now online.

It chronicles all the places visited and the names of the poets read. From the Report: 

"We started on Shakespeare’s birthday, in Portland, Maine, the 23^rd of April, and we ended with a bang 6,500 miles later at the first Boston Poetry Marathon, May 25th. During those 34 days, and with the cooperation of 13 current and former State Poets Laureate, we held a Dead Poets Bash in 19 different States and visited 43 cemeteries!

The Grand Tour map can be accessed at the top left corner of the Dead Poets Society of America blog:  http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dpsablog/  

The other readings and interviews we held at poets’ graves and houses were really great as well, including the Lorine Niedecker home, the Carl Sandburg home, the E.L. Masters home, the Sidney Lanier house, The Virginia Military Institute, The Poe Museum, the Longfellow House and the Woodberry Poetry Room, at Harvard.

All totaled we visited the graves of 75 American poets, and heard the amazing poetry of over 100 American poets read. Dedgar and the crew kept up a pace of just over 191.18 miles per day and 2 poets’ graves per day!

The initial report of the historic Dead Poets Grand Tour 2010 is now online.

It chronicles all the places visited and the names of the poets read. From the Report: 

"We started on Shakespeare’s birthday, in Portland, Maine, the 23^rd of April, and we ended with a bang 6,500 miles later at the first Boston Poetry Marathon, May 25th. During those 34 days, and with the cooperation of 13 current and former State Poets Laureate, we held a Dead Poets Bash in 19 different States and visited 43 cemeteries!

The Grand Tour map can be accessed at the top left corner of the Dead Poets Society of America blog:  http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dpsablog/  

The other readings and interviews we held at poets’ graves and houses were really great as well, including the Lorine Niedecker home, the Carl Sandburg home, the E.L. Masters home, the Sidney Lanier house, The Virginia Military Institute, The Poe Museum, the Longfellow House and the Woodberry Poetry Room, at Harvard.

All totaled we visited the graves of 75 American poets, and heard the amazing poetry of over 100 American poets read. Dedgar and the crew kept up a pace of just over 191.18 miles per day and 2 poets’ graves per day!

Eastern Cemetery Sign-Up : April 23rd 12:30 PM

You are invited to join Maine poet laureate, Betsy Sholl, and Portland laureate, Stephen Luttrell, along with Maine poets Robert Farnsworth, Martin Steingesser, Megan Grumbling, Ken Nye, Deena Weinstein, and Joyce Pye at the 3rd Maine Dead Poets Bash, this coming Friday, April 23rd, at Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

Besides the invited poets, if you want to read a poem you are welcome to, but there are 2 rules: 1). It must be one poem from one of Maine's past poets; and 2) You need to respond in a comment to this posting and put the name of the poet/poem you want to read. This will help us avoid duplication.

Longfellow, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Phillip Both, Robert Lowell, Louise Bogan, Robert Creeley, Elizabeth Bishop, and David Walker are already being read. 

The Map of Maine's Dead Poets has over 40 more poets to choose from.

In case of rain or snow we'll meet across the street at the North Star Cafe.