Smith among Maine’s great writers

15 years ago

Smith among Maine’s great writers

To the editor:
On Friday evening, Nov. 12, a book signing was held to unveil the long-anticipated publication of our own Glenna Johnson Smith’s “Old Maine Woman – Stories from The Coast to The County.” This delightful book is published by Islandport Press of Yarmouth and is well organized into sections that begin with childhood memories of life in a small coastal village in the 1920s.
Following this, the reader is treated to a glimpse of the author’s young adult days as a teacher, mother of three boys and wife of an Easton potato farmer, teacher and coach (one man, three hats). Though she says of herself that she was not very organized, it’s impossible to believe that without a well-ordered mind she could have even begun to succeed at any of those jobs, never mind excel at them all. Any one of the hundreds of students who were graced by the eloquent voice that carried her keen sense of humor and intellect into their lives will attest to her excellence as a teacher. Her sons, Mel, Steve and Barney and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren will confirm the rest.
The third section of the book tells of Glenna’s later years living alone in a tiny house in Presque Isle. Some of these essays tell of her appreciation for the smallest gifts of life that include the gift of a neighborhood filled with younger folks and their children and her joy at watching them grow. With delicate attention to detail, she shares her cats and occasional crows with the reader and with humor her disinterest in all things technological.
Finally, as if an afterthought, the reader is granted a pleasurable taste of her fictional stories inspired by an odd thought here or a faded memory there. As part of a writing group that meets with her weekly, I can tell you that the stories behind the stories are just as compelling as that which is printed within this cover.
“Old Maine Woman” by Glenna Johnson Smith is destined to enthrall all those who have ever known The County of The Coast. A gift of lyrical memories, told as only a master of the written word could, this book adds Glenna’s name to the ranks of New England writers such as Donald Hall, Cathie Pelletier, May Sarton, Wesley McNair, Ruth Moore, Robert Chute, E.B. White, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry David Thoreau and shelves of others who speak for those of us who have been blessed to dwell in this small corner of the world. Over a hundred copies were sold on Friday night at the Presque Isle Library and a limited number are still available.

Martie Pritchard
Chapman