HOULTON and LILLE, Maine — A Maine writer will visit Aroostook County next month to give voice to some of the state’s little-known wordsmiths.
Maine poet Gary Lawless has been sharing works by these poets each month in the Maine Humanities Council’s Notes from an Open Book enewsletter, and will appear twice in Aroostook County to share some of their works live with “Voices of Maine Poetry.”
Sessions will be held on Friday, Sept. 7, at the Cary Library in Houlton at 6 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Musée culturel du Mont-Carmel at 7 p.m.
Maine poetry offers a world rich with ideas and perspectives, but there are many important perspectives that most state residents haven’t heard. In 2017, Lawless received the Maine Humanities Council’s Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize for his work in celebrating lesser-known state poetic voices.
During “Voices of Maine Poetry,” Lawless will talk about poets Mainers should know, what they bring to the conversations about the state and poetry, and will read their works aloud.
The Maine Humanities Council is an independent, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the people of Maine deepen their understanding of themselves, their communities and the world. The Council works with volunteer literacy programs, educators, school systems, and libraries to promote the power and pleasure of ideas through its programming; the Council also provides grants supporting projects in community history, exhibits, workshops and other areas of study.
