Maine Humanities Council

For the kick-off of the new season of the Portland Public Library’s brown-bag lunch series, Pulitzer Prize winning author, Richard Russo, came back to Portland to read from his new novel That Old Cape Magic. Despite being a Yankees fan, Russo lives in Coastal Maine. Here, Russo reads a colorful chapter of his newly released and critically acclaimed novel.

This talk was part of the Portland Public Library’s Brown Bag Lecture Series. We welcome your feedback on this Richard Russo podcast.

Richard Russo [ 35:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6180)

Not Norman by Kelly Bennett, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Noah Z. Jones lives in Maine, and recently read Not Norman aloud for the Born to Read program. You can find this book, or the Raising Readers anthology, at your local library.

Text copyright 2005 by Kelly Bennett. Illustrations copyright 2005 by Noah Jones. Reproduced by permission of Candlewick Press, Inc., Somerville, MA.

Not Norman [ 4:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2834)

Love and Kisses by Sarah Wilson, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Melissa Sweet lives in Maine, and the Born to Read program recently visited her studio, where she read Love and Kisses aloud. You can find the book or the Raising Readers anthology at your local library.

Text copyright 1999 by Sarah Wilson. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Melissa Sweet. Reproduced by permission of Candlewick Press, Inc., Somerville, MA.

Love and Kisses [ 2:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3002)

Library Lion by Michelle Knudson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, is one of five books that Raising Readers included in an anthology of Maine stories for pediatricians to give to 5-year-olds. Kevin Hawkes lives in Maine, and the Born to Read program recently visited his studio, where he talked about Library Lion and read the first few pages aloud. You can find a recording of the entire book in audiobook read-along format from Live Oak Media here, or at your local library.

Text and illustrations copyright 2006 by Candlewick Press, Inc. Audio copyright 2007 by Live Oak Media. Permission to record this excerpt was granted by Live Oak Media.

Library Lion [ 7:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2815)

Moderated by the publisher of Warren Machine Company, Ari Meil, this event was a discussion of why Maine provides such rich inspiration for writers, and what has brought the writers Lewis Robinson, Andrew McNabb, and Lisa Carey to their respective places in the literary world today. Lisa Carey is the author of Every Visible Thing, The Mermaids Singing, In the Country of the Young, and Love in the Asylum. She lived in Ireland for five years and now resides in Portland. Andrew McNabb (pictured at right), author of The Body of This, lives in Portland with his wife and four young children. His short stories have appeared in a range of literary venues including The Missouri Review and Not Safe, But Good: Best Christian Short Stories, 2007. He is currently at work on a memoir and treatise to his children. Lewis Robinson is the author of the novel Water Dogs and the story collection Officer Friendly. He lives in Portland and teaches in the Stonecoast MFA program.

This panel discussion took place at the Maine Festival of the Book, sponsored by Maine Reads, on April 4, 2009.

Panel Discussion [ 53:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6258)

In this three-part episode, two particularly quick-witted and talkative apes, Hannah Holmes (The Well-Dressed Ape) and Bill Roorbach (Temple Stream), address their collisions with the rest of the natural world. Roorbach’s recent work has taken him into the woods and fields behind his own house, a primitive but not always private domain. Holmes has turned inward, primarily, to consider the fundamental animalness of this ape we so often mistake for something extraordinary. Here, they each share their own work before turning their practiced analytical eyes on one another.

This conversation between Hannah Holmes and Bill Roorbach took place at the Maine Festival of the Book, sponsored by Maine Reads, on April 4, 2009.

Bill Roorbach reading [ 14:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2694)

Hannah Holmes reading [ 10:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (251)

Meeting of the Apes [ 23:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (260)