January and February Events

Fumbling In The Light by Sidney Hall, Jr.
and
In The Well by Elizabeth Tibbetts

Sidney Hall, Jr.has lived most of his life in southern New Hampshire. His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals such as Graham House Review, Chattahoochie Review, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, and Hollins Critic . He was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and three of his poems have appeared on NPR's "The Writer's Almanac." He is also a publisher, book designer, and typograher. Fumbling In The Light is his third book of poems.

Elizabeth Tibbetts lives in Maine and works as a nurse. She has received a Maine Arts Commission Fellowship and Good Idea Grant, and a Martin Dibner Fellowship. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The American Scholar, The Beloit Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, and North American Review.
She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, and two of her poems have appeared on NPR's "The Writer's Almanac." In The Well is the winner of the 2002 Bluestem Poetry Award.

Where & When
5:30 pm Snacks and Coffee
6:00 pm Poetry Reading

Thursday, January 8th

38 Exchange Street
Portland, Maine 04101

The Well-Dressed Ape: A Natural History of Myself

Hannah Holmes

With wit, humility, and penetrating insight, science journalist Hannah Holmes casts the inquisitive eye of a trained researcher and reporter on . . . herself. And not just herself, but on our whole species-what Shakespeare called "the paragon of animals." In this surprising, humorous, and edifying book, Holmes explores how the human animal-the eponymous well-dressed ape-fits into the natural world, even as we humans change that world in both constructive and destructive ways.

"A very important book - a graceful and forceful reminder that the natural world is everywhere all around us." - Bill McKibben

Hannah Holmes is the author of Suburban Safari and The Secret Life of Dust. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Discover, Outside, and many other publications. She was a frequent contributor on science and nature subjects for the Discovery Channel Online. She lives with her husband and dog here in Portland.

Where & When
7 pm

Thursday, January 22nd

38 Exchange Street
Portland, Maine 04101

Asta In The Wings
Jan Elizabeth Watson

Asta In The Wings is a poignant and often darkly funny story narrated by Asta Hewitt, a resourceful seven-year-old growing up in an isolated house in Bond Brook, Maine. Shut off from the outside world and restricted to the company of a delusional mother and a bookish older brother, Asta is content to be part of a "society of three," constructing fanciful, theatrical worlds of their own. When circumstances push her into a strange outside world - with all of its discontents - Asta must find a way to assimilate while remaining true to herself and her fractured family.

Jan Elizabeth Watson was born in Washington DC, grew up in Maine, and spent nearly a decade in New York City, where she received her MFA from Columbia University. She has worked extensively as an editor, copywriter, and adjunct professor of creative writing. She lives in Maine and has one child, a daughter. Asta In The Wings is her first novel, and has received starred reviews in Booklist and Publishers Weekly.

Where & When
6 pm
Friday, February 6th
38 Exchange Street
Portland, Maine 04101

Lincoln: The Biography Of A Writer
Fred Kaplan

Since Lincoln, no president has written his own words and addressed his audience with equal and enduring effectiveness. Acclaimed biographer Fred Kaplan focuses on the elements that shaped Lincoln's mental and imaginative world; how his writings molded his identity, relationships, and career; and how they simultaneously generated both the distinctive political figure he became and the public discourse of the nation. This unique account of Lincoln's life and career highlights the shortcomings of the modern presidency, reminding us, through Lincoln's legacy and appreciation for language, that the careful and honest use of words is a necessity for successful democracy.

Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of several biographies, including The Singular Mark Twain, Gore Vidal, Henry James, The Imagination of Genius, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Carlyle, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Boothbay, Maine.

Join us in celebrating Lincoln's 200th birthday this February 12th!

Where & When
5:30 pm
Thursday, February 12th
38 Exchange Street
Portland, Maine 04101