Tidy Tidbits: Gander, Oxford, New York

This week’s blog brings together several compelling works. One is a musical related to 9/11 while the other two are books. One book is a wonderful novel about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, while the other is a cancer memoir, painful yet ultimately redeeming. POWERFUL VIEWING: Remembering 9/11 Come from Away (Apple TV+) I …

Maine Writers: Yesterday & Today

Addendum to Part 1: Contemporary Authors Richard Ford The author of short stories, novels, and nonfiction, Richard Ford is probably best known for his four novels featuring Frank Bascombe.  Bascombe first appears in The Sportswriter (1986) and next in Ford’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Independence Day, published in 1995, then in two later novels.  I read and very much enjoyed Independence Day.  Richard …

Maine Writers Today

COMETH FALL The past few days have been breezy and cool with some sun.  The light is different, the air is clearer and drier.  Fall is sneaking up on us.  Masses of goldenrod line the roadway and here and there a lone red maple leaf lies in the dirt.  I see only tall pines when I look around, but …

Maine Days: Blossoms & Book

GARDENS ABUNDANT BLOOMS If I were asked to name the most common flowers in this part of Maine, it would be daylilies and black-eyed Susans. Native to North America, Black-eyed Susans or Rudbeckia hirta are now found in the lower 48 states.  A close third would be the many varieties of cone flowers.   We made another …