Dispatches from Islandport

Lisa Belisle seeks to inspire with "Our Daily Tread" in Bar Harbor

If you are in Bar Harbor this Friday, stop by Sherman's (3 to 4 p.m.) to see Lisa. A good book and a good cause in many ways. Here are some of the details:

    Maine-native Lisa Belisle will visit Sherman's Books in Bar Harbor this Friday to sign copies of her inspirational book, "Our Daily Tread," following a visit to College of the Atlantic where she will speak to a class developing an online marketing program for the book.
    "Our Daily Tread" features daily inspirational and thought-provoking quotes (presented within the framework of a perpetual calendar) that are grouped by themes such as hope, courage, opportunity, and gratitude. Belisle, who operates a medical practice in Yarmouth, hopes using the book daily and incorporating it into a regular routine will help inspire people to live with joy and share of themselves to make a difference in their family, in their town, or around the globe.
    The book, a collaborative effort spearheaded by Belisle, serves a dual purpose.
    In addition to its inspirational quotes, the book features personal essays, photographs, and children's artwork submitted by the volunteers and supporters of Safe Passage, a Maine-based non-profit organization. Safe Passage is dedicated to helping the poorest, at-risk children of families who work in the Guatemala City garbage dump by offering programs that foster hope, good health, and education. Sales of "Our Daily Tread" benefit Safe Passage, which was founded by Hanley Denning. Denning, a Maine native, died in a car accident in January 2007. She was 36.
    Paul Hawkin, author of "Blessed Unrest," said, "Our Daily Tread is an homage to the extraordinary people amongst us who serve the world in new and brilliant ways. Hanley Denning represents the millions of individuals and groups who serve the future by addressing the suffering and needs of the present. This book is a daily reminder that there are no inconsequential acts, only consequential inaction."
    Before visiting Sherman's, Belisle will speak to an e-marketing class that is part of the College of the Atlantic’s Green and Socially Responsible Business Program. This spring, half the class will work to develop an online marketing plan for “Our Daily Tread.”
    COA faculty member Jay Friedlander, who holds the college’s Sharpe/McNally Chair in Green and Socially Responsible Business, chose Safe Passage for this e-marketing class for several reasons, including—its Maine connection, the powerful work it does in Guatemala, and the fact that Denning was not that far out of college when she started the organization.
    Friedlander said, “Social entrepreneurship is about looking for new ways to solve problems, applying entrepreneurial thinking to social issues”—which is what this book is doing.

    Belisle will be at Sherman's on Friday, April 3, from 3 to 4 p.m. "Our Daily Tread" was published by Aerie River Press in collaboration with Islandport Press.

Frenchboro and Oprah! Coming soon.

It's true! The island village of Frenchboro will soon make an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Earlier this month a film crew and a producer from Oprah spent a day filming on Frenchboro and three days later many of the islanders gathered in the schoolhouse to be interviewed by Oprah via satellite. The show is expected to air sometime in April. I will let you know as soon as we know when the actual air date is set.
    The Bar Harbor-based MDI Islander newspaper has a few more details, just click here. Visit frenchboroonline.com for information on Frenchboro.

John N. Cole on the wonder of light during a Maine spring

Spring is coming soon. Really! And in his classic book of essays, "In Maine," the late great John N. Cole wonderfully captured the glorious rhythms of nature in the Pine Tree State. In this essay, John writes about the wonder and glory of spring light in Maine:

    "When we were striplings, my brother–who has been a painter ever since childhood—did a fine watercolor and titled it “Spring Light.” I have never forgotten that painting, although I haven’t seen it now for years. It was done during the first week of April on the far eastern end of Long Island (N.Y.). The scene was an open meadow, a white frame house and a towering bare elm tree which dominated the landscape.What makes the painting so memorable for me is contrast of light and shadow created by the brilliance of the April sun shining with unblemished intensity through the clean spring air. Somehow, with untutored precision, my brother captured the essential quality of this seasonal purity and made it an unmistakable part of the painting.
    "Until I saw that landscape, I had never recognized the exceptional nature of the light we get in these latitudes in late March and early April. Since seeing it, I take note of the phenomenon every spring. As the years have gone by, I have gathered bits of information to enrich my comprehension of the event. Did you know, for example, that here in Maine we get more sun than most places in the northern hemisphere; and that it shines with the same intensity that it does in Florence, Italy? “Sunny Italy,” as it has long been known, has produced some of the greatest artists of the ages, partly because of the light that enhances their work. Maine has the same sun.
    "You must have noticed that during the week just past. After four days of rain–which washed the air as well as soaking the ground–the northwest wind blew every cloud from the sky. The sun, now less than ten weeks away from reaching its annual zenith, rises before 6 a.m. and is already high in the sky by 10:30. Because there are no leaves on the trees, no foliage on the ground and no pollen particles or summer haze, the light is brighter than it ever will be again until the next April.
    "The light becomes the primary presence of the day. Seen in reflection and refraction on the surface of wind-shattered waters, the light leaps up in brilliant shimmers that blind every beholder. Pouring in through household windows in a spring flood that breaches every barricade, the light surges through rooms that become soaked in its revelations. Winter dark corners burst open; hallways where ghosts lurked on snowy dusks are sparkling avenues.
    "Outdoors, there are no shadows, only cool islands in a sea of diamond light. Branches without leaves do nothing to soften the sun; fields stripped of wildflowers by the glaciers of March can not diffuse the wash of light that plays over them as if the skies had opened. Every mote that can ever be seen by the eye of man is made visible; the light probes, presses and persists. It is hurled back into the eyes of every passerby from every puddle and swale; it illuminates, bounces, reflects and jumps from every bright surface as if it were chased by the forces of darkness.
    "Now, on these few days of spring light, less is hidden than ever before or after. Houses that take shelter behind a curtain of trees suddenly seem to jump out. “I never knew that place was there,” says the traveler on a Maine road, newly transformed by the showers of light that fall in its rain-washed surface. Spaces that formerly seemed smaller and perhaps friendlier now appear vast and without dimensions. The patterns of the town streets that were so familiar are stretched by the strength of the light; they become other places with distant horizons, at once awesome and exciting. Elms and maples that soon will canopy and shelter are now mere shapes twisted in the light, and the reassuring perspectives of the softer seasons are moved back, like scenery moved offstage, leaving only the arc lights to shine.
    "In this undisciplined brilliance, man might find his own imperfections too harshly exposed. The light, after all, might seem so intense as to be without mercy. But this is not so. Something in nature’s ways modifies the spring light’s probings – not physically, but emotionally. I think it has something to do with the sun’s function. It is being so lavish with its light because this superlative and unrestrained surge is needed to renew life in every bud, root and bulb.
    "Crushed by winter’s weight, paralyzed by frost’s harsh grip, the grass and trees and shrubs and plants might never stir from their deep sleep were it not for the bright shock of April’s surging sun. So it is not to reveal our imperfections that the spring light flows, but to restore life to sun-starved plants. Somehow, we can sense this. We can feel the force under our feet. So rather than see our mistakes standing naked in the brilliance, we see the greening that will come so soon, shading us in our streets from ourselves, each other, and this spring light."

The Cat is now on the prowl

Dahlov Ipcar's The Cat at Night is in hand (just north of 10,000 pounds worth!) and we are now shipping!

Look out Vermont! Leon Thompson's guide book coming this fall.

    We have started the next round of editing on Leon Thompson's forthcoming book,  subtitled "A Storyteller's Guide to Vermont." We haven't decided on the main title yet, but soon! The book will follow in the footsteps of John McDonald's guide to Maine, down the road a piece and Rebecca Rule's guide to New Hampshire, Live Free and Eat Pie. Expect to see the finished, and hilarious, product this fall complete with title. In the meantime, a brief sampling from Leon's chapter on Vermont language:

• "Air” – Common substitute for the word “there,” especially among hunters, fisherman and other outdoorsmen.
       “So, uh, yesterday, air, I was out inna woods, air. And I saw two frickin’ bucks, air, just starin’ right at me, air.”
       “No frickin’ way! Joo git a shot off, air?”
       “Nope. Snowfleas got in my eyes, air.”
       (For the longest time, I thought Uncle Turk was jokin’ when he asked if I wanted to hunt snowfleas. Then I looked ‘em up on the Innernet. Know what? Snowfleas are real. Another note: The only exception to this rule is when “air” is used to substitute “care” in the phrase “take care.” When Vermonters wish others well, they say, “Take air.”)

• “Not too awful bad” – A Vermonter’s way of tellin’ you he’s happy, that life is good.
       “How’s it goin’, Harold?”
       “Oh, not too awful bad. Nooot tooo awful baaad.”
        A prolonged repetition of the “not too awful bad,” as seen above, often sparks welcome follow-up questions about your life. In other words: It’s a good way to get people interested in your doin’s.)

• “I-deer” – An idea.
       “You know what? That ain’ a bad i-deer.”
       “Yeah! I know it!”

    

Spring 2009 catalog posted; Enewsletter in the works

Our Spring 2009 catalog is now available on our website as a pdf. It features several new books, including The Cat at Night by Dahlov Ipcar. Please check it out. And while you are at the website, don't forget to join our mailing list. In addition to receving our print catalog every November, you will receive our new Enewsletter which will launch in April. You can keep up on our latest titles, company, author, and book news, and learn in advance what is coming down the road. Trust me, what is coming down the road is fantastic, if I do say so myself.

Day One at NEPTS.

Day One at the New England Products Trade Show is in the books. Not huge crowds but a nice turnout. We have some new customers, some good new prospects and met some long time customers face-to-face. Had a chance to walk the floor as well and see some tremendously talented New England folk and meet many entrepreneurs. Two more days to get a good read on the upcoming, and very important, summer season. Trudy (right) worked the show today, Carole will be in on Sunday and Amy on Monday. We are at Booth 503, so come say Hi.

A Morning with Dahlov

Met with Dahlov Ipcar today about the upcoming rerelease of her wonderful "The Cat at Night" and to discuss potential future projects. Look for more announcements along those lines sometime this year. It is always great to visit with Dahlov. In addition to being a treasure for her existing, extensive, and amazing body of work, Dahlov, 91, is also an inspiration and a wonder for what she continues to produce. She is working hard toward another gallery opening this fall and, we hear, helping develop a coffee table book of her work that will feature as many as 100 images. It may be out in 2010. This spring she will sign copies of her books at L.L. Bean, Portland Museum of Art, Borders Books in Brunswick and Lisa-Marie's in Bath. Catch her if you can.

A sampling of her art:
 

 

Tweet. Tweet. We are all atwitter.

First Facebook (if you haven't done so yet, please become a fan of our Facebook page!) and now Twitter. Yes, we have also joined Twitter nation and sent out our first tweet—barely 10 minutes ago! If you are a twitterer, please consider "following" us.

Islands Magazine likes "Love on the Rocks"

The March issue of Florida-based Islands magazine gives the thumbs up to our "Love on the Rocks: Stories of Rusticators and Romance on Mount Desert Island." The book, edited by John and Kathryn Muether, was released last summer and is an anthology celebrating the 19th century genre of fiction known as "The Bar Harbor novel." And here is the review:

"There's something nostalgic about Love on the Rocks. Whether or not you're a seasoned visitor to Maine's Mount Desert Island, this book's ornate, antiquated language, and melodramatic tales of romance make its shores seem familiar, at least in a literary sense. At the end of the 19th century, Mount Desert Island was a premier summer vacation destination for high society, and this collection—arranged chronologically—shows the evolution of its accommodations over the course of 30 years, from quaint guest houses to full-fledged resorts. As one character puts it, 'the wilderness was a wilderness no longer. The place was swarming ... with myriads of charming girls ... in irreproachable French [clothes].' It's those charming girls on holiday from elsewhere in post-Civil War America—and the authors' descriptions of Maine's rocky coasts and biting northeastern breezes—that linger in the memory after reading these tales."