AUGUSTA – The University of Maine at Augusta and Dr. Tom Abbott will host a memorial service on Saturday, March 31, to celebrate the life and passing of Rockland native and poet Leo Connellan.

Connellan died Feb. 22 in Norwich, Conn. At that time he was poet laureate of the state of Connecticut, as well as poet-in-residence for the Connecticut University system.

Poets and publishers, friends and family will gather at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 31, at the library building at the UMA campus.

Connellan’s body of work touched on everything from life in New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1950s to his travels across the United States selling everything from vacuum cleaners to typewriter ribbons, but the bulk of his work was about his home state of Maine.

It was UMA that conferred an honorary doctoral degree on the Rockland native, and that makes the Augusta campus the logical place for such an event.

Anyone who knew Connellan or simply appreciates the huge work that his poetry represents is welcome to attend the celebration of his life. For information contact David Shippee at ffwu5@hotmail.com