AUGUSTA – “All directions run in long enough” wrote poet Terry Plunkett in the poem, “Sheepscot River: Head of the Tide,” “bring you home, / home, home.”

In a sense, the dozens of poets gathering Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, for the first Terry Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival at the University of Maine at Augusta will be coming home, returning to a festival that ended 20 years ago to the day. They’ll be reading poems, gathering with old friends and celebrating the memories of the earlier set of Maine Poetry Festivals, which began 27 years ago at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.

They’ll also be commemorating the life and commitment of Plunkett, professor of English at UMA for nearly 30 years. Plunkett, who died in 1998, was present at the first poetry festival in 1978 and later ran the festival in Augusta from 1980 to 1983.

The current Maine Poetry Festival opens at 6 p.m. Friday with readings and talks by Bill Carpenter, Sylvester Pollet and Mark Melnicove. Plunkett’s son, Duff, will read some of his father’s poetry. A reception and jazz concert closes the evening.

Saturday’s schedule begins at 9:15 a.m. with a series of readings by Maine poets, most of whom were connected to the earlier festivals. With an hour for lunch, the poetry continues until 6:15 p.m. Among the nearly 30 poets reading are Doug Rawlings, Linda Tatelbaum, David Walker, Lee Sharkey, Martin Steingesser, Ken Rosen, Lewis Turco, Darcy Shargo, Kathleen Ellis and Peter Harris.

Beyond being a cherished UMA teacher, Plunkett also gave many Maine writers their start through the journal Kennebec, which he co-edited from 1977 to 1992.

The first poetry festival, held in 1977, helped establish a sense of those writing in Maine as a people connected to the state. Perhaps more importantly, it connected poets to each other, many of whom had been squirreled away in their homes, unaware of other writers.

Writer Chris Fahy of Tenants Harbor recalls his first years in Maine. “I spent four years in Maine, writing and getting things published, but I didn’t know any other writers.” Then he went to the first festival. “Oh, my God!” he remembers thinking. “Look at all the writers!”

Later, Fahy, who helped organize this year’s festival, remembers having drinks with writers Kendall Merriam and Tabitha King and hearing how King’s husband had been introduced to Leon Uris by his publisher. “I didn’t know who Stephen King was,” said Fahy. “I had heard about him, I knew he had written something called ‘Carrie,’ and I remember thinking, ‘I guess this guy’s going to take off, if they introduced him to Uris.'”

What was most important, said Fahy, was realizing “there could actually be a community of writers.” Even today, many Maine writers trace friendships to the first poetry festivals.

The genesis of this second incarnation of the Maine Poetry Festival began with the Terry Plunkett Maine Writers Collection, which houses books by Maine authors. Realizing that the last Maine Poetry Festival was held 20 years ago, the collection’s trustees decided to further honor Plunkett and his delight in creating a community of Maine poets through this festival.

Much has changed. While Fahy would have been hard-pressed to offer the names of half a dozen Maine writers for the first Maine Poetry Festival, he had no problem jotting down the names of a possible 70 Maine poets without having to do any research.

Of the nearly 30 poets scheduled to read, most have a connection to the early festival, part of the intention of the organizers for this first Terry Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival.

The festival will be held at the UMA library. Admission is free. For more information, call Jill Rubinson at 621-3454.

Donna Gold is a writer living in Stockton Springs and the owner of Personal History, helping families and communities preserve their stories.