Writer’s reach Literary anthology features Deer Isle writers

If you want to see handmade clay pots, glass vases, silver jewelry and wooden sculpture on Deer Isle, a community known for its dense population of craft artists, you can follow a well-worn trail of galleries and shops. But what if you wanted to read the work of the many writers who live year-round or seasonally on Deer Isle?

A new literary journal of work by two writing groups on the island now makes it possible to do just that. “Eggemoggin Reach Review,” an anthology of prose and poetry by members of the Deer Isle Writers’ Group and the Eggemoggin Writers’ Collaborative, is for sale for $14.95 in many of the same island galleries that feature crafts. It is also available by mail order and at area stores such as The Grasshopper Shop in Ellsworth, Stonington and Bangor, and Borders Books, Music & Cafe in Bangor.

A gala book-signing party, which is open to the public, will take place at Pilgrim’s Inn 2-5 p.m. Sunday, July 18, in Deer Isle village.

The review contains more than 80 works of poetry and prose, all of which were selected by a committee of five editors who attend the weekly writing groups. The authors range in publishing experience – some have been previously published and others are seeing their work in print for the first time.

Anne Larkosh Burton, a marriage and family therapist from New Jersey, moved to Stonington three years ago to begin a career as a writer. She participated in writing groups in New Jersey and New York City, but her writing circle on Deer Isle, which she said is a higher caliber than her other writing groups out of state, has pushed her to develop her craft more seriously.

Burton’s entries in the review include two poems and an essay, “Falling in Love,” about her decision to move to Maine. Except for professional publications, she has never seen her poetry in a bound book.

“The fact that my work was accepted for publication says I’ve grown a great deal in my writing,” she said. “It’s exciting to see it in print. I didn’t anticipate that the writing group would help develop my skills. But it has. I wouldn’t say it’s a family of writers but it is a group of caring people who want to see my writing be the best it can be.”

Others in the journal also write about their love for the local landscape and people, but they also write about aging, history, nature, travel and memories from childhood.

Jacqueline Michaud, a Washingtonian who moved to Maine in the 1970s, contributed “The Ardent Dog,” a poem about a dog who, longing his whole life to catch a squirrel, rejects one that falls miraculously from a tree into his mouth. Her work has appeared in “New Laurel Review,” “Florida Review” and “New England Review.”

Being represented in a locally generated publication, however, holds a special charm for Michaud. A few nights ago, she had 17 writers to her house to discuss their work, and, after reading the “Eggemoggin Reach Review,” it’s easy to imagine the intensity of discussion that took place that evening.

Michaud and several others who spoke about the writing groups and the anthology said they valued the feedback of the heady group of participants whose professional backgrounds include psychology, anthropology, politics, painting, literary criticism, teaching and educational administration. There’s a James Joyce scholar, an art-form innovator, an actor, world travelers, award-winning writers and homemakers.

“It’s good to be working with a group of people I know,” said Michaud, who lives in Stonington. “Most of the people in this collection are the writers of this area. The thing that is nice for me about being published in this one is that it’s home.”

For Maureen Farr, an editor and artist who also runs Vincent’s Ear, a gallery in Deer Isle, the publication has underscored the importance of the two writing groups on the island. Some writers attend both of the groups, which meet throughout most of the year. Others attend only one group or show up only in summer.

“The value of the review is that it is giving a number of writers who have never been published the opportunity to experience publication,” said Farr, whose two short prose pieces are in the collection. “It’s very difficult to be accepted and published, even with the resurgence of the short story. There’s so much competition. It takes a very diligent writer to get published. This is a chance to have that experience and to glow because you finally see your baby out in the world.”

Farr, who once ran a weekly entertainment magazine in Hancock County, has never had her creative work published. She belongs to both writing groups, which worked collaboratively to put out the review. If sales go well, they hope to publish the journal annually.

Michaud, who wrote about the dog, said that the phenomenon of all the writers publishing at once has added a new dimension to the writing group. It has, she said, created more than just a new supportive dialogue between published colleagues.

“Because people have been published in this anthology, it has emboldened them and me, too, and given us new energy and new confidence about our work,” she said.

For more information or to order copies of “Eggemoggin Reach Review,” e-mail reachreview@hypernet.com or call 367-2266. Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.