“New England”

Stones

are the sheep of these

hillsides

and fog

is the wool of these stones

– Constance Hunting, from her collection of poems “Nightwalk,” published in 1979 by the University of Maine Press.

ORONO – Maine’s literary community lost a cherished friend and an esteemed leader with the death early Wednesday morning of poet, publisher, teacher and mentor Constance Hunting. She was 80.

Hunting developed her reputation as a poet of national stature while teaching for more than 30 years in the University of Maine’s creative writing program. In 1971, she founded Puckerbrush Press and began publishing works by aspiring young writers and reprinting a careful selection of out-of-print books.

In 1978, she founded the Puckerbrush Review, a lively and unpredictable journal of poetry, essays, short fiction and reviews. While the publication continues to attract readers and contributors worldwide, Puckerbrush has as its mission the nurturing and support of lesser-known writers, especially those who write from or about Hunting’s beloved adopted state of Maine. Many writers first published by Puckerbrush have gone on to enjoy fulfilling literary careers.

Hunting’s longtime university colleague professor Burton Hatlen said that Hunting arrived on campus a year after he did in 1969, shortly after her first book of poems, “After the Stravinsky Concert,” was published by Scribners. The English department was abuzz – “We knew a significant poet was coming among us,” he said.

Hunting’s husband, Robert, had been hired to chair the department, and his wife kept a low profile on campus until he retired about 12 years later, Hatlen recalled. She did teach part-time and continued her own writing as well as embarking upon the Puckerbrush project. But when Robert Hunting retired, his diminutive wife moved up quickly from part-time lecturer to associate professor. In 1995, she was named a full professor – remarkable for a woman whose own formal education didn’t extend beyond a bachelor’s degree.

“She really did it on the strength of her career as a poet,” Hatlen said. Her reputation extended well beyond the local scene, he said, but she was best known throughout her long career for her dedication to advancing the literature and the culture of Maine.

Hunting’s own poetry is remarkable for its clarity, precision and quick humor. Hatlen, who is also director of the National Poetry Foundation, described it as “elegant … mildly ironic and always very civilized, with a broad sense of cultural heritage.” Her verse reflected her well-developed love of music as well as her deep humanity, he said.

Hunting’s precise and punctual use of language and expression also were appreciated in her daily interactions, according to department chair Margo Lukens.

“Her contributions at departmental meetings were like that, too,” she said. “She didn’t hold forth; she distilled her thoughts into a pithy moment.

“She was definitely a person everybody looked up to, one of the arbiters of beauty and taste in the department,” Lukens said. “She was the embodiment of what literature is for and what a literary life is all about.”

Born and brought up in Rhode Island, Hunting developed an early love of classical music and became an accomplished pianist. In 1947, she graduated summa cum laude from Pembroke College, the former women’s division of Brown University, with a combined major in English and music. She married Robert Hunting and lived for many years in West Lafayette, Ind., where her husband taught at Purdue University. They had two children, Sam and Miranda. Robert Hunting died suddenly in 1997.

Constance Hunting left a lasting impression on her students and on the landscape of Maine letters. Bangor poet, essayist and editor Annaliese Jakamides said that Hunting just happened to be teaching the introductory writing class she hesitantly signed up for about 10 years ago, when Jakamides was living on a back road in Patten and thirsting for a richer, more creative life.

“She believed in me long, long before I had the slightest glimmer of believing in myself,” Jakamides said. “When you sat down with her one-on-one, she made it seem like she was absolutely delighted to be in your presence … she opened the door, and held it open, until I walked through. I don’t think I would be writing for a living now if it hadn’t been for Connie.”

Author Martha Todd Dudman of Northeast Harbor said she had just about given up on herself as a writer when she called the university in her mid-30s and asked for help. “They gave me to Constance,” she said. “I worked with her one-on-one twice a week for six years. She was always gracious, always so careful with me. She made you feel like all your work was wonderful.”

Puckerbrush published Dudman’s first book, “Dawn,” and Hunting was the first to see the manuscript of “Augusta, Gone” the searing account of Dudman’s struggle to cope with her daughter’s substance abuse problem. Hunting also gave the first read to Dudman’s most recent book, “Expecting to Fly.”

“I was looking forward to having her see all my books,” Dudman said sadly.

Writer Sandy Phippen described his close friend of many years as “sharp, intelligent, quick, witty, classy … elitist, but only in the very best sense. She had her standards. She didn’t like trash.”

“She was always looking for new young writers to bring along,” he said. “It was joyous work for her.”

Hunting suffered a massive stroke last week at her Main Street home in Orono. She died peacefully shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, with her son, Sam, at her side.

Hunting’s daughter, Miranda Goulden, who lives in Nashua, N.H., has been staying in Orono since last Thursday afternoon. She remembered her wise, kind and nurturing mother with profound affection.

While it was occasionally difficult to share the stage with a mother who was beautiful, brilliant, and “left her little light fingerprints all over everything,” Goulden said, it was “a delight and an honor” to be her daughter.

Funeral arrangements will be published in the Bangor Daily News at a later date.