The author’s wit enlivens ‘The Irreverent Widow,’ but writing about her husband’s death and her adventures since was a sometimes tough and emotional journey.

The Fire & Ice Bar at the Nonantum in Kennebunkport draws hundreds of Christmas Prelude revelers and benefits WinterKids.

Like some of the characters she invents, Elizabeth Hand is a shape-shifter. At times, she’s a noir stylist leaving bloody tracks in the Icelandic snow. Other times, she’s a dystopian narrator searching for a cell signal, a hint of human connection, on a remote Maine island. Winner of multiple World Fantasy and Nebula awards, Hand […]

Art “Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine,” 35 major oils and watercolors, Portland Museum of Art. portlandmuseum.org. Through Dec. 30. “Between Past and Present: The Homer Studio Photographic Project,” contemporary photography made with historic processes, Portland Museum of Art. portlandmuseum.org. Through Feb. 17. “The Portland Society of Art and Winslow Homer’s Legacy in Maine,” exploring the […]

A building is an extension of its owner’s persona. I extend that maxim to include the manner in which the owner outfits the building. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at where he or she lives. That is never more so than in the case of an artist. I read an […]

Despite bringing Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein into the proceedings as a fanciful one-man Greek chorus, haunting Alfred Hitchcock’s dreams as he prepares the Gein-inspired “Psycho,” the biopic “Hitchcock” presents a gentle and forgiving view of Hitchcock’s penchant for playing Svengali and, depending on the source being cited, possible thwarted Lothario to more than one […]