BRUNSWICK

Step into Gulf of Maine

Books on Maine Street in Brunswick and chances are store owner Gary Lawless will be chatting it up with the patrons. He seems to know everyone, and has a genuine charm about him that he says stems from his love of life and literature.

A native of Belfast, Lawless and his wife, Beth, opened Gulf of Maine Books in 1979 and have operated the store to this day. Lawless is also the editor and publisher of Blackberry Books and has had 16 collections of his own poetry published.

But he is best known as an advocate for his community, working closely with organizations such as Spindleworks in Brunswick to help those that are less fortunate express themselves through writing.

His services are being recognized, as he is slated to receive the 2017 Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize from the Maine Humanities Council in a ceremony next March at Bowdoin College.

“The award is not about my poetry, but about the work I do with groups that are seen as outside groups,” said Lawless. “My goal is to convince them to use creative writing as a way to get their voices out into the community.”

But through all of his hard work over the years, Lawless has never expected an award.

“It was kind of a surprise,” said Lawless. “I’m so used to not being on the inside of the arts scene, but on the outside. The edge is where the most growth is.”

Lawless said he’s been fascinated in outlying communities in Maine since he was young.

“I thought, there’s all these communities in Maine that I don’t know much about, and if I could somehow sneak in under the guise of a poetry writer, then they’re going to start telling me these stories,” said Lawless.

After a brief stint working with the homeless at Preble Street Homeless Shelter in Portland and listening to the stories of combat veterans, Lawless began a long and prosperous career of community service at Spindleworks in the early ’80s.

“Gary has been a huge supporter of our program from the very beginning,” said Brian Braley, associate director at Spindleworks. “He’s not only an advocate for artists with disabilities, but he also teaches writing workshops here.”

Lawless is currently teaching a workshop about writing screenplays, and he recently published a series of Spindleworks poetry.

“He even helped one of our artists, Anna McDougal, publish a biography,” said Braley, speaking of McDougal’s 2013 offering “A Look Back,” which chronicles living with Down Syndrome. “But I think you’ll find that it’s not just Spindleworks. He is dedicated to the rights of all underserved populations.”

Outlying populations are often pushed to the side, Lawless said, and he wanted to get to the bottom of why that was, and then change it.

“A lot of people don’t want to know what disabled folks or homeless folks or refugee folks are doing, what their life is like,” said Lawless. “If you don’t think about them, it’s easier to deny them services, or even humanity. It can be lonely for them. But when they start sharing their lives through writing, they don’t feel so alone. I’m trying to use art to bring communities together.”

Recently, Lawless initiated a system where the artists at Spindleworks attached bios to their work so that viewers have a window into their lives. Though the bios add an additional element to the artwork, the best window into these folks’ lives is to spend time writing with them, Lawless said.

“I go in and do a poetry class with them, but what really happens is we make friends,” said Lawless.

bgoodridge@timesrecord.com