Maine writer and memoirist Phuc Tran (author of “Sigh, Gone”) and poet Gibson Fay-LeBlanc will share the stage at 7 p.m. on April 27 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick for a fundraiser to support literacy education. The evening will feature Tran and Fay-LeBlanc reading from their work and in conversation about their inspirations and influences. A reception and meet-and-greet with the authors will follow. All proceeds will benefit Midcoast Literacy, a nonprofit organization that provides free literacy programs for people of all ages, including both native English speakers and the growing number of multilingual families in the area. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased now at midcoastliteracy.org or by calling 443-6384.
Authors Gibson Fay-LeBlanc (left) and Phuc Tran will take the stage at Midcoast Literacy’s author-to-author fundraiser on April 27. Courtesy of Midcoast Literacy
“We’re thrilled to have two accomplished writers sharing a stage who write in such different literary forms,” Daniel Burson, Midcoast Literacy’s executive director said in a prepared release. “That contrast is part of what makes these evenings special.”
Midcoast Literacy’s author-to-author series brings Maine writers together for conversations about craft and the power of words. Tran and Fay-LeBlanc, who are longtime friends, each come to being Maine writers from very different perspectives and write in different genres. Their conversation will include insights on how their influences and experiences shape their process as writers. Copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase at a reception following the event.
Tran is a writer, tattooist and classicist. His memoir “Sigh, Gone” won the 2020 New England Book Award for Nonfiction and the 2021 Maine Literary Award for Memoir. He has been a high school Latin teacher and tattooist for over 20 years. His 2012 TEDx talk “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive” was featured on NPR’s TED Radio Hour. His latest project is a children’s book series in collaboration with bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald titled “Cranky.”
Fay-LeBlanc’s first collection of poems, “Death of a Ventriloquist,” won the Vassar Miller Prize and was featured by Poets & Writers, and his second, “Deke Dangle Dive,” was published by CavanKerry Press in 2021. His poems have appeared in magazines including The New Republic, Tin House, Narrative Magazine, Poetry Northwest and Orion. He has helped lead community arts organizations including The Telling Room, SPACE Gallery and Hewnoaks. Fay-LeBlanc is the current executive director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
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