Near the end of his extraordinary memoir, “The Words I Chose: A Memoir of Family and Poetry,” award-winning Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair states, “Poets are menders of broken things.” McNair is noted for his poetry about “broken New England” and the brokenness of his childhood, in having a father who abandoned the family and […]
Arts & Entertainment
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Review: It’s a dark and stormy ‘Stoker’
There’s a suggestion of vampirism in the title of “Stoker.” The stylish chiller shares its name with Dracula’s author, but its fixation on blood moves in a different direction — deposits, not withdrawals. The tale concerns bad blood being transfused from one generation to the next. The blood relations in question are prim, privileged India […]
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Signings, etc.: W. Jeffrey Bolster
Professor W. Jeffrey Bolster will speak about his book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail.” Since the time of the Vikings, the Atlantic has shaped the lives of people who depend on it for survival and those people have shaped the Atlantic. In his account of this interdependency, Bolster, a […]
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Review: American hero exactly describes ‘Murph’
The most telling image about Navy SEAL Michael Murphy in the new documentary “Murph: The Protector” is a snippet of video from a high school football game. Murphy has just caught a pass near the other team’s goal line. He’s being tackled, but it’s not obvious that he’ll go down. But he has the presence […]
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Dine Out Maine: Hail Merry Table, full of crepes, European and yummy
Tucked along the almost secretive (and certainly the most Paris-invoking) cobblestone avenue of Portland’s Wharf Street, with its old-fashioned gas-lamp-style street lights and European ambience, is The Merry Table Creperie. The welcome sign hangs above the door while inviting, warm light shines from the window. From the outside, this small bistro looks like a place […]
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Calendar
Art Lois Dodd: “Catching the Light,” career retrospective — 1955-2012 — for the Maine painter, through April 7; and “Voices of Design” — 25 Years of Architalx, interactive exhibition that showcases the power of design, through May 19, Portland Museum of Art. portlandmuseum.org. “Malaga Island: Fragmented Lives,” historic photographs, documents, artifacts and first-person accounts, Maine […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Food
Dine Out Maine: At LFK, name is elusive, but food is easy to love
It’s 5 p.m. on a Saturday, and outdoors around Longfellow Square in Portland, the snow-spitting night is redolent with savory food in the first throes of browning. Which high-quality restaurant is it from — Petite Jacqueline, Boda, Local 188, Pai Men Mayaki? It’s early, so a few of these aren’t serving yet. We duck into […]
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Art Review: ‘Worldview’: Answer’s in the questions
“Worldview” at the University of New England Art Gallery in Portland might be a philosophical mess, but it’s an interesting and worthy exhibition. The third installment of the four-part exhibition “Maine Women Pioneers III” raises more questions than it answers. That mess, after all, is too important socially, culturally and philosophically for us to let […]
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Book Review: Welcome to the ‘Crown Prince’ books
Two smooth horse-and-rider novels introduce the new Brookmeade Young Riders Series, and they deserve an enthusiastic welcome. These are special books — engaging in their action, authentic in their detail and first-rate in their direct appeal to a reader’s emotions. First, a word about those target readers: Don’t let the emphasis on “young” readers for […]
