You should see “Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist” while you’re at the Portland Museum of Art. But you should also see Jane Sutherland’s ‘Little Dancer’ paintings, which play off Degas’ work.

All events are free and unticketed unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit mainereads.org THURSDAY 7 p.m., John Cole, founding director of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress; Glickman Family Library, University of Southern Maine, Portland. Presented by the Maine Humanities Council, the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts […]

Greenhut Galleries’ sixth biennial “Portland Show” is a terrific exhibition. It presents a solid view of art in Maine from the perspective of Portland’s oldest gallery. It’s an invitational show, so it doesn’t pretend to give up its own involvement. In fact, the sense of community associated with the show is an appealing quality; presenting […]

Cass Neary is an aging punk with a nose for trouble. In her own words, she’s “a walking ad for Just Say No.” As the dodgy, drug-addled narrator of Elizabeth Hand’s new literary thriller, “Available Dark,” Cass follows her instinct for danger to the sunless climes of Scandinavia. “Available Dark” is the much-awaited sequel to […]

Want to know what the wacky guys from Monty Python found funny growing up? Zack Handlen’s new book can tell you.

Today’s seasonal poem by Stuart Kestenbaum of Deer Isle grew out of tapping maple trees and boiling sap on his stovetop.