Writers U E Tive Has Clearly Proven That Her Business Gears and Artists Tinged by Tragedy

People

Creative1. Most Portland’s new director Intriguing could change everything. Interviews by Michael Schoch, Sarah Moore, Olivia Gunn, and Benjamin Rybeck he was live from New York. Now she’s live in Who is Dinah Minot Maine. Creative Port- Sland’s new executive director Dinah Minot has a big-city & why is everyone resume, having spent much of her time in the entertain- trying to get to ment world as a producer of n i 73 episodes of Saturday Night sn Live, and before that as a tal- know her? ent coordinator for 18 epi-

Suzy Dra sodes, working with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Angelica

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 2 7 People The house of Minot Hutson, and Alec Baldwin, as well as produc- Talk about a creative pedigree. The Minot

ing Wayne’s World 2. The New England na- m of

clan is a Boston Brahmin family of writers u e tive has clearly proven that her business gears and artists tinged by tragedy. Carrie Minot, churn and turn, but it’s her creative heart mother to the seven Minot children, passed Mus that’s beating fast and loud. One of seven Mi- away in a car crash in 1979. Father George not siblings who seem to share a unique DNA Minot followed in 1999 from cancer. . Portland strand of storytelling, Dinah grew up sum- s

The seven Minot kids have all pursued ca- he mering on North Haven Island, an enclave reers in the fields of writing and the arts. c of luminous entertainers. Is it something in Perhaps best known is the second oldest the water? daughter, Susan Minot, whose 1986 debut novel–a minimalist semi-autobiographical ur first interview seems rushed, account of their childhood entitled Mon- , 59 7/8 x 35 1/4 in even unlucky, so I ask her for an- keys–propelled her into literary circles and s won her the Prix Femina Étranger. Minot other. When we meet again in Dinah with her son Ben Hubley at the 40th Anniversary anva Saturday Night Live in 2015 at 30 Rock. also wrote Stealing Beauty starring c herO office in the State Theatre building, she Show of Maine’s Liv Tyler. turns to me in bright blue glasses. “Don’t write about this place. It’s just where I am dition that’s been so deep in my heart. I love

for the time being.” She goes on to de- it. When I’d land in Boston, it was like a bird ), 1903, oil on s

scribe Creative Portland’s plans on open- coming home. You return to your roots. I’ve immigrant integration. I want to embrace rti u ing a new space in the new year and how discovered deep ancestral roots in Maine. and promote cultural acceptance. everyone will be invited. There’s a portrait of my great grandmother

What is Creative Portland’s role in the city? Pelham C “I’m sorry about our first interview,” I hanging in the Portland Museum of Art by s say and take a seat. John Singer Sargent. We’re offering a voice of solidarity, and in that “Yeah, it felt like a panel discussion.” process, we’ll find out if everybody wants to . Charle s “Right. Well, I went home and com- have concerts in the streets. If so, we’ll do that r “I’m from a family of M plained to my boyfriend enough that he programming. If everybody just wants to play ainez L said I should email you.” artists and writers bocce ball on Tuesday morning, then I guess “Hah! Sounds like my husband (actor we will be the bocce capital. (1868-1952) ( Shervin Whip Hubley, Val Kilmer’s sidekick in Top and musicians and s rti Gun).” Propping her feet up, Minot opens What would you do if it were only up to you? u hoto;

songwriters.” p y a crate of blueberries and pops them in one What would I do if I were a dictator? (She on C s s

by one with a smile. Showtime. How did you end up in Portland? laughs and turns to look out the window over- rte u nder o A

“My husband and I moved here almost a year seeing Congress Square Park). I’d try to en- c For many years, your family has spent summers on North ago last November. We came cross-country courage more sharing so that there is a more mory A Haven, and you continue that tradition today. What about with our English Labrador, sold our house, fluid artistic scene. When I worked at SNL, s the island inspires you creatively? , 1982.275; put our stuff in storage, and drove straight I remember regrouping on Mondays after s rti

North Haven is an idyllic location. It’s the back East to see family and friends in New the show before the host meeting with all the u llen Sear creaking of the docks, we don’t have TV, we York, Massachusetts, and Maine. We start- writers and cast. We’d talk about what the wa- E are cooking and eating and singing together. ed talking about where we were going to land. ter cooler conversations were that morning. Pelham C

It’s really the whole feeling of sharing and tra- We really wanted to give Portland a try, and You want them talking about First Friday Art s we know enough people here. I’m just a Walk with excitement, not just talking about a Mainer at heart. I love it here. First Friday Art Walk that’s become such a ge- taly), 1856–1925), Rooted in Portland I Left: Dinah Minot’s great neric thing. grandmother, Ellen Sears Did you ever feel “from away?” (born ( Amory Anderson Curtis I initially thought I’d miss the diversi- Everywhere, simultaneously, people in cities across the s (Mrs. Charles Pelham Cur- ty and culture in my hometown of Santa country are discovering their craft brews and other distinc-

tis) of Boston, 1868-1952, elin in memory of Charle

Monica, but when I got here, I was pleas- tive things. How will you come up with an exclusive lan- Is

painted by s John Singer guage that only says Portland, Maine?

antly surprised to see there was certainly rti

Sargent in 1903. She was u 35. This painting now hangs more diversity than some of my friends Portland is on the edge of being an extremely at the Portland Museum had told me about. I’m really excited by culturally rich and diverse city. That’s some- of Art. Ellen’s father, John the fact that Portland is a destination for thing that’s new to Mainers and fairly new to F. Anderson, was a Briga- refugee settlement and there is a high im- Portland in the last two decades. Having that dier General for the Union migration influx. That’s something that exposure is going to trigger all sorts of per- Army in the Civil War, and ift of Sally Cary C makes me really excited in terms of arts spectives and attitudes. The more we share, G her grandfather, Hugh J. and culture and world scene here. This the more creative and productive we’ll be, and Anderson, was Maine Gov- aine. M ernor from 1844-1847. town is going to change a lot in the next the more we’ll be invested in one another. rt, from left: John Singer Sargent (United State ten years, and I want to be a part of that –Olivia Gunn A

2 8 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine 2. In Like aLady LambLion: From Brunswick basement to sell-out shows.

aughing, laughing, that night in basement, experimenting with music. It was a with The Tallest Man on Earth that took her Maine I met my best friend, talk- formative experience for me, ” she says. With- across the country, including a packed show ing ’til 7 a.m., realizing we were both in a couple of years, Spaltro was playing regu- at State Theatre, Spaltro has spent the past few afraidL of the notion of having our brains be in lar shows around Portland, gathering a loy- months between Europe and New York, creat- the body of a whale in the ocean deep where al following of fans. She eventually moved to ing new material. the light don’t reach…” These lyrics (from the Brooklyn in 2014, citing the need to escape “Kristian [The Tallest Man on Earth] 2015 studio album After) are typical of the un- her comfort zone, but she still claims a fierce lent me the keys to his home in Sweden. It’s usual musical sensibilities that have made La- loyalty to Maine (she even has its outline tat- miles from anywhere, and it has this tiny dy Lamb, real name Aly Spaltro, so well-loved tooed on her right arm). Ironically, Spaltro studio. I ended up in there for ten hours a among her avid fan base. The 27-year-old mu- has spent more time outside of her home state day, writing and recording alone.” The soli- sician plays with a stream-of-consciousness than within it. tary process seems reminiscent of the long, narrative and surreal imagery to create music “Growing up, my dad was in the Air Force, lonely hours Spaltro spent practicing in her that Rolling Stone has described as “heavy psy- so we moved around a lot. I lived mostly in the Brunswick basement. chedelic tales that blur the borders between re- Southwest–Arizona and Nevada–as well as “I’d intended to write my third studio al- ality, dream, and nightmare.” Germany for several years. It was a nomadic bum, but the songs I was making were all so- “I’m a musician by profession, but first and childhood. Both my parents were Mainers, so lo acoustic tracks.” Following her creative in- foremost I’m a writer,” says Spaltro as she wan- stinct, Spaltro pursued this new direction, cre- ders through Prospect Park, New York. [“I’m ating an EP entitled The Tender Warriors Club. walking away from the traffic and into the “I’m a musician by She plans to release the new material in De- woods. The leaves are turning.”] profession, but first and cember before going on tour. “I want to play “I wrote poetry and screenplays through- some smaller shows, like clubs and ticketed out high school. It wasn’t until my gap year, foremost I’m a writer.” house parties,” she says. “The kinds of places I when I began working at Bart and Greg’s started playing in Portland in the beginning.” DVD Explosion in Brunswick, that I start- the idea of Maine was something comforting And the EP title? “It just came out one ed channeling my creativity into music. I’d that I clung to during that time. I was fascinat- day. I was talking to a friend whose mar- planned to work abroad on a program in Gua- ed with our family history, our mythology, so riage had recently ended. She was going temala, but it fell through at the last minute. it was always a part of my narrative.” The fam- to Paris alone to process it, and I told her, All my friends were leaving and I felt stuck, ily eventually settled in Brunswick when Spal- ‘You’re a tender warrior.’ I realized it’s a so I resolved to teach myself to play music. I’d tro was 14. “Everywhere we lived felt like I was good way to describe most of the people I work the closing shift at the DVD store and just passing through until I got to Maine.” love. Powerful yet vulnerable. then spend eight or nine hours a night in the Following a six-week tour over the summer –Sarah Moore

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 2 9 Getting a

onJump Rio 3. Who do you call if you’re a sports star accused of doping? Paul Greene. t Monument Square, all kinds Greene, 45, did his undergrad at Brandeis It was now or never.” Greene founded Glob- of goods and services are for sale: University in Waltham, Massachusetts, al Sports Advocates in 2014. smoothies, books, real estate. before studying broadcasting at Syra- Unlike a criminal case, sports arbitration ButA if you happen to be an Olympic ath- cuse University, where he learned volumes cases are not judged by civilian juries but by lete wrongfully accused of taking steroids, about speaking off the cuff. “The very first lawyers and former judges. Another differ- you can also find a lawyer to represent you day of grad school, they pulled me and ence: athletes aren’t protected by the Fifth before the world Court of Arbitration for some woman from Iowa out of the crowd, Amendment: “You have to ask [the athlete] if Sport. Nestled above Longfellow Books, and we had to ad lib an entire breakup in they did it because they have to testify,” says Global Sports Advocates is an interna- front of 2,000 people.” Greene. “If they don’t, the panel will hold it tional law firm that represents Olympians Greene’s early training in sports broad- against them.” and other world-class athletes in a range casting prepared him for his career in law. “It Greene’s world is one of sudden deadlines, of case types from anti-doping to intellec- was such a fun way to learn to use my voice. shifting time zones, and bloodthirsty report- tual property to contract and salary dis- Truthfully, it helps me today. When you’re ers. This summer, Greene represented Rus- putes. The firm is founded and run byPaul in front of a panel of arbitrators, it’s all about sian long jumper Darya Klishina, who was Greene–track athlete turned sportscaster your oral presentation–how fast you can on track to compete in the Rio Olympics. The turned lawyer–who has worked with Mi- think on your feet.” International Association of Athletics Federa-

chael Phelps; NHL player Nicholas Baxter; Sports broadcasting also brought Greene tions (IAAF) had banned her and the rest of r e and more recently, Russian Olympic long to Portland at age 24, where he found a job her track-and-field team after an investigation c jumper Darya Klishina. with Fox 52 News as a sports director. Greene found that the Russian government had tam- on spen

Originally from Long Island, New York, loved his work, but the station closed after six pered with athletes’ urine samples. Klishina r

years. “The parent company was hemorrhag- ame c ing money. The internet boom was over. I was “I’m in Brazil in thirty years old with a wife and kids. I had to io 2016 - figure out what else I was going to do.” gridlocked traffic. r A close friend suggested he go to law Just before eene; school, and so in 2004, Greene enrolled at my phone gr University of Maine School of Law. Follow- I get an urgent ing graduation, he began sowing the seeds of dies, tesy paul what would later become Global Sports Ad- message that says the r vocates by taking on sports arbitration cases After clearing Klishina (above) to compete, Greene (top) catches a soccer game in Rio. Former captain of his college for little to no money. story [about Darya By 2013, demand for his skills started to

track and cross country team, Greene still runs–his marathon om top: Cou r best is two hours and 57 minutes. rise. So had his fees. “I hit a breaking point. Klishina] had leaked.” f

3 0 p o r t l a n d monthly maga z i n e People HIGH LIMITS PERSONAL LIABILITY COVERAGE

sought an exemption from the ban because she’d been living in the United States full time q since March 2014 and had participated in anti- doping programs outside of Russia. Negotiations heated up, with Greene on point. Then, devastatingly, after going back and SERVING forth regarding the 25-year-old long jumper’s eligibility, the association ended up reversing S P E C I A L the decision to give Klishina exemption from the ban just days before the competition. “We found out on Thursday morning,” ACCOUNTS says Greene. “I got in my car and drove to Boston. Three hours later I was on a plane to Throughout Atlanta, where I met Darya. We flew down [to Rio de Janeiro] together overnight. Friday Southern Maine morning she went to the Olympic Village, and I went to my hotel. Then it was game on.” Greene says everything about the case was done, quite literally, on the fly. “I had this moment. I’m in Brazil, trying to get to the Olympic Village from the hotel. It’s gridlocked traffic. Just before my phone dies, I get an urgent message that says the WE KNOW MORE SO YOU CAN WORRY LESS story has leaked.” www.clarkinsurance.com A tumultuous horde of reporters pressed (207) 774-6257 outside of the courtroom during the hear- ing. some of them tried to sneak nearer to the door to listen in on the case. After making his argument that Klishina had been training TakeTakeTakeTake homeTake homehomehome more home moremoremore more than thanthanthan than aa aa memory…memory…memory… memory... a memory… Take home more than a memory…and undergoing testing for two years outside of the corrupt Russian system, Greene had Enjoy the signature tastes of Maine nothing else to do save wait for the panel to wherever you are! Call or click make its decision. Greene remembers waking up at 5 a.m. MaineLobsterDirect.com... the next morning to the sound of his phone buzzing. “I had five hundred texts and mul- the ultimate source for fresh tiple missed calls from reporters. Clearly I’d Maine lobster. Our premium, missed the message. They’d put out a press release that we won.” hard-shell Maine lobster is One hundred nineteen members of the Russian Olympic team were banned from harvested daily from the competing in Rio, including all but one cold, clear waters of the track-and-field athlete, Greene’s client. ‘No pressure.’ Competing absolutely alone for her North Atlantic and shipped country in the eye of the world’s cameras, she finished ninth, jumping 21 feet, 8 inches. overnight throughout North How strange is it that a thriving global law America. Stop by our wharf firm catering to elite athletes is headquar- tered right above Longfellow Books rather and we’ll pack your order than the business district of a metropolis like New York or Los Angeles? Greene thinks it’s to travel or click/call us a sign of the times. when you get home. We welcome walk-in orders—large or small and gladly supply restaurants and caterers. “Geography is kind of an artificial barri- er in today’s world when your free commu- WeWeWe welcome welcome welcome walk-in walk-in walk-inWe welcome orders—large orders—large orders—large walk-in or or ororders—large small small small and and and gladly gladly gladly or small supply supply supply and restaurants restaurants restaurantsgladly supply and and and restaurants caterers. caterers. caterers. and caterers.

48 Union Wharf Portland, Maine 04101 • toll free 800.556.2783 nication services can reach anywhere in the world,” he says. As long as you talk the talk. 484848 Union Union Union Wharf Wharf Wharf48 Union Portland, Portland, Portland, Wharf Maine MainePortland,Maine 04101 04101 04101 • Maine• •toll toll toll free 04101free free 800.556.2783•800.556.2783 800.556.2783toll free 800.556.2783 –Michael Schoch

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 3 1 People

4. Light

The walled citadel of Saint-Malo in Brittany, France provides the background to part of Bowdoin grad Anthony Fantastic Doerr’s Pulitzer-winning novel All The Light We Cannot See.. Bowdoin grad Anthony Doerr cuts through the darkness in his breakout novel All the Light We Cannot See. hey say ‘write what you know,’ but the New York Times bestseller list, and has be 12?–I went to oceanography camp on Anthony Doerr dared to stray far sold an estimated two million copies. Mount Desert Island: tidal pooling, clam- from his comfort zone…and he’s got A native Clevelander who currently lives bering over rocks, hunting horseshoe crabs aT Pulitzer to prove it. Doerr’s fourth book, in Boise, Idaho, Doerr moved to Maine at and anemones. Was I ever happier? Later that All the Light We Cannot See, is a spellbind- 18 to attend Bowdoin College, but recalls same summer I discovered Stephen King, ing 544-page novel 10 years in the making, more vividly the scenery around its campus and Maine was in my blood ever since.” set amid the devastation of Europe during rather than within the ivy-covered walls Which has led to deeper investigations. the Second World War. In addition to the where Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry “I was discovering Maine writers like Law- Pulitzer, All the Light We Cannot See has Wadsworth Longfellow once studied. rence Sargent Hall and Sarah Orne Jewett won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excel- “One of my older brothers went to and Edna St. Vincent Millay, writers who lence in Fiction in 2015, spent 49 weeks on Bates. I assumed that’s what you do–you paid attention to birds and fish and the col- get older, you go to college in Maine. I was ors of the sky at night, the sound of the lucky enough to go to Bowdoin, where I snow in winter–these things all spilled into made friends with kids from South Paris my notebooks, my head, my soul.”

and Rumford. I started spending as much Doerr’s most vividly rendered memo- oerr D time as I could in the state’s mountains ry of Maine, however, isn’t so halcyon. Af-

and rivers and on the coasts with those ter graduating from Bowdoin, he went on a hauna S guys, fishing for stripers, skiing, climbing, fishing trip to Rapid River between Range- things like that.” This rough-and-tumble ley and the New Hampshire border. After college experience sounds fitting of a man stumbling and smashing his knee against who last year told The Guardian, “I grew a rock, Doerr sat down to recover and eat up where to call yourself a writer would be lunch, only to pass out and slump, head precocious. Or pretentious.” first, into the water: However, the writer’s relationship with “How long was I gone? A few seconds? the state began much earlier. A year? At some point I was jerked back in-

“As a snail-obsessed 11-year-old–or may- to this world. My father’s fist had seized the from top: waterford whispers;

3 2 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine front of my waders and he was squinting at me as if to say, ‘Did you just do that?’ After the trip, Doerr reflected on mor- tality despite his then tender age. “People die for ideas and countries and each other. I would have died for what? A few brook trout. Some corn chips and a sandwich. I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror and thought: You aren’t much.” The jarring experience may have left a lasting impression on the man who went on to so deftly give voice to his young protago- nist, Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind 14-year- old French girl. He writes in All the Light Family-Owned Old World Butcher Shop & Market “People die for ideas and countries and each other. I would have died for what? Come find all the great flavors of A few brook trout. Some the holidays in one store! corn chips and a sandwich. I went to the bathroom Open Daily 8am-6pm • 799-3374 and looked at myself in 101 Ocean Street, South Portland the mirror and thought: You aren’t much.”

We Cannot See, “To shut your eyes is to guess nothing of blindness. Beneath your world of skies and faces and buildings ex- MAE ists a rawer and older world, a place where surface planes disintegrate and sounds rib- bon in shoals through the air.” Perhaps that momentary descent into oblivion and darkness was the key to understanding his central character. Over the span of a decade of writing, Doerr’s narrative grew organically alongside his research into the period and his de- veloping fascination with radio. “Along the way it became a book about radio: How did the Reich use radio to ham- mer a warped nationalism into the minds of Germany’s poor?” And how did brave souls use radio to resist German occupa- tion, not just in Vichy France but throughout Europe? I also wanted to conjure a time when it was a miracle to hear the voice of a distant stranger in our homes, in our ears.” Following the news that 20th Century Fox has acquired exclusive film rights, Do- www.maebluehill.com err’s star sees no sign of fading. –Michael Schoch

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 3 3 People

Sacred Spaces Penobscot lawyer Sherri Mitchell 5. flies the flag for indigenous rights. herri Mitchell, 47, makes news such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. I also rights, Mitchell believes the state government’s as a lawyer, teacher, activist, writ- want to raise awareness of Native American interests are more threatening. er. To the people of the Penobscot culture, particularly here in Maine. A lot of “It’s a preemptive attempt to open up those STribe on Indian Island, she is more simply people don’t even know Maine has an indig- territories to industry. They want to nulli- Wena’gamu’gwasit or “She who brings the enous population!” fy our claim to the area in order to support light,” the tribal name given to her by the el- Mitchell is an expert at the twisting chains projects like the East-West industrial corri- ders of the community. of deception between the Maine state govern- dor, which would run from mid-coast Maine Three years ago, she moved back to Indi- ment and the Wabanaki Confederacy. to Montreal. It would have a huge impact, not an Island, where she grew up with her parents, “When Maine seceded from Massachu- just on the Wabanaki, but the ecology of the fours sisters, and “our one poor brother.” Back setts in 1820, the obligations of the govern- entire area.” then, things were very insular. ment to tribal people was memorialized in On the one hand, Mitchell is a fierce- “I only figured out fairly late in childhood the Maine Constitution to ensure our pro- ly driven lawyer, all fact and reason. On the the differences between my community and tection. But in 1876, an amendment was other, she speaks fluently on the topics of that of other Americans. Junior high was my passed to prohibit those laws from being spirituality, philosophy, and poetry. This du- first real experience outside of Indian Island, published. So a hundred years later, if you’re ality is evident in her current book project, and the differences between my communi- a lawyer of indigenous land rights, for ex- Sacred Instruction. “It’s a guide to spiritual ty and the larger population were startling. I ample, you can’t even get a copy of those activism containing guidance on how to en- seemed ‘strange’ to my classmates because I’d constitutional agreements! It’s a relationship gage change within yourself to effect change approach someone at school who seemed dis- of neglect from the very beginning.” in the outside world, alongside actual hard tressed, even if I didn’t know them.” Mitchell also works closely with the Sun- fact and legal advice on activism and protest. Mitchell graduated from the University of light Media Collective, a group of tribal mem- The two aspects of my personality are inter- Maine magna cum laude and went on to study bers, journalists, and filmmakers campaign- twined. Law is what I do, but my life is driv- law at the University of Arizona on the Indig- ing to raise awareness of the ongoing appeal to enous Peoples Law and Policy Program. Her deny the Penobscot Nation territorial rights to primary focus is the protection of indigenous the waters of the Penobscot River. “A lot of people don’t even people and lands. “Day-to-day I work as an “In August 2012, then-Attorney General know that Maine has an attorney, primarily for tribal members. On a William Schneider released a statement claim- broader level, I work as an executive director ing the Penobscot Nation had no claim to the indigenous population!” for the Land Peace Trust, where I consult on waters along the stem of the Penobscot River, issues like land usage, the protection of sacred and that our protected space did not extend en by the Wabanaki principal of Skejinawe- spaces, and the rights to freedom of religious beyond the shoreline of our some 200 islands. bamousawakonis–the idea that we are all practice for indigenous people.” This is our ancestral river, our namesake riv- tied to each other and to the earth . Mitchell’s focus is not confined to Native er. The government’s claim that our territo- “Wabanaki teaching tells us that our an- hy p

American cases. She recently returned from ry does not include this water is ridiculous,” cestors ‘dream up into the future.’ They’ve sac- a r consulting with a Maori community in New Mitchell says. rificed in order to allow us to exist, so it’s our Zealand. She’s also worked with indigenous The conflict reached such a tenor that in duty to do the same for our descendants. That

groups in Canada, Columbia, and across Cen- 2013, the federal government sought to inter- entails more than just giving life. We need to in Photog tral America. vene to lend their support to the Penobscot take responsibility to preserve the world for rr “My aim is to educate and raise aware- Nation. While much of the dispute was cen- the generations to come. That’s my life’s work.”

ness on issues that affect indigenous people, tered around the tribe’s sustenance fishing –Sarah Moore Robin Fa

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FIND THE ROOMS RESTAURANTS ON: 2000s. The sudden upturn inthe family’s fi business began to really take off inthe early brand throughout his school years until the ued to help with the burgeoning Burt’s Bees making lotions,” he says. St. Clair contin in 1984. I grew up hand-rolling candles and er [Roxanne Quimby] started Burt’s Bees 6 3 F 6. F T d n a l t r o p the Quimby family legacy while blazing his own path. rom culinary arts to conservation, ly. “I was about six when my moth into the family business began ear or he Keeperof he Lucas St. Clair KatahdinWoods o m n y m ly h t , 38, initiation a g - a - - i z - n e on my own path.” dramatically. By that point, I was already ing success, but our own lives didn’t change and I became aware of our mother’s grow a$4,000 year. My sister [his Hannah]twin Theytypes. had a combinedincome of abut hand-built cabin in Dover-Foxcroft. high schooler’s upbringing, growing up in a nancial fortunes was at odds with the then- sommelier to executive director of the fam liers in 2009.” er exams with the Court of Master Somme out West, I studied and sat for my sommeli and at Wild Ginger in Seattle. While I was jobs at Eleven Madison Park in New York Cordon Bleu Cooking School, followed by my teens. I moved to London to study at Le world. 10 years in thearts and culinary wine “My parents were real back-to-the-land How does one make the leap from master St. Clair’s trajectory has included over “I started working in restaurants in L - - - - ucas St. Clair ter and highly publicized dispute between the years, these efforts have sparked a bit ly transform it into a National Park. Over land east of Baxter State Park and ultimate formed to manage this expanse of forest of over 150,000 acres. The landtrust was from 1998, eventually amassing an estate parcels of the land in the Katahdin region I just felt I could make a positive impact.” campaign management or public land policy. the position online. I had no background in that I’d have [landed the job] had she posted if I could take the job. I’m under no illusion a campaign manager, so I asked my mother the world. The Elliotsville Plantation needed ing a sommelier wasn’t really doing good in mentum. At some point, I realized that be Katahdin Woods project was gaining mo tation, Inc.? ily land conservation trust, Elliotsville Plan Roxanne Quimby had begun buying up “I moved back to Maine in 2011, when the stalks ------

from top: courtesy photo, DAN SAKURA; national parks conservation association People Everybody looks good in a shirt that fits perfectly. the organization and its supporters and an opposition party that feels local life will be compromised by the strict laws that sur- round National Park territory. “I knew I was entering into a very public debate,” says St. Clair. “The people in opposition felt threatened by the change to the local area. It was my goal to overcome the perception that we were trying to block the public from that land. It’s about protecting the land for ourselves and future generations.” St. Clair admits he lacks his mother’s business instincts, but he believes this is exactly what makes him for suitable for the position on the Elliotsville Plantation board. “We have a different approach. My mother is ex- DAVID WOOD tremely forthright and decisive. The opposition to the project frustrated her because she CLOTHIERS was so assured of its importance, whereas I’m & TAILOR SHOP more of a diplomat.” 229 COMMERCIAL ST. The Quimby family name is well known PORTLAND, MAINE in these parts, a connection that often 207.773.3906 proves burdensome for St. Clair. “I’m sure a lot of people thought I was just this spoiled kid. I had to work hard to overcome that perception and to make it clear I have no ulterior motives.” At first, “There was this misconception that I have my mother’s re-

“There was this misconception that I have my mother’s resources...” sources. A lot of people thought I wanted to use the park for my own financial gain. The best moments were when some [people] from the opposition changed their mind and gave us their support. It felt so good to see that kind of tangible progress.” The land in question, over 87,000 acres of prime Maine woodland, was officially award- ed monument status by President Obama on the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service this year. For St. Clair and the Elliots- ville organization, the result was a culmina- tion of five years of hard work. Custom art glass for any application. “I’ve put around 60,000 miles on my car [a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee] in the past two Custom Designs, Restorations and Repairs, years, driving between Portland, Patten, and Windows, Doors, Lighting, Kitchen and Bath, Washington D.C.,” says St. Clair. “I’m looking forward to spending a little more time with Fusing, Painting, Sandblasting, and more... my family in Portland.” –Sarah Moore • 630 Forest Ave Portland, ME 04101 • 800.773.4154 • www.phoenixstudio.com •

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 3 7 Dream 7. Catcher At 93, Ashley Bryan is just getting started.

ould it chill you to the bone Because of Bryan’s gift for storytelling, “prepares [children] for the history of their to discover a bill of sale for there’s a sweetness here, too. In Freedom country in a loving manner.” As parents 11 human beings at an auc- Over, Me Bryan explores the legacy of slav- and children read Freedom Over Me togeth- Wtion in Northeast Harbor, along with their ery through the 11 striking voices he devel- er, children can ask their parents about the names and prices? For Ashley Bryan, stum- oped from the names on the bill of sale he images, the themes, the history. They can bling onto this horrific single sheet of paper found, all members of a family sold from ask their parents, in short, about slavery. among the collection of 20 documents he ac- their estate. The single document that drew “My first instinct was to set the story in quired was the point of departure for his lat- him in particular–the Fairchilds Appraise- Virginia,” says Bryan, “but my editor point- est book, Freedom Over Me. ment of the Estate–is a list of “goods” and ed out that the document gave no indication How did the documents find their way up their prices, including animals, cottons, and, of location. Instead we chose to let the read- here? Were they among the lost ephemera of yes, those enslaved. In its searing incom- er set the story wherever he or she imagines, the summer rusticators of Bar Harbor, many pleteness, the nightmare document con- because slavery happened all over the coun- of whose families had earned their fortunes tains only names and prices. The discov- try–north to south. Nowhere in this country with ties to the slave trade generations be- ery prompted a ten-year-long “heart and was innocent of any involvement in slavery. fore? Maine is a state whose history with soul project,” during which time Bryan im- Our entire industry was built on slave labor. slavery often goes unacknowledged. mersed himself in further research into slav- “If those documents had been in New While the Little Cranberry Island resi- ery, as well as imagining himself in the shoes York, Chicago, or San Francisco,” Bryan dent has penned numerous award-winning of these 11 enslaved individuals. “In doing a says, “all the institutions would’ve been after children’s books–he’s the first ever Afri- book like Freedom Over Me,” he says, “I was them.” But here in these northern latitudes, can American to ever write and illustrate a reading every day deeper and deeper into “I took that document because it had noth- book in that genre, this story is something what I knew [of slavery], but I did not truly ing in it.” His passion and responsibility was, else again. It is fearlessly poignant, gentle, know the depth of the segregation and hor- “I could make it up: who [the slaves] are, and evoking deep feeling where that is re- ror, the extremes of cruelty. The details are their work, where they come from.” quired, because Bryan feels young readers overwhelming. I spent most of the time cry- From there, Bryan began making por- deserve the chance to understand an imper- ing as I wrote it.” traits of each character, purposely hitting fect world along with the rest of us. “I want Originally planned as a book for young close to home by using the features of his to continue to strive to create worthy work adults, Freedom Over Me shifted when Bry- friends and family to create the images. that gives the best to children,” he says dur- an’s editor suggested he rethink its trajecto- Then he began to ask questions about the ing a telephone interview, his voice so strong ry: “‘Ashley,’ she said, ‘this is a book for chil- people, now fully visualized. “If you were it sails across the line. dren.’” More specifically,Freedom Over Me free, what would your dream of life be?” This yoon byun

3 8 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine People gives the book its structure and its magic. to We are introduced, on one page, to a name, This is YOURYOURYOUR YEARYEARYEAR a face, and a price. Then Bryan, on the sub- sequent pages, gives us verse about this per- This Holiday Season son, his/her background, his/her dreams. EARNEARNEARN BRAGGINGBRAGGINGBRAGGING BRING RIGHTS!RIGHTS!RIGHTS! A TEAM! For instance, “Athelia” may only be a name and a price ($175) in the records of history, Help Protect the Main e Y WEARou AL COSTUME!ove but through poetry, Bryan imagines her as Join the Natural Resources Council of Maine a plainly dressed laundress who dreams of keeping alive an oral tradition: For more than 50 years, our state’s Through all my years / enslaved, / I’ve lis- leading nonproﬁ t membership organization tened to / ancestral voices / echoing through / my weariness, / giving me strength… working to protect Maine’s forests, clean air, The well of ancestry and its richness be- water, and wildlife. comes one of the book’s major themes. “The only time that an art of the people was com- pletely dedicated to the glory of God,” Bry- an says, “was with the thousands of songs of Special O er! black American slaves.” We see what those Now through January 31, 2014 songs mean, and how they managed to give, as Athelia says, strength. Join now or give a gift Join hundreds of brave Mainersmemb forers thehip and receive ryan understands something of art Natural Resources Council of Maine’sthe bes t9th-se lannualling bo ok as a survival mechanism. During Maine’s Favorite Birds FRE E, World War II, he drew whenever he signed and personalized if couldB on the sketch pad he kept in his gas POLAR BEAR DIP & DASH! you wish, with each new mask. Back in the States, he put the draw- SATURDAY, December memb 31,ership 2016! Call or send your payment with the code 48, $150; 16, $100; East End Beach, Portland Peggy, John, “PortlandMag Favorite Birds 2013” Jane, 28, $300; Athelia, 42, $175; Help raise awareness AND funds in support of our work to address climate change here in Maine! Betty, 36, $150; Qush, 62, $100; 5K “warm up” run around Portland’s Back Cove trail: 11:00 a.m. Stephen, 32, $300; Mulvina, 60, (registration starts at 9:00 a.m., Back Cove parking lot, across from Hannaford). $100; Bacus, 34, $250; Charlotte, Polar Bear Dip into Casco Bay, East End Beach: Noon 30, and Dora, 8, $400. (registration at 11:00 a.m., not necessary for race participants). Shuttle will return participants to Back Cove parking lot after dip. ings away and never looked at them for 40 Cool prizes from local businesses for 5k winners by age class, years–not until he participated in a seminar top fundraisers, and for best costume! on “war and peace.” He converted them in- to slides, spoke on his experiences, and tried Learn more and sign up at nrcm.org. to move on. But, like the characters he writes Be BOLD in the COLD to help protect Maine’s environment! about in Freedom Over Me, he cannot escape the pull of the past. His next project will be a SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR LEAD SPONSORS! memoir about his World War II experiences. These drawings will play an integral part. “I converted one of the drawings into a painting of black troops in a segregated ar- R E G G

my playing cards.” It’s a painful memory for U R D B A E

him, but now? He pauses. “When you look Y R O B T O H at that painting, you’d think I was painting P in my neighbor’s garden.” But he was there. “[Perspective like this] never could’ve hap- Natural Resources Council of Maine 3 Wade Street • Augusta, ME 04330 • (800) 287-2345 • www.nrcm.org pened in the forties. I wouldn’t have seen it with that sense of release.” Protecting the Nature of Maine –Benjamin Rybeck

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 3 9 8. Unstoppable Force From Boothbay to Rio, Olympic rower Elle Logan gets the gold. ately I’ve been thinking about sailing lessons. Then I’d go to my friend’s never gets winded. why I got into rowing. I used to house after. That boat was like my freedom. I “I have a big heart and huge lung capac- think it was because I did well at it,” spent all summer outside.” ity,” Logan says. “Most of the time when saysL 28-year-old Elle Logan. Though Logan has competed successfully people are getting tired, I’m just getting In the case of Logan, “doing well” means in smaller boats and singles competition, her warmed up.” winning her third consecutive Olympic gold Olympic victories have all been in the wom- Logan believes she inherits her endur- medal in as many games, becoming the first en’s coxed eight. Amid this harmony of mo- ance from her “barrel-chested” dad, and American rower to ever accomplish such a tion, she fills the position known as the “en- “my long frame from my mom.” At 6’2”, Lo- feat. Her most recent victory was in Rio De gine room”–a fitting spot for someone who gan also has “long arms and legs, even for Janeiro in August. my height,” which gives her added leverage But her reason for rowing, before she when rowing. While she acknowledges she ever dipped a competitive oar into the wa- “I have a big heart and has some inherited physical advantages, she ter, was to glide back to her very outdoor- huge lung capacity. Most points out that those advantages only be- sy past, “where I grew up bird hunting in come so with practice.“If you’re longer and Jackman and swimming with my dad in of the time when people taller, it’s harder to coordinate your move- Boothbay Harbor.” are getting tired, I’m just ments. It can help you if you get it right, but She remembers, “I’d drive my little you have to get it right. ” 13-foot Boston Whaler by myself to go to getting warmed up.” Lost to some observers is the intellectu-

4 0 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine People

al end of rowing. “There’s a lot of skill and technique required,” she says. “There’s artist- ry because you have a rhythm behind it.” She’s spent her entire adult life refining this art. She started rowing during her fresh- man year at The Brooks School in Andover, Massachusetts. Logan’s mom, Jennifer Kierstead, believes it was a critical moment. “If she hadn’t gone to that school, she might never have been an Olympic rower,” she says. “Opportunity is so critical in rowing and any sport. You need the facilities, equipment and support.” After graduating, Logan attended and rowed for Stanford, earning All-Ameri- can status. She won a spot on the Olym- pic team and her first gold medal during her junior year. Since then it’s been an un- ending cycle of training and competing. In 2016, she was honored as the Pac-12s “rower of the century.” Logan married fellow rower Carlos Di- nares last summer. Dinares rowed for the Spanish national team and is now a principal in a company that sells cutting-edge rowing machines in Seattle, where she joined him after swinging through Maine to celebrate post-Rio. What does life after the Olympics hold for the girl who’s been so deeply into the zen of rowing her entire professional life? “I’m so excited,” Logan says. “I’d love to go into some business and just create something. I’m not sure exactly what that is. I know there’s a lot happening in Seattle, and I’m happy to reach out and start exploring.” Sounds like a brilliant stroke. –Michael Schoch oit cortet n row2k.com; be

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 4 1 People

9. Indiana Jones of the Internet Age Space Archaeologist Dr. Sarah Parcak reveals the hidden world beneath our feet using satellite technology.

r. Sarah Parcak strides confident- what brought me to using satellite imagery.” in Petra, Jordan; a potential Norse Settlement ly to the center of the auditorium. It’s With a degree in Egyptology and Ar- in Newfoundland (only the second sugges- familiar ground to her. After all, she’s chaeological Studies from Yale University tion of Viking settlers discovered in the New Dthe 2016 winner of the TED (Technology, En- in 2001, and her Ph.D. from the University World); and 17 pyramids, 1,000 tombs, and tertainment, Design) Project’s vision award for of Cambridge (and a varsity soccer champ 3,000 ancient settlements along the Nile. $1M. The crowd drops to a hush as she consid- at both schools), the Bangor High School Because of her exceptional achievements, ers their shapes in the darkness. She begins: alumna’s academic and professional ascent she’s reaching an international audience “When I was a child growing up in has been quite literally ionospheric. through appearances on Nova, The Late Maine, one of my favorite things to do was Specifically,the Professor of Anthropol- Show with Stephen Colbert, Egypt’s Lost Cit- to look for sand dollars on the sea shores of ogy at the University of Alabama at Birming- ies, and Rome: What Lies Beneath. Maine because my parents told me it would ham employs satellite images from 450 miles Now, she’s trying to get you involved. Par- bring me luck. But you know these shells– above Earth and complex algorithms to ana- cak recently launched GlobalXplorer, an online they’re hard to find. They’re covered in sand. lyze slight variations in landscape that could platform where users scour satellite images for They’re difficult to see. However, over time I indicate human activity. Parcak’s recent dis- traces for unknown archaeological sites. Think got used to looking for them. I started seeing coveries include a 2,150-year-old monument of it as crowdsourcing for the unknown. shapes and patterns that helped me to col- lect them. This grew into a passion for find- Did you find ways to exercise your passion for archaeology ing things, a love for the past and archaeol- Parcak’s recent while growing up in the Maine? How? ogy, and eventually, when I started studying discoveries include I spent a lot of time outside, and since my Egyptology, I realized that seeing with my grandfather was a retired forestry professor naked eyes alone wasn’t enough because all 17 pyramids, 1,000 from UMO, any time outside was a teach- of a sudden in Egypt my beach had grown tombs, and 3,000 able moment. I still remember all my trees. from a tiny beach in Maine to one 800 miles I didn’t practice archaeology growing up, long next to the Nile, and my sand dollars ancient settlements but I loved exploring and learning about had grown to the size of cities. This is really along the Nile. the natural world around me. from the top: the late show with stephen colbert on cbs; courtesy photos

4 2 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Stephen Colbert to Dr. Sarah Parcak on The Late Show: “Are you trying to put Indiana Jones out of business?

Will you see all of these sites you’ve discovered fully exca- vated in your lifetime? It is never our goal in archaeology to ex- cavate everything–or even a large part of what we discover. That’s for future generations. It would be impossible and unethical. I am the director of the el Lisht site near Cairo (one of the discovery sites in Egypt) dating back to 1700 BC. That’s enough for a lifetime of work.

What’s the timeline for GlobalXplorer? Will you market it as a game, a scientific tool, or both? It will launch in early 2017, with the beta version going online in December. We want it to be a tool for everyone to engage with exploration. It’s been carefully designed for anyone aged five to 95–from archaeologists to interested members of the public–to get involved. I can’t wait to see what happens when we do launch. It is literally the coolest thing ever–I can’t wait to play! Find us on Facebook You’re a scientist and academic whose achievements have “Pure Pleasure” 21mm given you access to a much larger audience. Does being - Maine Sunday Telegram an ambassador for the archaeological community create a lot of pressure? I don’t think of the pressure as much as the

Boston Castrato TheBoston affi left more than Rome behind. Snipped by a bishop as a boy, responsibility. There aren’tR he manyis bundled off public-to America when the Church takes shame.him Forbidden to use his voice, he explores other gifts that steal into the society of Boston’s gangsters, necromancers, and the wild facing archaeologists, and ourcrew surrounding field the poet Amyneeds Lowell as he searches did for Newfor a York,genuine love song. What E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime “A novel them–especially now with so manyThe Boston Castrato an -does for 1920s Boston. cient sites threatened. It is a balancing act that captures between writing articles andIn grants, exuberant and yet precisework prose, Colin- Sargent conjures a sweeping tale of love, murder, and revenge. kline, #1 New York Times - Christina Baker orpha N Trai N. 1920s Boston ing on public lectures, and mediaBestselling opportu author of -

Wicked shards of humor and sophisticated,Ulysses astonishing make up the nities. I think you can do bothword successfulplay reminiscent of James Joyce’s- heart of this incandescent novel by Colin Sargent. A rare Sargent W. Colin through the eye book, one that will settle into the soul for a lifetime. N red rubY hear T i ly, but you need tenure (which I got inrogers, 2011) author, - Morgan Callan a Cold blue sea to be on the safe side. I use my time in front of a young of audiences–whether live or on the small

Colin W. sargent Italian castrato screen–to celebrate the work of my field. (www.colinwsargent.com)

5 £9.99 / ISBN 978-1-909954-20- So many of my colleagues are doing$17.95 great seeking love.”

Cover design: work, and I’m thrilled when I can discuss0 9 9 5 4 2 0 5 www.rawshock.co.uk 9 7 8 1 9 their discoveries.

Do you come back to Maine often? Sadly, I only manage to come back about Available Now once a year. I hope to change that. My par- From Barbican Press of London ents are in Bangor, and my brother is in Available at ipgbook.com Portland. Maine is ‘the way life should be!’ It will always be my home. –Michael Schoch

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 4 3 10. Take that, CMP! Dr. Rich Silkman slips a tiny Silkman on the rooftop deck of his Portland office piece of Maine off the grid. at 148 Middle Street. Energy anarchist Dr. Rich Silkman believes your tax dollars could be better spent on greener power initiatives. He’s proven it in Boothbay. Next stop, Portland?

etween 2010 and 2015, Central in turn stressing the grid. Ahead of this, it “This was brand new. Nobody had ever Maine Power carried out the larg- wanted to build extra high voltage wires proposed doing something like this before,” est construction project in Maine’s as a back up system in case of a power out- Silkman says. Bhistory. Known as the Maine Power Reli- age. “Summertime in New England is when An agreement was reached that CMP ability Program (MPRP), the $1.4 billion the [electricity] load peaks–it’s all air-con- would “build the backbone of their system project saw the installation of more than ditioner driven. Summertime is also when for $1.3 billion, give or take,” in most of the 400 miles of transmission lines as well as the electric grid has the least capacity be- state, but Greater Portland and the Mid- the construction and rehabilitation of more cause electric systems function better in coast region would be left aside for Silkman than 40 electrical substations. cold weather than in warm weather…That’s and his colleagues to try alternatives. But if you ask economist Rich Silk- your choke point.” They chose Boothbay Harbor as their man, it was all a bit of a waste. Silkman, However, back in 2009 when CMP was first test site, calling it the Boothbay Pilot 65, should know. As former director of the proposing the massive construction proj- Project. As a small, rural town with a slew Maine State Planning Office and founder ect, Silkman and his colleagues were inves- of businesses that open exclusively for the of Portland-based energy consulting firms tigating cheaper, cleaner alternatives. After summertime, Boothbay is a prime location Competitive Energy Services and Grid So- forming Grid Solar, Silkman and his busi- lar, he’s been around the grid with Maine’s ness partners presented their own plan for Silkman’s Boothbay energy industry more than a few times. meeting Maine’s expected energy demands “The need for the program was predi- to the Public Utilities Commission. Pilot Project totaled $6M cated on two things,” Silkman says. “First, Instead of building more transmission compared to the significant predicted load growth in Maine. lines to increase the supply of electricity Second, [there was a requirement] to meet flowing into the state, Grid Solar wanted $18M CMP would reliability conditions when the load is at its to install a series of smaller, less expensive have spent running peak level.” technologies to conserve energy and pre- This means that CMP expected Maine’s vent the existing electrical grid from get- transmission lines along electricity consumption to rise over time, ting overloaded. the Boothbay Peninsula. stock; leah brown

4 4 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine People for power outages. Grid Solar installed solar panels, energy-efficient light bulbs, and air-condition- ing units that create ice during off-peak hours and then use it to cool buildings when the sun is at its highest point. As a backup to these technologies, they also installed a bank of industrial batteries and a diesel generator. The combined cost of the alternatives totaled $6 million dollars compared to the $18 million CMP would have spent running transmission lines along the Boothbay Peninsula. “The project has been performing flaw- lessly,” Silkman says. “And as an aside, it turns out we were 100 percent correct in our prediction that the cost of solar panels would plummet and that CMP’s load wouldn’t expand. CMP’s load has actually shrunk since 2009.” He adds, “if this fore- cast had been made back in 2008, [the state] probably would not have built the Maine Power Reliability Project and spent a billion and a half dollars…but that’s water under the bridge.” Silkman is currently drafting a report for the Public Utilities Commission detail- ing how well his non-transmission alternatives have worked and arguing to use them more extensively throughout the Midcoast. But at the same time he’s been working with the PUC, Silkman has been fending off a lawsuit from another energy agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- sion (FERC). Filed in 2013, the suit claims that Compet- itive Energy services helped two paper mills commit fraud. In the ongoing case, FERC al- leges the paper mills, acting under Silkman’s advice, selectively used their in-house genera- tors to make it seem like they were reducing their electricity consumption in order to receive state-sponsored incentives. “We are convinced we didn’t do any- thing wrong,” Silkman says. “Halfway through the project we talked to ISO New England, and they told us to keep doing what we were doing, that that was the ap- propriate way to operate. At some point we’ll get to go to court and prove it.” Silkman, who lives in Scarborough with his wife, says the lawsuit doesn’t faze or up- set him–it’s all part of the same battle he’s been fighting for most of his career. “We have minor victories, but most of the time it’s an enormous effort to move the ball forward.” n –Michael Schoch

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