Shara McCallum

Shara McCallum is the author of two poetry collections, The Water Between Us (University of Pittsburgh, 1999, winner of the 1998 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize) and Song of Thieves (University of Pittsburgh, 2003). McCallum was born in Jamaica, where she lived until she was nine with Afro-Jamaican and Venezuelan parents. She directs the Stadler Center for Poetry at Bucknell University. Here, she is introduced by fellow poet Charles Martin.

McCallum's reading took place in Freeport during the winter residency of the Stonecoast MFA program in January, 2008. This is the last recording from the winter residency that we will post. (The summer residency is less than one month away!) We'd love to hear what you thought of this series of podcasts, and whether or not you're interested in hearing more from Stonecoast writers.

Lewis Robinson

Lewis Robinson is the author of Officer Friendly and Other Stories and the forthcoming novel Water Dogs, due out from Random House in January 2009. A graduate of Middlebury College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award and a PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award. Here, he is introduced by fellow fiction faculty member Lesléa Newman.

Robinson's reading took place in Freeport during the winter residency of the Stonecoast MFA program in January, 2008.

Ashley Bryan

This interview with Ashley Bryan by Charlotte Albright was included on the Council’s 30th Anniversary CD, “Maine Writers Speak.”

Born and raised in New York City, Ashley Bryan has found a home in Maine. Folklorist, writer, illustrator and performer, Bryan draws on African myths and tales, his own and others’ experience, and his literary, artistic and thespian talents to create children’s books (enjoyed by adults, too) and storytellings in schools and other venues, sometimes under the auspices of the Maine Humanities Council. (Read about his appearance at the 2005 Born to Read conference here.) Bryan’s newest book is Let it Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals (Simon and Schuster, 2007).

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Amy Hand

Amy Hand is the children's librarian at the Camden Public Library. In April, 2008, she read aloud from some of her favorite children's books for Humanities on Demand. She also shared some songs and rhymes that go along with the books.

We hope you can find some children or grandchildren to listen with you, then let us know what they think!