Gulf of Maine Birthday

Common Ground Fair photo by Roger Leisner, The Maine Paparazzi


Beth Leonard and Gary Lawless opened Gulf of Maine Books in February, 1979. We are still here, and we want to celebrate. This year our birthday weekend will be Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23. Because the bookstore is now in its 30s, we will be giving 30% off all book sales on both days. We will have a birthday party on Saturday the 23, at 3 PM, with food and drink, door prizes, 30% off, and a reading by Brunswick author Maria Padian to celebrate the publishing of her new book "Out of Nowhere". We are very excited about Maria's new book - it is a cultural education, a healing book, a community building book. We think every person in Maine should read it, and yes, beyond that, that everyone should read it. It is a young adult title, but it is a book that should be read by adults as well. It deals with French Canadian and Somali teenagers in Lewiston, the high school soccer team, and the actual history of the coming of the Somalis to Lewiston. As the characters of the book struggle to learn how to get along, how to behave respectfully and intelligently, we the readers learn as well. This is a very important book. (If you can't make it to the birthday party, there will be a publishing event for the book the week before, Feb. 16, 7-9 PM at Curtis Library in Brunswick)
Those of you who came to our 30th birthday party will remember Simon Pettet, the poet who read at the party. He has just spent a two month poetry residency in Venice, and compiled an online anthology of poems by poets he met there, available here.
We hope that you will join us in celebrating independent bookselling and the survival of Gulf of Maine Books on this anniversary.
For more information please call the store at 729-5083.