2020 Island Journal

Just in! Island Journal 2020, Volume 36

The 2020 Island Journal once again brings the wonders of Maine island life and culture to readers through essays, profiles, fiction, poetry, and art.

In this edition, we feature our take on how the coast and islands helped Maine navigate its independence 200 years ago from Massachusetts, and how its long ocean shores played an important role in the state becoming prosperous. Other highlights include: a report from the French islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland, which are recovering after the cod moratorium; a look back at painter John Marin through his letters and journals; and inspiring profiles of local community members, including Stonington siblings taking over the family’s lobster buying station, a young man with Pakistani heritage who found a home for a time on Frenchboro, and father-son artists who find inspiration in Maine and its islands.

This issue also includes a fun story about four women on Little Cranberry Island who plunge into the ocean each month of year, a natural science piece on the ancient horseshoe crab, and poems selected by our guest poetry editor, the award-winning poet Sophie Cabot Black.

In addition, you can browse this year's art folio to see inspiring images from fine art photographer Jim Nickelson, whose series "Pale Fire: Canto One," offers a beautiful array of abstracted celestial photographs. Prints are available from Archipelago.

It's perfect for your coffee table, your ferry ride, or as a gift for anyone who loves the islands and coast! 

Island Institute members who give $100 or more annually receive a complimentary copy.

You can also purchase a copy for $14.95 at Archipelago, the Island Institute store, located at 386 Main Street in Rockland, ME, or online. 

Contents

• FROM THE HELM: This Moment is our Community Life Inspires Reflection—By Rob Snyder

• Maine Triumphs Through Coastal Law—By Stephanie Bouchard

• Islands Were First Footholds for European Settlers—By Jacqueline Weaver

• Islands of the Dawnland—By Rebecca Pritchard

• POEM: The Story of Fire—By Julia Bouwsma

• Fishing, Fowling, and Navigation—By Rebecca Pritchard

• FOLIO: Alchemy of the Night Sky—Art by Jim Nickelson

• John Marin’s Islands—By Carl Little

• Zain Padamsee Found Himself on Frenchboro—Story/Photos by Scott Sell

• Two Decades of Fellows Changes Communities—By Kendra Jo Grindle

• Stonington Siblings Modernize Lobster Business—By Laurie Schreiber

• Islands by the Numbers—By Meghan Grabill

• A Love of Sea and Sky—By Tom Groening

• POEM: In Spite of the Forecast—By Margaret A. Haberman

• How Two French Islands Recovered, Post-Cod—Story/Photos by Natalie Springuel

• Islesford’s Calendar Girls Loyal to ‘Dip of the Month Club’—Story/Photos by Jack Sullivan

• The Coast by the Numbers—By Meghan Grabill

• Southwest Harbor Works to Navigate Change—Story by Griffin Pollock; Photos by Jack Sullivan

• The Strange Nature of Horseshoe Crabs—By Dana Wilde

• POEM: Islanders in the Dusk—By Carl Little

• Remembering Hoddy—Story by Philip Conkling//Photos by Peter Ralston

• Betsy James Wyeth – 1921-2020—Story/Photos by Peter Ralston

• POEM: What is Poetry, Part 2—By Jeffrey Thomson