Book Readings and Signings:
(To arrange a book signing and reading of my first three books, use “Contact,” to reach me, or my facebook page.)
Walker Memorial Public Library, Westbrook, ME – April 11, 2015
Letterpress Books, Portland, ME – September 13, 2014
Auburn Public Library, Auburn, ME – September 9, 2014
Portland Public Library, Portland, ME – August 1, 2014
Longfellow Books in Portland ME – July 10, 2014
A generous person in our community, Paul Revier, who works with asylees and refugees here in Portland, Maine, took a photo of Elaine during her reading at Longfellow Books. It can be seen, around that date (July, 2014) on Elaine’s own facebook page.
Sing to Me and I Will Hear You – New Poems
Talk at the Maine Jung Center
Elaine gave a two hour talk at the Portland Friends Meeting on February 23, 2014 for the Maine Jung Center. As one of the Center’s “Tools for Individuation” programs, her presentation was entitled “Aspiring to Live Authentically.”
She related how her journey through grief opened the way for her to become a published poet and writer, giving her a new purpose in life. In doing so, she read poems from both her first book Sing to Me and I Will Hear You – The Poems, and a few from her third, then, upcoming book, Sing to Me and I Will Hear Your – New Poems; for example, poems like “The Worst,” and “Last Conversations.”
As “visual aids” to illustrate selected readings from her second book, Sing to Me and I Will Hear You – A Love Story, Elaine brought along primary source materials like letters, journals and a framed photo of Francis – how he looked, as a priest, when they met.
As a special feature, Elaine gave a power point presentation. Eleven short quotes from Jungian analyst Greg Mogenson’s book, Greeting the Angels — An Imaginal View of the Mourning Processwere projected on a screen, one at a time. After reading each quote, Elaine read one of her poems which illustrates it. For example:
“Love and death are ahistorical They embrace in anachronism, dove-tail in the Now. We don’t need a séance. We are our own medium. The dead are . . . near at hand . . . “ (page 116)
RECOGNIZING
in its sweetness
a telltale sign
of your presence –
already here
within and around me –
I hasten with an embrace
and rest in it with you.
(page 53 Sing to Me and I Will Hear You – The Poems)
During her talk Elaine told her listeners that four specific things initially helped her in surviving Francis’ death: sitting (prayer), journalling, having a spiritual adviser, and reading. (Writing was soon added to this list). With regard to reading books she found helpful, Elaine created an annotated list: “Books on Grief and Death.” The list is included in Elaine’s Blog on this website under the date May 13, 2015. It’s a list she has shared with friends when their own loved ones died.