Our guest this month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs is Carl Little, poet, editor, journalist, exhibit curator, art critic, writer, poet, and historian of the art of Maine. He and Peter Neill are discussing that history from indigenous petroglyphs to the latest museum exhibitions and gallery openings, in search of the place of art at the center of “the spirit of Maine.” Carl is a prolific contributor to publications such as "Art New England", "Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors", the "Ban...

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs: Charles Cantalupo, literary critic and historian specializing in indigenous writing and poetry; poet and author of Clooscape the Poet, an interpretation of a Wabanaki folk figure and legendary presence and spirit of “homeland” in along the Atlantic coastlands of New England and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Charles is Professor Emeritus of English, Comparative Literature, and African Studies at Penn State; co-author of the Asmara Declarat...

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs: Carol Gardner, author of "The Divided North, Black and White Families in the Age of Slavery" (2025) written as part of a series, "Black New England." Divided North is a beautifully researched history of two families from Portland, Maine, one black, one white, who represented two multi-generational paths through the history of slavery in Maine, one as a founder of the abolitionist movement and underground railroad, and the other as captains an...

This month on Conversations From The Pointed Firs, host Peter Neill speaks with Daniel Bartlett, the current Grand Secretary and former Grand Master of the Free Masons of Maine, and historian of the Masonic movement in the State, an organization that contributes to many often-unknown activities, grants, and programs that accrue to the social benefit of our communities large and small. The Free Masons of Maine is a civic society that quietly applies traditional values to civic engagement and p...

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs, Peter Neill and Earth Shettleworth are discussing historic preservation in Maine. A native of Portland, Earle G. Shettleworth served as architectural historian for the Maine Historic Preservation Commission beginning in 1973 and director in 1976. He retired from that position in 2015. He has lectured and written extensively on Maine history and architecture and has served as Maine State Historian since 2004. A monthly 1-hour audio seri...

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs, host Peter Neill sits down with Richard Parsons, author of "Storm Warriors of the Maine Coast: Stories of the Life-Saving Station at Biddeford Pool" to discuss the iconic coastal structures, their preservation, future, and the stories of the Coast Guard life saving service, all but forgotten to history. Richard Parsons taught history and English for thirty years in public schools before joining the staff of the Institute for Learning Te...

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs: a discussion between Peter Neill and Jane Crosen, a self-taught mapmaker who has spent four decades making and interpreting maps, and exploring Maine’s landscape. She found her niche in maps and editing working at DeLorme Publishing in Yarmouth, where she compiled the Gazetteer listings for the all-new 1981 edition of the Maine Atlas and began discovering the natural and historic treasures of her home state. Her affinity with maps, Main...

Join us in conversation with NOEL RUBINTON, journalist, essayist, and author of “Looking for a Story: A Complete Guide to the Writings of John McPhee”. Noel Rubinton’s writing has spanned many fields, including government, politics, culture, transportation, and history. His essay about H.P. Lovecraft and Providence is collected in the New York Times book Footsteps: Literary Pilgrimages Around the World and he wrote the foreword to Repression, Re-invention, & Rugelach: A History of J...

Our guests for June 2025 on Conversations from the Pointed Firs are CIPPERLY GOOD and KEVIN JOHNSON, curators of Sardineland, a new exhibit at Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine that tells the stories of the maritime communities affected by the boom and bust of Maine’s Sardine Industry and Herring Fishery. Photographs, tools of the trade, art, and cultural artifact explore the industry’s ongoing impact on those who handled the herring—from the net to the can. FMI: visit https://penob...

Our guests for May 2025 on Conversations from the Pointed Firs are TOM AND LEE ANN SZELOG, often described as Maine’s most renowned wildlife photographers. Together they promote wildlife conservation and preservation through their films, lectures, exhibits, writings, and photographs. The Szelog’s specialize in photographing wildlife in remote locations, using the most ethical wildlife photography practices. A monthly 1-hour audio series with Maine-connected authors, artists, innovators,...