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The University of Maine at Fort Kent English Program will host a poetry reading by Dr. Laurence Hutchman, a Canadian poet and former UMFK adjunct English instructor. This free event is open to the public and will take place on Thursday, October 5th from 7:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. in the Nadeau Hall conference room.

Hutchman's latest work is his homage to Emery, the small community near Toronto where he grew up, and the poems convey a strong sense of place. Many of his previous books, some written in the years he lived and worked in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada and Fort Kent, Maine, also explore the complex relationship of present and past of people and place. Indeed, Valley residents will appreciate the geography, history, and humanity that Hutchman's poems convey; since northern Maine, like Emery, is an area that leaves an indelible mark on the minds and spirits of those who have lived in or visited this place.

Dr. Hutchman earned his Bachelor of Arts from Western University in London, Ontario; a Master of Arts from Concordia in Montreal, Quebec; and Ph.D. from the Université de University of Alberta, Western University. He then came to UMFK and the Université de Moncton at the Edmundston Campus, where he was a professor for 23 years.

He has served as president of the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick and co-organized the Alden Nowlan Literary Festival. Hutchman has published ten books of poetry, co-edited with Anne Compton, Ross Leckie, and Robin McGrath, Coastlines: the Poetry of Atlantic Canada and edited In the Writers’ Words.

Hutchman’s poetry has received numerous grants and awards, including the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence. Dr. Hutchman’s most recent book, Two Maps of Emery, has just gone into its second edition.  His poems have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Polish, and Chinese. This year, he was named poet laureate of Emery, north Toronto.

Laurence Hutchman resides with his wife, an artist and poet, Eva Kolacz in Oakville, Ontario.

For more information on the poetry reading, please contact Dr. Joseph Becker at 834-7588.