The Working Waterfront newspaper reports on the people and forces that shape Maine’s coastal and island communities. As publisher, Island Institute’s premise is that the cultural, environmental, and community assets here are rare and valuable, and are worth fighting for.
Please join us to support this important nonprofit journalism.

Tom Moore
November 19

Tom Moore and the Midcoast school of wheelbarrow poetry

Belfast poet laureate explains genesis of accessible, meaningful poetry
By Dana Wilde Every Tuesday morning, Belfast’s poet laureate makes his way to the Belfast Free Library, where he holds “office hours.” He doesn’t like the phrase “office hours.” Sounds suspiciously like lectures might be involved. He’s stuck with it, though.  Anyway, a group of poets, of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels, gathers there each week. They’re just curious…
Dana Wilde
November 19

Trip to Southwest inspires visions of natives

Where we see rock, they saw home and safety
By Phil Crossman Our most recent road trip took us out to Utah and Colorado. It was so stunning that when it was time to return, we left the Eurovan…
Phil Crossman
November 19

Whale skeleton work brings school, community together

Bones begin to take shape, thanks to expert guidance and student effort
By Courtney Naliboff It could have been a ghoulish scene: hole saws cut into vertebrae, hammers whacking chisels, loosening chunks of marrow. Small children swept bone and sawdust from the…
Courtney Naliboff
November 16

In 'Searching for Stars,' physicist tackles perennial problems

Bridging gap between science and personal experience enlightens both
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine,by Alan Lightman; Pantheon Books, New York, 2018 Review by Dana Wilde More than 60 years ago, the British physicist and novelist C.P.…
Dana Wilde
November 14

A busy time, as island season changes

Summer visitors gone, but work gets into high gear
Columbus Day is the season opener for a very active time of year. A number of people who leave the islands in August return for this long weekend to do…
Barbara Fernald
November 14

Building for change: Focusing on community partnerships

Island Institute refines its approaches to a changing coast
The Maine coast is changing with the seasons. Winter is approaching, the summer community has left, and as columnist Barb Fernald noted, we are “reclining” in to the long winter.…
Rob Snyder
November 14

Great Lakes water poses questions of balance

Use agreements across nations, states guard against depletion
"Enjoy your cup of Lake Superior," a voice said. I looked at the steaming coffee in my hand. I hadn't connected the water used to brew my coffee with the…
Kate Tagai
November 14

​In praise of hearing aids

Life-affirming sounds like leaves blowing and crickets return
Usually, I write about food, and hearing aids have nothing and everything to do with the kitchen, the garden, cooking, and eating because no matter what I am doing, I…
Sandy Oliver
November 14

Road-trip characters are part of the fun

Third VW trip begins with foray into Virginia
This is our third trip in Poppy, our 2003 VW Eurovan Camper, a marvelously engineered 18-foot marital and domestic testing ground. During the first trip two people who spent over…
Phil Crossman
November 13

Anxiety rises over battered coasts, battered communities

‘Creative non-fiction’ explores impacts of changes in environment
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore By Elizabeth Rush (2018; Milkweed Editions) Reviewed by Tina Cohen Elizabeth Rush’s Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore brings readers to places along America’s…
Tina Cohen

Island Postcards

EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining

Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.

WATCH ALL ISLAND POSTCARDS

 

SIGN UP FOR OUR
E-WEEKLY

Get the latest articles from the Working Waterfront delivered to your inbox every week.

SIGN UP NOW

THE WORKING WATERFRONT
LATEST ISSUE

A nonprofit publication of the Island Institute which has been published for over 20 years.

LEARN MORE