Books

#43: the Maine Atlas & Gazetteer

By Sam Smith

The millennial urge to create huge, comprehensive lists of “The Greatest [pick a category] of all time” has yet to subside. Joining the already long list of lists later this month is The Mirror of Maine, a bibliography of “the 100 notable books that reflect the history of the state and the life of its people,” says Laura Fecych Sprague, the editor of the list.

The idea came from the Baxter Society, the state’s only bibliophilic organization. Founded in 1984, the group of about 75 book lovers has organized events before, including last year’s exhibit “The Art of the Book” at the Portland Museum of Art, but The Mirror of Maine is its most ambitious. The bibliography, to be published in December, covers four centuries and all genres, from novels to histories to Stephen King.

“There are a lot of risks,” says Sprague of the effort. “But the goal is to get people to know what Maine’s written heritage is all about.”

And how does one go about whittling down all the books published from 1600 to 1999 either by Maine authors or with Maine as its subject to the 100 greatest? Well, it started with a list, a mailing list of 800 people including historians, school children, scholars, legislators, and regular folks. They were told the criteria and asked to pick their favorites. That list was then turned over to a steering committee made up of society members and guided by Roger Stoddard, the curator of rare books for the Harvard College Library. And from that list the committee came up with the bibliography.

“When you had 120 books, you had to make big cuts,” says Sprague. “There were a lot of 20th century novels, so there were some tough cuts there. I think for the most part people were rather civilized.”

Sprague won’t divulge the greatest just yet. The list will be unveiled November 30 with a “Mirror of Maine” exhibit at the Center for Maine History, which will include antique books and literary artifacts. There are other arms to the program as well, including “The Mirror of Maine, the Maine Community in Myth and Reality,” a book club program the Baxter Society is setting up in libraries all over Maine with a grant from the Maine Humanities Council, currently at the Scarborough Library.