Teacher, Writer Phippen to Deliver Maine Heritage Lecture
Contact: Kristin Sobolik, 581-3583; Jane Dare, 581-1954
ORONO — The Third Annual Maine Heritage Lecture on Oct. 25 will feature noted Maine writer, editor and English teacher Sanford “Sandy” Phippen presenting “Stories of Laughter and Tears.”
Phippen, former host of the MPBN program “A Good Read” and a member of the Fogler Library Friends Advisory Board, is a native of Hancock County known for his books The Police Know Everything and Kitchen Boy, among other works.
The Maine Heritage Lecture, sponsored by the UMaine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, begins at 7 p.m. at the Wells Conference Center on the Orono campus. It is free and open to the public. A reception with hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and displays highlighting Maine heritage scholarship, research and community engagement by UMaine faculty, staff and students follows the lecture.
Phippen taught writing and English for 47 years at the high school and college level and is currently a University of Maine adjunct faculty member. He also is the author of People Trying to be Good, Cheap Gossip and The Messiah in the Memorial Gym, two histories of Hancock and a book of plays, Standing, Just Outside the Door and Two Other Plays. Kitchen Boy was chosen by the Baxter Bibliophile Society as one of “The 100 Distinguished Maine Books that Reveal the Life of Maine People.”
Phippen edited The Best Maine Stories and High Clouds Soaring, Storms Driving Low: The Letters of Ruth Moore. His works have appeared in many anthologies and publications including, The New York Times, Down East and Maine Times.
Active with the University of Maine English Department’s literary magazine Puckerbrush Review for many years with founder Constance Hunting, Phippen has been editor of the publication since Hunting’s death in 2006.
He has received writing awards from the Portland Public Library and Maine Press Association, and was nominated for an Emmy award for his 1997-1998 TV series “RFD Maine.” He is a recipient of the Orono High School Teacher of the Year award and a Bowdoin College Distinguished Teacher award. A former member of the Maine Humanities Council and Maine Arts Commission, Phippen also received a University of Maine Stillwater Society Award in 2002 and was named citizen of the year by the town of Hancock in 2001.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maine and a master’s in English education from Syracuse University.
The Maine Heritage Lecture was established as part of a broad initiative to highlight the importance of Maine heritage programming, research and community engagement by faculty, staff and students at UMaine. While the lecture focuses on one aspect of scholarship, the reception held afterwards highlights other research and outreach through displays and discussion.