State Representative, Author to Celebrate Maine Writers in Recovery
July 13, 2022— Edward Crockett, a Portland-based state representative, president of Capt'n Eli's Soda, and author of The Ghosts of Walter Crockett, will serve as the guest author and award presenter for the 17th Annual Periscope Creative Writing Contest on July 28 at 6 p.m. in Bangor.
This event, open to the public and held at the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center, will honor three contest winners chosen by Crockett. Winners will be invited to read from their pieces.
Each year, Together Place hosts a statewide writing competition for Mainers who identify as being in mental health or substance use recovery. Entries are submitted to a three-judge panel which decides who will be published in the annual Periscope Creative Writing Chapbook.
Crockett, who has lived a life dramatically impacted by substance abuse, will read from his memoir that recounts the struggle to break his family’s cycle of alcoholism, come to grips with the specter of his alcoholic and homeless father, and overcome the stigmas created by a childhood of food stamps and welfare coats. This harrowing tale of love and redemption takes readers to a side of twentieth century Portland that has always existed in the shadows of lighthouses, lobsters, and sunsets, but is rarely explored in print.
For any Mainer in recovery who is interested in creative writing, Hank Garfield will host a writing workshop once a week beginning in September. The workshops will be held in person at Together Place, but Zoom access is possible. For any questions regarding the Periscope contest or the creative workshops, and to RSVP for the event, please email Together Place at mariemmhc@gmail.com. Media inquiries contact: Executive Director Sean Faircloth, 207-941-2907
In addition to this event, Crockett will sign copies of his book at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Bar Harbor on July 30 from 10 a.m. to noon.