Q&A | Shannon Butler

Growing up in Aroostook County, Shannon Butler was surrounded by the softly-piled snow, warm, cozy farmhouses, and the towering evergreen trees that set the scene for an idyllic and pristine Maine Christmas. A graduate of the the University of Maine at Farmington, she now lives in Kennebunk. She still spends every Christmas fireside and surrounded by family in her hometown of Caribou, Maine.

This week we sat down with Shannon and asked her about her experience editing her Christmas anthology All Is Calm. Going in deeper about some of her favorite essays, images, and eras featured in her book, we learn just what makes Christmas in Maine so special.

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All Is Calm is in essence a book about Maine just as much as it is a book about Christmas. What does Christmas mean to you, and is there something special about Maine during the holiday season that compelled you to focus on Maine voices?

I’ve been lucky to spend every Christmas of my life in Maine, so I guess I’m biased when I say it’s absolutely the best place to have Christmas. Not only does Maine have the Hallmark-esque, picture perfect backdrop but it just feels festive. The cold air, tree farms, shopping in the Old Port. It's got some magic to it. Obviously, I’m not alone in thinking this since I was able to fill a whole book of stories from Mainers waxing on about the exact same thing. 

To me Christmas is all about connection. Taking time to connect with and appreciate Maine’s frosty landscape, connect with family and friends over meals and good conversions, and to connect with myself by carving out time to take stock of all the good that surrounds me.

All Is Calm is an anthology of over forty stories and images spanning the past 200 years. How did you come across these stories, and were there any challenges you faced in the editing process due to this wide variety?

Lots of research and reading! I have spent countless hours combing through old newspapers, magazines, and books. Maine is really lucky to have great digitized archives, and also lucky to have amazing librarians and historical societies who were essential in helping with research.

One of the biggest hurdles with putting an anthology together is permissions. Each story, if not in the public domain, needs permission granted for publication. Sometimes it took me longer to find the rights holder to a story than it actually took to find the story itself.

What is your favorite essay/image and why?

I have SO many favorites. It’s genuinely hard to pick, but I do have a particular fondness for the Porteous, Mitchell & Braun ad from 1926 (page 30).

This ad is a huge double spread across two pages of the Portland Press Herald. It has a beautiful line drawing of the store with Santa and his reindeer in front, and lists dozens and dozens of the gifts that were available in the store at that time. The original ad was so large that we couldn’t actually print it as-is in the book, it had to be clipped into smaller sections that we reassembled into its own chapter.

(Take an exclusive look at Shannon's favorite ad here on our blog!)

If you could go back in time and spend Christmas in any era/decade featured in your book, which one would it be and why?

I find myself charmed by the stories from the 1920’s, this was the dawn of the department stores, bright lights and visits from Santa. I think of the 20’s as when Christmas really got its sparkle. 

What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

I think people get hung up on nostalgia, or thinking “things were better back then.” Based on what I’ve read, Christmas has essentially been the same for decades and decades! Travel, gifts, trees, decorations, meals, family and friends, stress, and peace. In 100 years someone will look back at Christmas in 2024 and think “things were better back then.” It’s my hope that by reading All Is Calm people get a sense of where we’ve come from, take time to think of where we’ll go and realize that maybe the good ol’ days are actually right now.

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When many people think of Christmas they dream of snow covered pine trees and a small cabin warmed by the wood fire on a cold December day. Since Maine was founded, people have written stories about the joys of Christmas in the state. In times of hardship and in times of wealth, Maine and her people have always put the value of Christmas in time shared with family and friends, connections with the natural world, rich traditions, and warm wood stoves. In a collection featuring essays, stories, and poetry, All Is Calm is a look at the lives of Mainers during the holidays from the mid-1800s, to the Great Depression, to modern day. Spanning nearly 200 years, these stories show that while Christmas traditions and trends may be changing, the warmth, gratitude, and humility of the Maine spirit is evergreen.

All Is Calm

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