The University of Maine at Presque Isle presents its biennial writers symposium Voices in the North Country on Thursday, Oct. 15, 1:30-3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room, featuring Maine writers Morgan Talty, Julia Bouwsma, and Barry Wright, and several UMPI students. The theme for this year’s symposium is “Writing the Landscapes of Maine.” Events begin at 1:30 p.m. with author readings, followed by a brief intermission and book sales, and then a panel discussion starting at 2:45.
A public reception will be held in the MPR at 5:30 p.m.
Talty, the national-bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit, will serve as both the Voices keynote and UMPI’s next Libra Distinguished Lecture Series speaker at 6 p.m. in the MPR. During his talk, titled "We Are Made of Place," Talty will draw on his books to explore what it means to write a landscape that has always been speaking--rather than pretend his is the one in charge of it. A book signing will immediately follow his talk.
All events are free and open to the public. FMI: Melissa Lizotte, (207) 768-9452, melissa.m.lizotte@maine.edu.
Morgan Talty
Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. He received his BA in Native American studies from Dartmouth College and his MFA in fiction from Stonecoast’s low-residency program. His story collection Night of the Living Rez is forthcoming from Tin House Books (July, 2022) and his work has appeared in the Georgia Review, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative Magazine, LitHub, and elsewhere. A winner of the 2021 Narrative Prize and a recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, Talty teaches courses in both English and Native American studies, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing. He lives in Levant, Maine.
Julia Bouwsma
Julia Bouwsma lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine where she works as a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, and small-town librarian. She is Maine’s sixth Poet Laureate, currently serving a term from 2021 to 2026, and is the author of three poetry collections: Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, June 2025), Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018), and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017). She is also the librettist for the short chamber opera, Ghost Apples, created in collaboration with composer Nathan Davis and to be performed by the Halcyon Quartet in the fall of 2025. Bouwsma’s honors include a 2024 Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets and two Maine Literary Awards. Her work can be found in various publications including Ecotone, Green Mountains Review, Kenyon Review, Plume, and Poetry Daily. She has taught in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington, serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and works as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, ME.
Barry B. Wright
Barry Wright taught history, French, and English in the Presque Isle schools for 30 years. He is an ex-Marine and a licensed registered Maine Guide. He is now retired and lives with his wife, Kimberly, in Mapleton, Maine. His novel Presqu’le uses fictional characters to tell the story of prehistoric Presque Isle and how the Aroostook River shaped the intersection of indigenous and European people and cultures.
