This past weekend at the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, the Creative Writing Program at Colby College hosted the 2026 Maine Lit Fest, with this year’s theme being “Responding to the Moment.” The 2026 Maine Lit Fest, which takes place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, is a week-long celebration of books and stories presented by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Many of the scheduled events have already happened, and multiple Maine towns got involved in the festival, including Waterville, Portland, Brunswick, Farmington, Rockport, Presque Isle, and more.
Supported by the Jennifer Jahrling Forese and Kristina Stahl Funds, the College participated in the Maine Lit Fest from Oct. 2 through Oct. 3.
The events at the Gordon Center kicked off the evening of Oct. 2 with award-winning poet and scholar Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, who gave the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Keynote Speaker Reading. Gumbs read from and discussed her newest book, Primary: After and With Alma Thomas, and then Assistant Professor of African American Studies Sonya Donaldson moderated a Q&A segment.
At the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Keynote Address the following day, Arisa White, associate professor of English and director of the Creative Writing program, said the kick-off event was “a true ceremony honoring modernist painter Alma Thomas’s life and work. Beginning with breath, Gumbs offered her ekphrastic poetry as an oracle for us to practice dedication, questioning, remembering, and relishing the magic of life’s randomness. The beauty of being in relationship, interconnected, and interrelated.”
After the events on Friday evening, the festival was far from over. Starting the following day on Oct. 3 at 9 a.m., Katherine Ferrier led a morning workshop called Moving the Body Poetic. Ferrier’s workshop entailed somatic improvisation and a workshop for writers of all backgrounds.
Following this workshop, Gumbs returned to give the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Keynote Address, discussing June Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer, Alma Thomas, and a poetics of nourishment.
One of the major themes of Gumbs’ address was accountability for children. Gumbs shared the words of Maya Freelon, an award-winning contemporary artist and educator: “It should not be possible to hold the reality of childhood and the violence of slavery.… It should not be possible to hold the reality of childhood and the cruelty of apartheid. The reality of childhood and the evil of genocide in the same realm at the same moment. And yet, we live in a world shaped by these contradictions.”
Gumbs also brought our attention to our commitments. Introducing June Jordan’s poem Home of Commitment, Gumbs said, “Because I think that how we meet the moment is, in fact, with our commitment. Iterations and iterations of our recommitment. Nuclerity is about what that commitment might be.” During the Q&A that followed this poem, Gumbs invited the audience to share what is coming up for them around their commitment at that moment.
After the words shared by Gumbs in their keynote address, the events continued with more workshops, readings, an open mic, and a special In the News. The special In the News featured New York Times–bestselling author adrienne maree brown in conversation with Assistant Professor of English Onnesha Roychoudhuri on Movements, Power, and Political Possibility.
As all these exciting events were held, the lobby of the Gordon Center hosted regional literary organizations and publishers, including Oliver & Friends Bookshop, A Clearing, ACLU of Maine, The Colby Review, Custom Typewriter Poems with Katherine Ferrier, Creative Professions Specialist Destiny Ross of DavisConnects, Elizabeth Kirscher’s Mothering the Word Postcard Project, and Pickwick Independent Press.
Overall, the 2026 Maine Lit Fest at Colby College featured many local artists and writers, shared many beautiful words, and offered many fun workshops. If you did not stop by this year’s Maine Lit Fest, you should join in on the exciting festivities celebrating books and stories next year.
~ Haley Hegarty `28
Be First to Comment