When the Maine World Came to

Novelist James Michener could have retired anywhere. e world traveler could have picked his own “Bali Ha’i” inspired by the island on the horizon that hypnotized him as a Naval O cer in the South Paci c during World War II. (Michener’s “Bali Ha’i” was later immortalized as a show tune in the musical South Paci c, based on his book Tales of the South Paci c, which won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. e hit song was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, both honorary Mainers.)

Or Michener could have retired to Hawaii, or Chesapeake, even Space, so deeply did he love the settings for his novels.

But he chose Maine, from 1991 to 1997. His house at 29 Sparwell Lane in Brunswick was sold to him by Maine’s incomparable real-estate executive Deborah Morton (who, we’re proud to say, advertised in every issue of Portland Monthly from 1986 into the 2000s).

Why did he come here? For our stars. For the way we can hear ourselves think up here. For our views of forever. We fall asleep to the sound of gulls or the hush of the ocean waves. He wanted to be close to the Bowdoin College Library. Maybe a lost manuscript in progress called Maine! will be released to rave reviews.

If the world was his home, how’d he spend his days here? e Associated Press nabbed an interview: “I rise each day at 7:30, wash my face in cold water but do not shave, eat a frugal breakfast of bran sprinkled with banana, raisins and skim milk, no sugar, and go directly to my desk, where the day’s work has been laid out the night before...

“At dusk each day, regardless of the weather, I take a mile walk at a rather brisk clip. Supper, the evening news, a nine o’clock movie if a good one is available on television, a half-hour of cleaning my desk at 11 and o to bed.

“‘Each day without fail, I nd time to listen to classical music on my new compact disc player,’ including Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, Brahms, BartÓk, Stravinsky and operatic arias.” Big sounds for big dreams.

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International Fine Art Sale

Preview Dates

MARCH 27 THRU

DRIVE

NASH UP

[“Vinegar rill,” July/August 2022] looks great!

Joe Cohen, Sacks & Co., Seattle, WA

Heart Lighted

Loved your story about Longfellow Park lights [“Block Party,” November 2022]! Hope everyone picks one up.

Carol Schiller, Portland

Just A Text Before I Go

“Just got the mag. Soooo great…Everyone loves it [“ e 10 Most Intriguing People in Maine, November 2022]!”

Kristen Stills, Beverly Hills, CA

Flavor Enhancer

Having worked nearly 35 years in the eld of scents and tastes, including training as a perfumer, I wanted to address a common misconception regarding taste and aroma [see “Senses & Sensibility,” December 2021]. e sense of taste has to do with receptors on the tongue associated with sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami (savory), and kokumi (a taste modality associated with the enhancement of certain tastes). We tend to think of aroma when inhaling through the nose, but the avor of what you eat and drink is also a function of aroma. In the process of eating/drinking, volatile aromatic compounds are detected by olfactive receptors in the nasal cavity, and these compounds characterize what we o en describe as taste. e temporary or permanent loss of the sense of smell is called anosmia, and it is no less painful than losing one's sense of sight or hearing.

Charles Tremblay, Kennebunkport

RUSSWURM REDUX

I am very proud to be John Brown Russwurm’s descendant [see “No Ordinary Woman,” December 2022] and that I was able to detail my connection to him on ancestry.com. Kinara Phillips, via ancestry.com

We’d love to hear from you! Send your letters, comments, or quips to editor@ portlandmonthly.com or message us on Facebook.

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