f e B r u A r y / m A r C h 2 0 1 9 7 3 I see myself as a citizen of the state of Maine. I was born and grew up in Wa- terville. I did a tour of duty when the family moved to a small-operation chick- en farm—broilers, 16,700 chicks—for a year in Detroit, Maine. It’s an experience I count among many that had a deep for- mation influence on my adult self. Then I lived in Bangor, Portland, Presque Isle, and now Brewer. I have a camp in Rome, Maine…the Belgrade Lakes. Sigh. Golden Pond territory. Taking it deeper, my ma- man, was from Wallagrass, in the Fort Kent area, where half of my family is buried. The homestead is still in the family’s possession. Lost in tRansLation So where’s my special section in the book- store? Where’s my Maine? I live in French Maine, not the Yankee “Downeast,” “Ayuh, can’t get there from heah,” Maine. For me, and I speak from experience, the state of Maine is French heritage territory. Over the last few months, the Portland Museum of Art has been hunting for ob- jects that tell Maine’s stories. Some will be showcased in an exhibit celebrating Maine’s bicentennial. This call got me to thinking: which objects tell the story of the French heritage culture of Maine? tRaCes French Maine is like a sub-floor or base- ment existence. It doesn’t always come up on the radar, but trust me, it’s a defining force in the landscape and population. In any bookstore in Maine, I should be able to find a section dedicated to the French heri- tage, authors, and history—much like other Maine-centric sections exist. The legend or folklore of Maine should include the French presence. But when one thinks of Maine— lobsters, lighthouses, and Longfellow come to mind. We can provisionally credit Long- fellow with Evangeline. But where’s the sec- tion that reflects the French heritage? Consider why there’s an absence of the French, and you’ll discover it’s an era- sure. Of course, there are French heritage mondes in the state of Maine where it all happens in French. In so many locales, even if it’s in English, it’s still in French. I hear it in the accents of the speech patterns when I travel the state. o tside tHe Lines It’s silly discussing a Maine mystique that isn’t inclusive. It’s important to recognize the French, not as a gentrified market force, but for themselves as residents for genera- tions of this state. There’s danger in “redefining” the French. It occurs when the mainstream appropri- ates the French heritage into its world view. It happens when a rotating dozen or so topics assumed to be ‘representative’ of French cul- ture are repeated again and again. Some top- ics are so worn out they speak for themselves and need no further interpretation. Stop that. Stop trying to squeeze the def- inition of what it means to be French in Maine into the size of a tourtière pie. Be alive and modern in the world. Know the diversity that is here—French and from Maine—for generations past and to come. ■ V I V I D VO LUM ES A on its ystery and ysti e, french is part o maines DnA. By RHea C t RoBBins