Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100Join hundreds of brave Mainers for the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s 9th annual POLARBEARDIP&DASH! SATURDAY, December31, 2016 East End Beach, Portland Help raise awareness AND funds in support of our work to address climate change here in Maine! 5K “warm up” run around Portland’s Back Cove trail: 11:00 a.m. (registration starts at 9:00 a.m., Back Cove parking lot, across from Hannaford). Polar Bear Dip into Casco Bay, East End Beach: Noon (registration at 11:00 a.m., not necessary for race participants). Shuttle will return participants to Back Cove parking lot after dip. Cool prizes from local businesses for 5k winners by age class, top fundraisers, and for best costume! Learn more and sign up at nrcm.org. Be BOLD in the COLD to help protect Maine’s environment! SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR LEAD SPONSORS! YOURYEAR EARNBRAGGINGRIGHTS! ThisisYOURYEARto EARNBRAGGINGRIGHTS! YOURYEAR EARNBRAGGINGRIGHTS! YOURYEAR EARNBRAGGINGRIGHTS! BRINGATEAM! WEARACOSTUME! Natural Resources Council of Maine 3 Wade Street • Augusta, ME 04330 • (800) 287-2345 • www.nrcm.org Protecting the Nature of Maine This Holiday Season Help Protect the Maine You Love Join the Natural Resources Council of Maine For more than 50 years, our state’s leading nonprofit membership organization working to protect Maine’s forests, clean air, water, and wildlife. PHOTO BY READ BRUGGER Special O er! Now through January 31, 2014 Join now or give a gift membership and receive the best-selling book Maine’s Favorite Birds FREE, signed and personalized if you wish, with each new membership! Call or send your payment with the code “PortlandMag Favorite Birds 2013” N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 3 9 People gives the book its structure and its magic. We are introduced, on one page, to a name, a face, and a price. Then Bryan, on the sub- sequent pages, gives us verse about this per- son, his/her background, his/her dreams. For instance, “Athelia” may only be a name and a price ($175) in the records of history, but through poetry, Bryan imagines her as a plainly dressed laundress who dreams of keeping alive an oral tradition: Through all my years / enslaved, / I’ve lis- tened to / ancestral voices / echoing through / my weariness, / giving me strength… The well of ancestry and its richness be- comes one of the book’s major themes. “The only time that an art of the people was com- pletely dedicated to the glory of God,” Bry- an says, “was with the thousands of songs of black American slaves.” We see what those songs mean, and how they managed to give, as Athelia says, strength. B ryan understands something of art as a survival mechanism. During World War II, he drew whenever he could on the sketch pad he kept in his gas mask. Back in the States, he put the draw- ings away and never looked at them for 40 years–not until he participated in a seminar on “war and peace.” He converted them in- to slides, spoke on his experiences, and tried to move on. But, like the characters he writes about in Freedom Over Me, he cannot escape the pull of the past. His next project will be a memoir about his World War II experiences. These drawings will play an integral part. “I converted one of the drawings into a painting of black troops in a segregated ar- my playing cards.” It’s a painful memory for him, but now? He pauses. “When you look at that painting, you’d think I was painting in my neighbor’s garden.” But he was there. “[Perspective like this] never could’ve hap- pened in the forties. I wouldn’t have seen it with that sense of release.” –Benjamin Rybeck Peggy,48,$150; John,16,$100; Jane,28,$300; Athelia, 42,$175; Betty,36,$150; Qush,62,$100; Stephen,32,$300; Mulvina,60, $100; Bacus,34,$250; Charlotte, 30, and Dora,8, $400.