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The Backwoods Broadsides Chaplet Series, established in 1994 by University of Maine English lecturer Sylvester Pollet, published poetry from various local and international contemporary authors in pamphlet form. This past summer, Pollet completed the project after publishing his 100th piece. In celebration of this milestone, the English department’s New Writing Series will be hosting Pollet and various local contributors who will read some of their Backwoods Broadsides pieces tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Soderberg Auditorium.
Born in Woodstock, New York in 1939, Pollet found himself immersed in the poetry scene of the 1960s, working in the 8th St. Book Shop in New York City, which attracted the “hip” poets of the time, according to Steve Evans, coordinator of the New Writing Series. In 1971, Pollet built a house in Ellsworth, Maine, where he became an English lecturer at the University of Maine. In 1982, Pollet published his own work, “Entering the Walking-Stick Business.” As associate editor for the National Poetry Foundation, Pollet primarily focuses on editorial work.
His Backwoods Broadsides Collection, started in 1994, was inspired by his work in the ’60s at the 8th St. Book shop, where he saw “poetry change hands in every imaginable form, usually for free.” Specifically, the Chaplet Series has featured poetry from 100 poets including Amiri Baraka, a famous African-American poet; Robert Creeley, a renowned Beat poet; Nicole Brossard, a Quebecois poet; and Anne Waldman, another Beat poet. These are all former guests at the New Writing Series. Thursday’s particular New Writing Series event will feature readings from local poets Tony Brinkley, Kathleen Ellis, Benjamin Friedlander, and Jennifer Moxley, not to mention remarks from Pollet himself. Theodore Enfin, a widely published poet from southern Maine, will also be at the event.
Evans, impressed with Pollet’s accomplishment, hails the project as a “marvelous ongoing anthology in real time.” Usually, remarked Evans, it takes decades for poetry to be compiled into anthologies, making Pollet’s production untraditional and oftentimes innovative. For Pollet, Backwoods Broadsides provides a way of “getting people in touch from different countries.” Indeed, Pollet has not only published American and Canadian poetry, but also works from Japan, France, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, and the Netherlands. Most importantly, it “gave a place where people could get work out quickly and easily.”
Copies of the pieces from the Chaplet Series will be on sale at Thursday’s event for $1 per copy. Any other questions concerning the purchasing of Pollet’s anthological publications should be directed to Pollet personally at pollet@maine.edu.
Bangor Daily News