PORTLAND, Maine — The Mechanics' Hall Library in Portland is filled with books by Maine authors. Many of those books are being used to initiate important community conversations. It starts with a week of events across the state hosted by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
"Some people get nervous about the title," Maya Williams said about her poetry book, titled "Judas and Suicide".
Religion can sometimes paint the picture that death is better than life and Williams' book is about navigating those beliefs.
"I'm glad people get nervous about the title. I'm glad it gives them something to think about, question, and interrogate," she said.
Williams said she found relief in writing her book, as she was able to process her own mental health struggles and the stigma that can come with them. She reads an excerpt from one of her poems as an example: "The tears make my eyes hurt, my chest feels lifted."
In her journey to becoming a now accomplished poet and Portland's official Poet Laureate, she's learned lessons she hopes to pass on.
"What does it mean to take care of yourself as a black poet? Especially when it comes to a lot of black poets being underpaid, even though we tend to do the most work."
That's just one conversation Williams is starting through the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. The organization welcomed her this year to help host "A Showcase of Black Poets," one of 11 events that are part of the Maine Lit Fest.
"The engine of this festival is that idea of books being really about community and conversation," Gibson Fay-Leblanc, executive director of Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance said.
Fay-Leblanc welcomes more than 50 authors, like Williams, to use these conversations to connect with each other and their readers.
"I love to see the energy in these rooms — all the people laughing, talking, and telling each other things," he said.
The communication may start in those rooms, but according to Williams, it doesn't tend to stay there.
"It's just really exciting to continue to build those friendships in a natural way through conversations and readings such as these," she added.
The Showcase for Black Poets is happening at the Space Gallery in Portland on Wednesday, Oct. 9. It starts at 6:00 p.m.
For the full list of events, click here.