Edna St. Vincent Millay was brought up on the coast of Maine in Camden, where she settled with her mother and two sisters after leaving her birthplace of Rockland and moving from town to town.
Ever the outspoken and frank child, her aptitude for language and learning butted up against her more antiauthoritarian leanings from a young age. Though she didn’t thrive in an academic setting, she found an early passion for writing which transformed into a lifelong pursuit and earned her early accolades.
Her tenacity and independence followed her into her 20s, where during her academic tenure at Vassar College the academic board attempted to suspend her before graduation, but a petition from her fellow peers allowed her to cross the stage and receive her diploma.
The speed and voracity with which she published her work was reflected in her poetry, detailing her love for living life to the fullest in her youth. In her 1918 poem “First Fig,” published in her collection “Figs from Thistles,” she writes:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night,
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!
This coined phrase “burning the candle at both ends” has become a personal philosophy of many over the last century, adhering to both strong work ethics and the ever-present knowledge that if we cannot be here for a long time, we may as well enjoy the time we have.
On Saturday, Feb. 22 — Millay’s 133rd birthday — we will be gathering to celebrate poetry in a new way at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. That day at 10 a.m. we are hosting the Northern Regional Final for Poetry Out Loud as part of a community event we’re calling “Cultivating Community with Poetry Out Loud,” in collaboration with the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council.
Poetry Out Loud endeavors to engage young minds with poetry in new ways, opening well-known pieces of literature up to new interpretations and invigorating performances.
In hosting the Northern Regional Final and selecting a contestant to go to the state competition, we’re setting alight the chance for this program to inspire youth all over Aroostook County for years to come. We may not be burning the candle at both ends, but we hope that we can light the way.
We can’t wait to see you there.
Elyse Kiehn is the deputy library director at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle, and can be reached at 764-2571 or via email at ekiehn@presqueisleme.us.
