Millay House Rockland: Where We Are Now
In 2024 the Millay House Rockland (MHR) marked a turning point in its mission by inaugurating its first season of Writers-in-Residency.
Almost a decade has passed since a group of concerned neighbors and friends toured a neglected property in Rockland, Maine, and took the first steps in the long process of saving the deteriorating double house that was the birthplace of the beloved and pathbreaking poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for her verse.
Years of effort and fundraising followed, and many contributed to the work of purchasing, preserving and rehabilitating the humble, working-class home. Out of these struggles the Millay House Rockland was born. The Rockland Historical Society saved the Millay House with the help of Roxanne Quimby, and after Millay House Rockland was established as a 501c3 non-profit, the historical society deeded the house to the new organization. The new non-profit literary organization completed the renovation project started by the historical society, with current Millay House board members Michelle Gifford and Steve Cartwright instrumental from the start.
Now, ten years on, Millay House Rockland opens its doors to a new vocation. The house has always been a residence, the infant Millay and her family one of multiple generations who’ve called the space home. Its physical rehabilitation a success, MHR returns to its place in the Rockland community as an arts incubator and creative outreach facilitator. Through the opening of its Writers-in-Residency program in 2024, MHR has welcomed to Midcoast Maine both emerging and established writers such as Mark Doty, Natalie Goldberg, and our first juried Writer-in- Residence recipient, Melissa McKinstry.
After hosting a busy 2024 calendar of workshops, readings, and events, the Millay House Rockland board would like to thank all the members of the community and its institutions who have supported our projects over the years. To mark this turning point in our mission, MHR launched its 2024-2025 Membership Campaign, along with a revitalized Third Fig Review, just one of the perks of membership. Your generous gifts have supported and will continue to support, free of charge, a variety of writing workshops for all ages; public readings by local and nationally known writers; historic programs about Millay and other celebrated Maine writers; as well as monthly rentals to writers who also give readings and/or workshops to the public. MHR would especially like to acknowledge our $1,000-level Pulitzer Prize Patrons from the business community, Maritime Energy and The First National Bank.
photos Brian Vanden Brink
We welcome past contributors and new members alike to celebrate along with us as we look to the future and our ongoing commitment to offering, as the old double house once did for the young Millay, a residence that can ever remain a birthplace for artistic expression, a place to nurture creativity and to help emerging writers find a home for their unique voices, as well as a house for the community to cherish as it hosts arts-related events and activities that enrich our lives in Midcoast Maine.
