Author announcement: Richard Shain Cohen

Richard Shain Cohen, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is originally from Boston. He retired from the University of Maine, Presque Isle after serving as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of English. He holds B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. His latest book is The Forgotten Longfellow: Man in the Shadows.

THE FORGOTTEN LONGFELLOW is a snapshot of America in the 1800s, and amazing tale which reads like an adventure story – as Alexander, Senior feeling like a failure in contrast to his famous poet brother, takes a position as coast surveyor and begins a life of exploration. He surveyed the northern border of Maine in the boundary dispute with England. This begins his description of the northern wilderness, life among Indians, Acadians, and lone trappers; dangerous journeys around Cape Horn; and surveys in a South ravaged by war while mingling with wandering former slaves and the dispossessed.. We meet Dolley Madison, John Quincy Adams, and President Polk and a cast of hundreds in the drawing-rooms of Washington, D.C.; we experience his eventual courtship and catch rare glimpses of family life in the country manor-houses of Maine; and having been enriched by a most unusual journey through Nineteenth-century America, courtesy of a man who never realized how significant his gifts and accomplishments really were. The book is a visual treat also, studded with gorgeous maps, many drawings, and photographs – a coffee table adventure story.  For further information see:  www.theForgottenLongfellow.com

In addition to this book, his publications include: Only God Can Make a Tree, poetry of his and of his brother, Alfred Robert Cohen; and the novels Monday: End of the Week, Be Still, My Soul, and Petal On A Black Bough. He also wrote chapters for Aroostook: Land of Promise, academic reviews, other articles, and — with the help of a Shell Grant — a monograph on Samuel Richardson that can be found in major library holdings.