The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery will present Glenna Johnson Smith: Writer, Artist, Teacherfrom Oct. 4 to Nov. 22, 2024. The exhibition will celebrate the life and work of well-known writer, teacher, and long-time Presque Isle resident Glenna Johnson Smith (1920-2020) and will feature manuscripts, original artwork, and other memorabilia. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the opening reception on Friday, Oct. 4, from 6-8 p.m. This reception is being held in conjunction with the Presque Isle First Friday Art Walk.
The exhibition is also being held in conjunction with Voices in the North Country, UMPI’s writers conference taking place Oct. 3-4, and serves as a celebration of the donation of Smith’s papers and manuscripts to UMPI’s Library.
Glenna Johnson Smith was born in 1920 in Ashville, Maine, in coastal Hancock County. In 1941, after graduating from the University of Maine, she married and moved to a farm in Easton, where she raised three sons. A teacher for many years, she was heavily involved in school and community theater productions. Her writing appeared in Echoes and Yankee magazines and other publications. She was the author of two books: Old Maine Woman: Stories from the Coast to the County (2010) and Return of Old Maine Woman: Tales of Growing Up and Getting Older (2014). She passed away in 2020 at the age of 100.
In the spring of 2022, Glenna Johnson Smith’s son, Melbourne Smith, contacted UMPI English faculty to inquire about the University’s interest in receiving his mother’s papers. After discussions regarding how the papers and other artifacts would be stored and digitized, UMPI officially received the papers as part of the library’s permanent collection.
In the process of discussing the collection with Melbourne Smith, UMPI officials learned that in addition to the work she is known for—her teaching at Presque Isle High School and her writing, which ranges from plays recognized by New England drama festivals to published poems, short stories, and nonfiction—that she also sketched and painted, sharing her work with friends and family.
The exhibit at the Reed Gallery will include examples of her original artwork, as well as other artifacts from the collection, ranging from drafts of her writing for publication in literary forums as well as the County magazine, Echoes, and her two books Old Maine Woman and Return of Old Maine Woman, to a backdrop she was given from a production of her most well-known play, The Voices of Aldenville.
The public is invited to attend a celebration of Glenna Johnson Smith’s remarkable life and contributions to the arts in Maine. All are invited and encouraged to attend the show’s opening reception on Friday, Oct. 4, 6-8 p.m., as part of Presque Isle’s monthly First Friday Art Walk. During the reception, Melbourne Smith will discuss his mother’s extraordinary life and works.
Glenna Johnson Smith: Writer, Artist, Teacherwill be on display at the Reed Art Gallery and available for public viewing through Nov. 22, 2024.
Gallery hours are:
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2-10 p.m.
The Reed Gallery is located on the second floor of the University’s Center for Innovative Learning. For more information, please contact Reed Art Gallery Director, Frank Sullivan at frank.sullivan@maine.edu or (207) 694-1920.