JAY — Author and longtime Wilton resident Michael Burke will visit the Jay-Niles Memorial Library June 28 at 4 p.m. to discuss his latest work, The Art of the Myth: Maine Essays and reflect on a life of writing shaped by place, adventure, and small-town life.

Burke, Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing and English at Colby College, is widely published in national and international outlets and is the recipient of the Maine Literary Arts Award for Drama. His new collection explores how Maine’s striking landscapes influence the stories residents tell about themselves.

“The fact Maine has ocean, coast, rivers, mountains, forests and open spaces and lakes has a lot to do with our identity,” Burke said. “It is a rich landscape, varied, which generates a lot of stories, and hence an identity.”

In The Art of the Myth, Burke explores how a place’s “identity” can often be more symbolic than factual. “That’s the ‘myth’ part, that sense of having a particular kind of identity is essentially a myth, but a benign and perhaps helpful one,” he explained.

Though his travels have taken him to remote rivers around the world, Burke said life in western Maine still offers something unique. “I think the contrast with other places has informed me a great deal — the fact that rural Maine is distinctly different from where most people live,” he said. “I’m always aware that a place like Wilton is in some ways quite unique, even if not glamorous.”

His memoir, The Same River Twice: A Boatman’s Journey, combines personal reflection with thrilling whitewater adventures. “For a long time I didn’t think there was a story that could come out of those experiences,” he said. “But eventually I found a way to use those experiences, but not focus exclusively on them.”

Burke also found success writing for the stage. His play The Town Meets earned statewide recognition, and while he describes himself as a “novice playwright,” he said the process offered a refreshing change from nonfiction. “Writing plays [was] liberating. The emphasis on dialogue and a minimal amount of stage movement saves me from all of the exposition that goes on in nonfiction,” he said. “It’s been great fun to use the muscles associated with playwriting, which I didn’t know I had.”

Reflecting on more than 30 years of teaching creative writing at Colby College, Burke offered encouragement to aspiring writers: “Stick with it. Find a topic that works for you, learn a few tools that might be short-cuts to getting better, and don’t judge your own work too harshly.”

Burke expressed deep appreciation for the role local libraries play in supporting the literary arts. “You need an audience, and libraries and bookstores provide that audience,” he said. “Sitting with people for an hour, reading and talking, is a great pleasure and reassures me that there are decent, interesting people all over Maine, in the tiniest places and the smallest buildings.”

Michael Burke’s visit to the Jay-Niles Memorial Library promises a thoughtful evening of conversation about writing, storytelling and the meaning of place.