Conversations From the Pointed Firs

Conversations from the Pointed Firs is a monthly series of discussions between host Peter Neill and Maine-connected authors and artists about new books and creative projects that invoke the spirit of Maine, its history, its ecology, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life. Authors and artists interviewed live in Maine, work in Maine, or otherwise derive their creativity from its essence.

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Conversations From the Pointed Firs

Charles Cantalupo

May 04, 2026 • Peter Neill

0:00 | 58:00

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs: Charles Cantalupo, literary critic and historian specializing in indigenous writing and poetry; poet and author of Clooscape the Poet, an interpretation of a Wabanaki folk figure and legendary presence and spirit of “homeland” in along the Atlantic coastlands of New England and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Charles is Professor Emeritus of English, Comparative Literature, and African Studies at Penn State; co-author of the Asmara Declaration on African Languages and Literature; critic and translator of African writers from Eritrea; author of a personal memoir, Joining Africa, about his African experience, and author of several published anthologies.