Constance Hunting
Literary vision
In her lifetime, Orono, Maine-based poet and publisher Constance Hunting championed writing and the integrity of words. She believed that language has a melody and mystery all its own, and that authors of all ages are traveling the same literary path, just at different stages on the continuum.
She founded Puckerbrush Press in 1971 with proceeds from her first book, which was published by Scribner. Seven years later, she launched the preeminent literary magazine, Puckerbrush Review, forever changing the literary landscape in Maine — and beyond. She further promoted writing as a professor at the University of Maine, where she taught students to appreciate language and encouraged them to find their voices. Her many published works continue to inspire generations of writers.
Hunting, who was trained as a classical pianist and was a poet laureate of Indiana, once likened her life’s work to that of a missionary, “opening up language to people.” The result is a timeless literary vision.
This year, The Puckerbrush Review Endowment Fund was established in the University of Maine Foundation in memory of Hunting, who died in 2006. Income from the fund will provide general operating funds for Puckerbrush Review.
