Islandport Press brings back popular humorists
In the annals of Maine humor, no one can ever replace Marshall Dodge or his fellow-collaborator Robert Bryan.
Although both native New Yorkers, starting in the early 1950’s, they personified both the coastal and inland “Mainer” with perfect balance of wit, timing, and accent. In the 1960’s, Bryan turned down a less traveled path, while Dodge kept the genre going until his hit-and-run death in 1982 riding a bicycle on Hawaii.
Marshall Dodge-in front of the microphone, in the studio or in-person-transformed himself before the audience into such common native personalities as Bert and I, Vergie and Hettie, and Gagnon – world champion moose-caller.
Indeed, he made most famous one of the phrases still used by many today, “You can’t get there from here.”
Especially on stage, Dodge’s presence was mesmerizing. He would slowly stroll out from the back, a tall slender, yet elegant man with jet-black hair and a distant look in his eyes. The first time I witnessed this stagecraft, I thought that he was a university professor sent out to introduce Mr. Dodge. However, when he spoke, we all knew we were in for a special night. I do not believe I have ever laughed so hard before or since. When you listen to this CD, you get a taste of his greatness.
What I appreciated most about both Dodge and Bryan is that they never put on pretenses about being “native Mainers.” They only reflected what they saw and heard as they carefully observed life around them. They weren’t making fun of us-they were sharing the joke with us. This is what makes them so special, so accurate in their portrayals. They truly understood how to “become the Mainer.”
We should all thank Islandport Press for the release of this 34-story compilation of “The Best of Bert & I … Celebrating 50 Years of Stories from Down East.”
It includes some of my favorites: “Set Her Again,” “Bert & I,” “Down East Socialism,” “Directions,” “Too Late Mr. Perkins” and “Beginner’s Luck.” Indeed, this CD gives the true flavor of Dodge and Bryan’s three-decades of work.
And, it will introduce future generations to the quickly vanishing cultural heritage, humor and accent of the old New England Yankee.
It brings to mind my grandparent’s house on Ryder’s Cove, Islesboro. As a child, I would sit in the kitchen rocking chair next to the cookstove and listen to my grandmother suck-in 20 “Ayuhs” in the space of a minute while she talked to her best friend, Hattie. Life didn’t get any better than that! This CD for me will help keep alive those memories.
Mike Herbert is the sales and marketing associate for Working Waterfront.