We Were an Island: The Maine Life of Art and Nan Kellam

by David Graham (Photographer), Peter P. Blanchard

Anyone visiting the innumerable islands that hug the coast of Maine has wondered what it would be like to live year round on a “rock” bounded by the sea, essentially cut off from the world, with life’s priorities whittled down to the most basic necessities. In 1949 Art and Nan Kellam set off to find their own isolated piece of paradise and eventually settled on a 550-acre island known as Placentia, near Mount Desert Island. They would live there year round for nearly forty years. In this beautifully illustrated volume―based on Nan’s personal journal and the “Big Book,” to which both Art and Nan contributed private correspondence and archival materials―Peter P. Blanchard III re-creates the story of their island years. He shows their singular devotion to each other, finds tantalizing clues to their reasons for seeking isolation from the rest of the world, and considers the mental and physical toll of such an unusual lifestyle on the individual and joined psyches of the couple. The narrative is beautifully enhanced by historic photographs and by David Graham’s recent color photography. While evoking the alluring beauty of Maine’s rugged coast, the book celebrates the Kellams’ courage and determination to follow a distinctive life path. We Were an Island paints a sensitive and sympathetic portrait of a relationship that endured, even prospered, in isolation.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

212 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Marcia Lonteen-Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard of this book for the last two summers. I travel from Michigan to Maine each summer and always take a nature cruise out of Bass Harbor. As we cruise around the islands there, the guide always describes the Kellams and their lives on the island. Two summers ago I heard it had been captured in this book. This past July I purchased it and read it with great interest. How wonderful it was to read of their adventures and obstacles and be privy to their personal pictures. In July of 1949 Art and Nan landed at Mitchell Beach on their own 550 acre island, Placentia, located near Bar Harbor, 2 miles out in the ocean, in the northeast corner of Maine. After the war Art had his fill of modern living and wanted to take his bride somewhere where they could establish a peaceful life together. Having sold their belongings and leaving California and his job as an engineer at Lockheed, they traveled across the country to this remote island to embark on a almost 40 year experience. The island had a couple buildings already erected, in much need of repair. They spent the summer readying the old barn into their main house. Meanwhile they lived in a small shepherd's hut, called little Homewood, while they worked. The total construction took them 9 months, often aided by islanders. While they worked, they cooked outside on a stove under a tarp, supported by stakes and a roof. They built a lean-to called the Spicery, under which they ate and enjoyed the evening. One of the interesting aspects was what they did after the concrete floor was poured. At the foot of the stairs, which was also at the front door, they embedded their footprints. Art's left foot was side by side by Nan's right foot. When they finished the house, they called it Homewood. They continued to work and develop their island, having a garden, building a summer place called the Bandstand, where they could go to write and be inspired. They would take their small boat, the dory, back and forth to Bass Harbor for supplies. The 2 mile trip took them anywhere between 75 minutes and 2 1/2 hours sometimes they accepted tows from local lobstermen. Nan rowed the shorter oars while Art used the longer pair. They stored their old car at Bass Harbor for transportation. This is an intriguing tale of a couple's day to day life, as they managed to turn a dream into a 40 year reality. I loved it. I was fascinated by the journal, called the Big Book, and all the photos, the rustic style of their lives, and a love that would bring two 38 year old adults to embark on such a journey together and withdraw from society.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book several times, each time becoming more intrigued by the Kellams' life on Placentia. Last summer, my father and I paddled in kayaks from Bass Harbor to Placentia and walked the path from the beach where they moored the dory to the remains of Homewood. Incredible the solitude we felt in the hour we were there; it's hard to imagine 30+ years of that life. Nan's diaries were so amazing and detailed, the book was like our guide once we set foot there. What a beautiful story and life!

[LibraryLady80 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books about Maine that I have read, this one is the most intimate. Nan and Art had a soul-joining marriage and honestly did not need others. They were, according to Nan's journal entries, satisfied to be just the two of them and snowy inhibiting winter weather was a cherished time as it meant it would be just the two of them without many, if any, visitors. The book details beautifully their timeline and highlights their fierce protective instincts concerning their island. What a joy to read!

[Dory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mini coffee table book chronicling the unique relationship of a couple who crafted a singular life on an offshore island in Maine. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and meticulously footnoted, the work relies on the extensive journals kept by Nan Kellam during nearly forty years that she lived with her husband on Placentia Island. A recently released short film based on the book is worth seeing.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had been sitting in the unread pile for a few years. I finally pulled it out to read and hated to see it end. Having some experience with Maine islands I found this story fascinating. The format of this book and the use of the Kellam's own writings made for a very intimate read. I'll likely read this book again at some point.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this account of a couple who worked hard to make their dream of remote island living possible, while not evangelizing it and still maintaining strong ties to the world around them. Inspiring for those of us who treasure our solitude and look to reduce the amount of outside noise.

[Chris]

I read an excerpt from this book about the day they moved all their belongings to their island.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an intriguing, respectful portrait of Art and Nan Kellam. Blanchard wisely chooses not to order the book chronologically. Though the first couple of chapters are about the beginning of the Kellams’ life on Placentia, subsequent chapters are thematically driven: one chapter covers Placentia’s history and the Kellams’ discovery of it; another chapter describes their relationship with local Mainers.

Before their move to Placentia, Art and Nan lived in California. Art worked for Lockheed as an engineer focused on the operation of military aircraft. During World War II, they were already scouting for an island to buy, and in 1949, they moved from California to Placentia and lived there for the remainder of their lives together. (After Art’s death, Nan lived a couple of years alone on the island, but eventually moved to a senior living home on Mount Desert Island.)

In their writings, Nan and Art referred to themselves as the “Bears” and developed their own vocabulary and names (a glossary is included in the back of the book to translate terms used in Nan’s diary excerpts). Though rumors abounded among locals as to the reasons for the Kellams’ isolated lifestyle (including a rumor that Art had worked on the Manhattan Project), they were quite clear in their writings about their motivations. Blanchard sums it up: “freedom from material things; freedom from dependence on technology; independence from others and their expectations; a closer rapport with Nature; development of self-reliance; and a better perspective on oneself, on marriage and ultimately on life’s meaning.”

I cannot imagine wanting to live in only one person’s company for most of your life. At times, I found the insularity of the Kellams’ life to be off-putting. I mean, as an introvert, it sounds splendid to go to an island for a while, as a retreat of some kind, but I also find a lot of value to life in a community. My favorite parts of the book involved the Kellams’ interactions with other people: how fishermen would offer to tow the couple’s dory on bad weather crossings; their signal arrangement with the residents of the nearby Gotts islands; their friendships with both year-rounders and summer people alike.

We Were An Island includes beautiful photos of Placentia as well as archival photos of the Kellams and their home. I found some of the chapters a little slower-going than others, but I enjoyed the book overall. I would recommend it to anyone who loves the coast and islands of Maine or anyone who has ever imagined living on an island.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the interesting story of a couple "from away" who lived year-round and by themselves on an island two miles offshore from Mount Desert Island. They made their home there, with help from lobstermen and other locals, from 1949 until 1985. The Kellams lived simple lives, with only a sail-equipped rowing dory for occasional trips back to MDI.

The author uses excerpts from the Kellams' own writings to help piece together the tale of their lives on Placentia Island.

This is an attractive book, with a good assortment of lovely archival and recent photos.

[Allie Pope Burger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was an escape onto a Maine island inhabited by a married couple who sought to get away from other people in a wilderness of their own choosing. It wasn't a fantastic book in the details offered about the couple's day to day life, or necessarily an intimate portrayal. But it was just such a fascinating subject. And I liked the way the author approached the passage of 40 years of usually mundane, insular island life. He broke the book down into subject areas: seasons, home building, etc- following a rough chronology.

[rainynightsreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely book about a couple who decided to purchase an island off the coast of Maine and live a simple solitary life together.