Harry Bliss "You Can Never Die" with Caite McNeil

Mechanics' Hall and PRINT: A Bookstore team up to present a conversation between Harry Bliss and local cartoonist Caite McNeil.

YOU CAN NEVER DIE is a graphic memoir from Harry Bliss, renowned New Yorker cartoonist, and eight-time New York Times bestselling illustrator (most recently for the bestsellers A Wealth of Pigeons and Number One is Walking, illustrated alongside Steve Martin).

In his first memoir, Bliss delves into his childhood, family life, and coveted career as a New Yorker cover artist. He tells his story through cartoons and prose essays about the loss of his beloved dog, Penny (who has been featured in his New Yorker cartoons for years), and the people and animals who have shaped the course of his life — including his immediate family, friends, and artists Maurice Sendak, Andrew Wyeth, Ed Koren, Steve Martin, James Gandolni and many more.

You Can Never Die is an ode to both a treasured canine companion and the author’s past, featuring never-before-seen sketches from Bliss’ career. It is vulnerable, funny, sad, and hopeful in the most beautiful way.

Tuesday, May 20 at 6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30 PM), approximately 60 minutes with a Q&A. No one turned away for lack of funds at the door.

ABOUT THE CARTOONISTS

is an internationally syndicated cartoonist and cover artist for the New Yorker magazine. His syndicated comic ‘Bliss’ appears in newspapers internationally. He has written and illustrated over 25 books for children and is the founder of the Cornish CCS Fellowship for Graphic Novelists in Cornish, New Hampshire.

is a teacher, writer, editor, and cartoonist whose work is place-based and often humorous. Her comics and essays have been published in The LA Times, The Iowa Review, Tahoma Review, MUTHA Magazine and elsewhere, and she is currently at work on a book of graphic essays about long distance running. She received her MFA from Stonecoast MFA and lives in Midcoast Maine with her husband and young child.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

Mechanics’ Hall is located at 519 Congress Street. Our main entrance is between Loquat Shop and the Art Mart. The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by .

Parking is available at the , which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step or use a . There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator to the third-floor ballroom.

If you have a particular accessibility question or request please contact us at .

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Hall (Maine)