This New York Times profile of Carolyn Chute, the author of The Beans of Egypt Maine, is pretty fascinating stuff.

The 2nd Maine Militia, or Your Wicked Good Militia, as it’s sometimes known, is progun, against corporate lobbying and campaign contributions, and opposed to tax subsidies for big business. The group has been known to meet in a hired hall, but more often it assembles in the woods behind the Chutes’ home, where the members shoot at cans and other targets, talk about what’s wrong with the world and dine on potluck.

In 1996, in an incident recreated in “The School on Heart’s Content Road,” the militia invaded the State Capitol in Augusta, carrying placards that read, “Smash Corporate Tyranny.” Many of the militia children were in costume, and Mr. Chute wore a Revolutionary War uniform. There were some kazoo-playing and a little shouting, and someone duct-taped a piece of cardboard over a portrait of Joshua Chamberlain, the Maine governor and Civil War hero.

When I was a very young kid back in Maine, I was at a supermarket with my mom. We rounded a corner and came face-to-face with this old woman with ratty hair and rumpled clothes, muttering to herself in the tampon aisle. After we passed her, I asked my mom what was the matter with the crazy lady. She responded, with not a little bit of fear in her voice, “She’s a writer.” And that’s when I decided I wanted to be a writer. So thanks, Carolyn Chute.