ROCKLAND — George Chappell's third book of poetry, A Smattering of Stanley, pays tribute to his late maternal grandfather, Stanley H. Hamm, a professional musician and bandleader from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.

The book also shares comments on nature, gun control, Hiroshima, substance abuse, and warfare, as well as a coming-of-age memoir.

Chappell said his grandfather, a widower, whose wife died of the flu death following the First World War, led his band and took care of his 5-year-old daughter, who was subsequently George's mother.

"Our lives overlapped for 10 months in 1937, the year I was born and the year he died at the age of 53," Chappell said of his grandfather.

"My mother took care of us both in the same home. I've always had this strange feeling that his spirit has looked out for me. This book honors him for his inspiration."

A Smattering of Stanley is available in local Midcoast stores and at Amazon.com.

Chappell lives in Rockland, where he participates in poetry writing groups and teaches a class in creative writing to senior citizens and veterans.

He has also taught creative writing to veterans at the VA hospital at Togus, Maine, and is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran.

The author of two previous poetry books, A Fresh Footpath and When Souls Walk Away, he has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College in Vermont.