When we wrote recently about our appreciation for the clever messages on New Hampshire license plates, we heard from Holly Sherburne. She happens to be a connoisseur of Maine plates. In fact, she notes that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators ranks Maine as sixth in the nation in the percentage of license plates that are vanity plates. Sherburne highlights about 250 of those quirky seven-letter (maximum) sobriquets in her book, ''The Maine Plate,'' which she bills as volume one in a series about Maine vanity plates and their meanings. The clever little paperback reveals the stories behind FYNALY, HADENUF, GNGSTAH and other creations by the lettersmiths whom Sherburne dubs Maine's ?plate poets.? For more examples and a cheery blog on plate poetics--as well as details on where and how to buy the book--visit Sherburne's web site at www.themaineplate.com.
