American literacy volunteer who was lost at sea leaves a legacy in Leyte

Max Quinn, a volunteer for Little Free Libraries, was lost at sea while diving in Sugar Bay, Leyte. PROVINCETOWN BANNER

TRURO, Massachusetts — Max Quinn, 29, a writer, performer and musician who grew up in Truro, was lost at sea while diving in the Sogob Bay on February 4. Max, along with a friend, the dive master, and a European diver, were on a boat from Peter’s Resort in Napantao, San Francisco, Southern Leyte.

Quinn arrived in the Philippines in June 2016 for what was going to be a three-month stint volunteering for Little Free Libraries, an American nonprofit devoted to reading and literacy. He loved his work so much he extended his visa. He continued his work in Napantao, Southern Leyte.

Max Quinn’s father, Mark, receiving an award on his behalf from the citizens of Napantao, Southern Leyte. PROVINCETOWN BANNER

He was a steward of Little Free Library who spent time in Batanes. His students said their favorite book was “The Charms of Mt. Iraya.”

After his disappearance, his friends and family raised money in Quinn’s honor to reprint 200 copies of the collected stories, soon to be sent to the Philippines. The acknowledgment in the new edition begins: “This reprint of ‘Charms of Mt. Iraya’ is made possible through the funding of the Max Quinn Memorial Fund and the permission of the Department of Education in Batanes.”

“I made it [a] top priority assignment to procure some way of having this book reprinted,” Quinn wrote in an acknowledgment for the reprinted version. “The preservation of culture is … one of the surest ways of sustaining community, family, and in this case, literature.”

Quinn’s father, Mark Quinn, is setting up a memorial fund in the Philippines to provide further education for some of the children of Napantao.- From The Provincetown Banner