In her poem “Peace,” Ana Maldacker, a seventh-grade student in the Provincetown Schools’ International Baccalaureate program, describes an image of loss: An empty carriage in a town square, as a […]
Books & Poetry
LINE BREAK
Afloat at Land’s End
Maria Nazos’s ‘Cape Cod Pantoum’
For all the beauty of the Outer Cape, for all the luck we feel to live in this gorgeous place, it isn’t all dreamy sunsets and fabulous gatherings. Not all […]
BOOK REVIEW
Resetting the Holy Atonement Button
A rabbi offers a way to find forgiveness in a difficult world
It is hard at the moment not to feel that there is no way out — individually, communally, or globally — of the shameful mess that is life. And yet […]
PROVINCETOWN BOOK FESTIVAL
Ruth Ozeki on Bringing Books to Life
The acclaimed novelist conjures a dreamscape in her latest book
Ruth Ozeki spoke about her latest novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness, winner of the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction, at last weekend’s Provincetown Book Festival. It was her […]
BOOK REVIEW
Making Her Way in a Man’s World
Sally Cabot Gunning’s latest novel covers some satisfyingly familiar territory
Death, betrayals, hard times, violent storms, seemingly dead-end situations with a spark of hope: Sally Cabot Gunning’s new book, Painting the Light, has everything her readers have come to expect. […]
PROVINCETOWN BOOK FESTIVAL
A Tale of Two Queer Artistic Partnerships
New biographies of two towering literary figures: Willa Cather and F.O. Matthiessen
What is the relationship between artistic vocation and sexual identity? Between creative and romantic partnerships? And how should we assess forms of same-sex union and choices about queer self-representation from […]
PROVINCETOWN BOOK FESTIVAL
Searching for Solutions to the Racial Divide in Health Care
Linda Villarosa’s Under the Skin addresses systemic injustices
Finding solutions to deep-rooted systemic injustices can seem impossible. But as Linda Villarosa writes in Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health […]
BOOK REVIEW
Can Combatting Racism and White Supremacy Be … Fun?
Using games and humor to tackle some very serious subjects
Some planted “Black Lives Matter” signs in their yards after the murder of George Floyd. Putting out a sign might be a start to addressing systemic racism, argue W. Kamau […]
BOOK REVIEW
Lizabeth Cohen’s Reconsideration of Urban Renewal
A history of Ed Logue’s legacy has resonance for the Outer Cape
In Saving America’s Cities, the prize-winning historian Lizabeth Cohen bends over backwards to be fair to Ed Logue, the architect of efforts in New Haven, then Boston, and finally New […]
POETRY
Looking Back at a Provincetown That Was
Gabrielle Rilleau layers family, place, and memory in a new collection of poems
Fishing villages know the sea will take what it wants. Storms roll in, boats sink, and accidents happen. In her new book of poems, No Room for Slippage, Gabrielle Rilleau […]
POETRY
Two Sonnets From the Pandemic
John Okrent’s first book, This Costly Season: A Crown of Sonnets, was published by Arrowsmith Press in 2021. Okrent is a family doctor who works at the Sea Mar Community […]
LINE BREAK
Mad Libs Poetry: Pushing the World Away to See It Anew
Alexander DuToit brings Sam Hamill’s heron into the darkroom
This month I asked Alexander DuToit, a senior at Nauset Regional High School, if he’d “Mad Lib” a poem — that is, take an existing poem and swap out everything […]
BOOK REVIEW
Everyone Is to Blame, But Blame Is Not the Point
Lindsey J. Palmer explores the shifting landscapes of friendship in Reservations for Six
The ritual of birthday dinners among old friends — the lengthy and indulgent courses, the observations of milestones met, missed, and anticipated — provides the structure of Eastham resident Lindsey […]
THAT’S ITALIAN
Connecting the Dots From Sicily to SpaghettiOs
Ian MacAllen savors the role of red sauce in the making of Italian-Americanism
I want to get this out of the way at the get-go: I was raised on SpaghettiOs, and I loved them. Surely you remember Chef Boyardee with his jaunty toque, […]
READING ROOM
When the Big Bad Wolf Walks in the Door
A children’s book about domestic abuse might be best read in a supportive setting
The book was handed to me by my daughter’s friend with a request to read it aloud. We were at the Wellfleet Public Library, and as I started reading, I realized […]
