Back in 1969 we acquired a street dog named Napi. He was a real son of a bitch. I wanted to call him Walt (Whitman), but the name just wouldn’t […]
Inner Voices
REMEMBERING NAPI
An Elegy for Napi
As a boss Napi Van Dereck was a terror. At least in the old days when I bussed at the restaurant. Each evening would find him hunched like a hawk […]
The Horrors and Hopes of Another Christmas
I am dreaming of a Commercial Christmas, just like the one we have every year. You are a hard one to shop for: you have everything, maybe two of everything. […]
ROAD POET
Metter
This is for my second hometown I said this poem is for my second hometown Metter, Ga. It’s OK if you have to google it The first time I went […]
PROVINCELANDS
A Winter Dune Shack Vacation
Coming home is part of the magic
The driving rain and howling winds hardly registered as we moved towards our rendezvous at Race Point beach. Our excitement was too strong; no amount of inclemency could put a […]
SKETCHBOOK
Winter Trees
“Winter Trees” by Mark Adams
OP-ED
Fighting Darkness in the Season of Lights
Don’t underestimate the power of individual action
The holiday season surrounds us with all kinds of lights: from the soft glow of candles to colorful bulbs and pyrotechnics shot into the midnight sky. They embody the spirit […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Shhhh: A Love Letter
The library is a place where we can just be ourselves
I love my library. It is a beautiful building in a beautiful town. A beautiful building that happens to be full of books — rooms and rooms of books, shelf […]
VIGNETTE
Winter Hunting
“Winter Hunting” by Daniel Dejean
ISLAND NOTEBOOK
Touched by the Snow
A Jamaican missionary’s prayers are answered
On an island that has never seen snow and is considered cold if the temperature hits 60, having a white Christmas means purchasing lots of cotton to decorate the front […]
IN AND OUT
Celia
In and Out: observations of humans as they come and go from our town
SQUID PRO QUO
All of Us Are Casualties of the Squid Wars
A proposal to restore Provincetown’s fishing culture
England vs. Argentina (2012). South Korea vs. Japan (2019). These matchups read like a history of World Cup competitions, but in fact they were clashes where countries have gone to […]
POETRY
Dogs of Truro
Selected by Katherine Hazzard
The first anonymous baying from those backlit hills petitions a single greeny-blue winter star. It silvers as I watch, tuning its sharpness. Deep January in the natural dark, and now […]
CLIMATE CRISIS
The Kids Aren’t All Right
Boomers boo from the stands as students protest inaction
The older generation has taken to saying how sorry it is to leave behind a climate crisis that young people will have to fix. I’ve been the recipient of this […]
provincelands
The Bog Beckons on a Sunny Sunday
On a cranberry expedition, being small has its advantages
Atlantic to the left, Race Point behind us, we hauled our buckets and baskets and red and yellow plastic beach pails over dune-tops, into hollows, and along the overgrown sand […]