Articles
Jenkins preaches the virtues of home cooking and locally-grown food
Two events in one week this summer generated a sense of empowerment for many Vinalhaven residents as groups gathered to consider ways to become less dependent on mainland-supplied essentials like energy and food. First there was the decision by the members of the Fox Islands Electric Coop to go ahead with a wind power project
Growing food on granite
The work is hard-physically demanding, requiring long hours spent outdoors no matter what the weather, with no guarantee of how much you’ll earn or if you will even make enough to cover your expenses. But you can imagine some contentment from consumers when the product you are harvesting is in kitchens or on a table,
Finding the place that holds your loyalty and affection
#1. I’d begin with some disclaimer, some heartfelt admission by me that it is always dicey to write about something as if one boasts some insight, because any perspective is, no matter how well informed, limited by being highly individual. And I would confess that, as someone “from away,” it is an honor but no
Olive Kitteridge
What does insight offer us, given the ability to observe oneself or others? Psychologists might answer it supports change and develops empathy and compassion. Yet, even for ourselves, understanding who we are and why is no small achievement. How can we hope, then, to have that understanding of others? And surely, there are some people
Adam the King
How to describe this novel, third in Lewis’s “Meritocracy Trilogy”? One way a book gets characterized is through Library of Congress subject headings; in this case, “fiction” about “Jewish men,” “weddings,” “middle age,” “rich people,” “life change events” and “summer resorts.” Well, yes, the book includes all of that. But more importantly, for our purposes
Islanders by Association
#1. I’d begin with some disclaimer, some heartfelt admission by me that it is always dicey to write about something as if one boasts some insight, because any perspective is, no matter how well informed, limited by being highly individual. And I would confess that, as someone “from away,” it is an honor but no
An artist invites her viewers to remember and rejoice
The verve of nature – no small thing – is alive in the paintings of Vinalhaven artist Elaine Crossman. Her landscapes reveal and also revel in the glory of the natural world. In another era, the majestic stained glass windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany that would have been similarly evocative. There’s a luminous glow to
The Incredible Shrinking Shrimping Fishery of the South
Being somewhere warmer as winter waned seemed like a must-do this year. By March, we had cabin fever and wanderlust, so we thought we’d head down the Eastern seaboard. We eliminated Florida as a destination because we wanted to be in a region culturally more “Southern.” It could have been the coast of Georgia, but
An artist invites her viewers to remember and rejoice
The verve of nature — no small thing — is alive in the paintings of Vinalhaven artist Elaine Crossman. Her landscapes reveal and also revel in the glory of the natural world. In another era, the majestic stained glass windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany that would have been similarly evocative. There’s a luminous glow to
Barter Island
Down East Books, 2007 A Surfeit of Understanding Barter Island, a novel, is based on some of Peter Scott’s own experience on an island a lot like Isle au Haut. In this sequel to an earlier book, Something in the Water, Scott describes what happened back in the 1970s when hippies and Vietnam vets both