by Rebecca M. Alvin
There’s nothing like curling up under the blankets with a good book on a chilly afternoon. While the summer beach read has its place, as the beautiful New England foliage turns brown and the leaves fall to the ground in preparation for their tree’s winter slumber, we spend more time at home, perhaps much of it alone, and the company of a novel or a compelling work of nonfiction can be tremendously comforting. Throughout the year, we receive scores of books to consider for reviews, author features, and excerpts in our Word column. There are just too many good ones to include, most of which feel particularly relevant to our community on the Outer Cape. With that in mind, and with the holidays approaching, it seems fitting to offer this compendium of literature to keep you company, or for you to give as gifts during the holiday season.
Edward Hopper: A Life
by Louis Shadwick
One of our most well known Outer Cape artists is the American modernist Edward Hopper. While he grew up in Nyack, NY, and lived in New York City, he and wife Josephine “Jo” Nivison spent summers in Truro from 1930 until their deaths. In Louis Shadwick’s new 480-page book, a fuller picture of Hopper’s life and artwork emerges, much of it gleaned from the letters of his wife, who kept copious diaries and wrote many letters to friends that reveal much about the legendary artist’s personality and demeanor, as well as inviting thoughts about Jo herself and the work she was able to produce in the long shadow of her husband. The two met as students of Robert Henri at Parsons School of Design (then known as New York School of Art). Provincetonians may remember an exhibit at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) a few years back that included documents written in Jo’s hand—letters to friends and diary entries. In fact, PAAM holds a large collection of transcripts of Jo’s diaries from 1933 – 1965, searchable online at their website (paam.org). Clearly, Shadwick made use of these archives in preparing what is a very accessible, enjoyable read. The portrait that emerges of Hopper, who is often considered the quintessential American artist, is one that is far more complex and nuanced. A great gift for yourself or for the art lover in your world.
Happier, Stupider Times: Anthony Bourdain’s Provincetown
One of the great joys of this past summer was being able to see old Provincetown up on the big screen, both in the local movie theaters and at the drive-in with the Anthony Bourdain biopic, Tony, directed by Matt Johnson and starring Dominic Sessa. The film specifically imagined Bourdain’s time as a young punk in Provincetown, where he began his career, back in 1975 and it was shot almost entirely on Cape Cod, much of it right here in Provincetown. The film was released by A24 Films, and now they have also produced this book that features documents, photos, and paraphernalia of that time period on the Outer Cape. There are no interviews and little present-day text other than an introduction written by Johnson to frame a story for you, just the images and artifacts, which are a delight to look at. The “North Truro/Provincetown Either Way” sign that used to exist at the junction of routes 6 and 6A; an excerpt from Sally Lindover’s self-published The Complete Food Guide to Provincetown 1976, a photograph of a barefoot hippie on a bike with a naked toddler on the back near Cabot’s, the menu from The Moors (with three-course Portuguese dinners for $13), and yes, images of Bourdain himself taken from a Super-8 film shot in Provincetown in 1976. There’s even a clip from Provincetown Magazine included. It’s a fascinating trip down memory lane you will want to share.
Provincetown Seafood Cookbook
by Howard Mitcham
The release of Tony not only brought Anthony Bourdain back into the spotlight this past summer, it also revived interest in Howard Mitcham, the legendary Provincetown chef, artist, and author of the famous Provincetown Seafood Cookbook, which was so influential to Bourdain as well as to Tony’s filmmakers, who incorporated a Mitcham-style clambake into the movie. The famous culinary classic was reissued in 2018 by Seven Stories Press with an introduction written by Bourdain, and it is a must-have for any foodies out there, particularly those who embrace the fruits of the sea. This is not one of those coffee-table cookbooks that people browse just for the pictures, but rather a serious deep dive into seafood preparation, giving thorough instructions on how to stuff a squid and “the mysteries of lobster Thermidor,” as well as delicious, unpretentious recipes, like Wellfleet oyster gumbo and Portuguese squid stew, and Mitcham’s famous haddock amandine.
Retrovirology
by John Bonanni
As you might guess from the title of this collection of Cape Cod writer John Bonanni’s poetry, these works are connected by the theme or revisiting a pandemic, and not the one that’s freshest in our minds today. He begins the book with the evocative poem, “Sonnet for Every Man Who Died When I Was Born,” which brings us right back to the 1980s and the AIDS epidemic that defined that era. Though Bonanni is not old enough to have been through those confusing, frustrating, painful early years of the crisis, his poetry reveals a deep interest in it and a desire to make palpable the various aspects of those first 10 years or so of the crisis, especially for those who did not live through it. He not only explores death and sickness in these poems, but also protest and activism, such as in “Coalescence” and “Parallel Trial,” and references other artists, such as David Wojnarowicz in “Beautiful People,” and Federico Garcia Lorca in “Rubin,” but also a range of materials connected to this time period. The works in this collection meticulously explore the emotional, political, and even romantic and sexual aspects of that period of time and offer it all up to today’s readers who will surely connect with the beauty, craft, and most of all, humanity of these poems.
If I Could But See It: A Graphic Biography of William Morris
by Nick Thorkelson
For the more visually inclined, there is this graphic biography of poet, socialist activist, and major player in the textile arts, William Morris. Written and illustrated by local author Nick Thorkelson, the book is an excellent introduction to Morris, beginning with his childhood, through his schooling and family life, and up until his death on October 3, 1896. But in addition, Thorkelson includes Sharon Rudahl’s beautifully illustrated 14-page tribute to Morris’ best known written works. Rudahl was a pioneer of women in the underground comix movement and a civil rights activist and has authored several graphic biographies herself, including one about Emma Goldman. Both Rudahls’ contribution and Thorkelson’s overall work feature the artistry of humans, celebrating the handmade aesthetic of the British Arts and Crafts movement of which Morris was an important part. It’s a particularly interesting movement to harken back to in this age of AI slop. This book makes a perfect gift for your progressive, creative friends and family.
Whispers from Celtic Seas: The True Meanings of Ancient Stories from Northwest Europe
by Patrick Nunn
While this book is not directly connected to our communities of the Outer Cape, there is an environmental connection that makes it culturally interesting for anyone on the Cape. Author Patrick Nunn is a professor of geography and a geologist who has written numerous books on the cultural evidence of climate impact around the world. In this work, he sets out to explore the stories of communities in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England, and France, oral traditions that stretch back much farther than we can imagine. Rather than framing these stories as simply tall tales of fantastical creatures and exaggerations of oceanographic phenomena, Nunn looks at the facts behind them, facts that all point to the impact of drastic sea-level changes that we know did occur over the last 10,000 years in that part of the world. He also places faith in oral traditions that many other scientists disregard. In the pre-literate world, perhaps people’s memories were much stronger, since they could not write anything down. The stories themselves are charming and magical, but when put into this context, they are evidence not only of the famous Celtic storytelling abilities, but also of lands and communities lost to sea, the proof of which, Nunn points out, was sometimes readily visible, especially during extreme low tides. Like Wellfleet’s Billingsgate Island, which can be seen reappearing to some degree at low tide, there were many such towns in Northwest Europe that are now deep underwater. And so stories of hearing the church bells still ringing from long submerged communities, which are apparently quite common, may not just be fanciful products of Celtic imagination, but rather hints at what transpired thousands of years ago. As we talk about the Outer Cape’s own dangerous relationship with sea-level rise, the book should find an eager audience here and is a thoroughly absorbing work.
All books featured are available wherever books are sold. Please call or visit a local bookstore to purchase or request these titles.
Local Bookstores
East End Books Ptown
389 Commerical St., Provincetown • 508.413.7163 • eastendbooksptown.com
Provincetown Bookshop
229 Commercial St., Provincetown • 508.487.0964 • provincetownbookshop.com
Tim’s Used Books
242 Commerical St., Provincetown • 508.487.0005
Womencrafts
376 Commercial St., Provincetown • 508.487.2501 • womencraftsptown.com
