‘Vineyard Folk’ celebrates the human landscape of the Island
There should be a warning on the cover of Tamara Weiss, Amanda Benchley, and Elizabeth Cecil’s new book, “Vineyard Folk: Creative People and Places of Martha’s Vineyard,” that reads, “Not just a gorgeous coffee...
A tour de force for our times
Spring into summer with a romp through a lineup of famous English poets imitated, in an act of homage, by former Kent State professor David R. Ewbank, to the tune of “Mary Had a...
Poet’s Corner: ‘Spring Tankas’
Spring Tankas
By Ellie Bates
vernal equinox
daffodils forsythia
medicine of hope
sunlight warms our heavy hearts
we deserve this change from fear
gold ranunculus
crowded petals like turbans
sit on green stalks
turn their heads in a warm breeze
bow to us as we...
Around the Writers’ Table
While trying to decide on what to write for this week’s Writer’s Table, I received an email from Walker Ryan, a professional skateboarder and the author of two novels, “Top of Mason” and “Off...
‘The Half Moon’ illustrates a marriage in crisis
“The Half Moon: A Novel '' in the title of part-time Vineyarder Mary Beth Keane’s new novel is not in the night sky, but the bar in the small town of Gillam. It is...
Poet’s Corner: ‘Greetings from the Vineyard’
Greetings from the Vineyard
By Fran Schumer
I’m on my island,
you’re on yours
on the 31st floor
of building three —
The Coleridge.
Forgive me if I say
you are the albatross
around my neck
as I once was around yours.
You worried about...
It’s always the right time for ‘A Vineyard Season’
I’m always thrilled to review Jean Stone’s books in her Vineyard series. They are like chowing down on a tasty meal, and “A Vineyard Season” doesn’t disappoint. As always, Stone spins a great yarn...
‘A Border Town in Poland: A 20th Century Memoir’
“A Border Town in Poland: A 20th Century Memoir,” by Hirsch Bieler, as told to Nora Jean and Michael H. Levin, is an intimate look at the circuitous, five-decade-long journey of survival for Hirsch...
Poet’s Corner: ‘The countdown’
The countdown
By Donald Nitchie
These are the days we counted
down to summer, sliding sweat
off upper lips with the
backs of our hands.
The second hand swam
up its side of the clock
but it wasn’t time.
Summer beckoned
from the end...
Around the Bookstore: Oprah’s 100th pick
For many authors, being named as the choice for Oprah’s Book Club is akin to winning an Oscar — a validation, a burst of authorial stardust in a literary career. Since 1996, Oprah has...
Announcing the 5-Minute Book Bite
By Mathew Tombers’ count, there are over 200 books written by Vineyard-connected authors currently on the shelves of Edgartown Books. Tombers is the manager of the bookstore, and has been hosting frequent author signings...
Two stories, one novel
There are two interweaving storylines in Islander Kate Hancock’s new young adult novel, “Sea Change,” which, since it takes place on the Vineyard, has lots of local flavor. The tale opens with a bang...
Poet’s Corner: ‘The fisherman’s daughter’
The fisherman's daughter
By Jonathan Burke
A daughter fishes
with her father
on the waters
of the Lagoon.
She wears
orange bibs
wool sweater
and hat
rubber boots
and gloves
as does he.
They are out
on the pond
in the bare light
of the sky.
The scalloper
is caught
and turned
in the...
Love and desperation
Hanna Halperin’s second novel, “I Could Live Here Forever,” fearlessly delves into powerlessness in the face of addiction. Ostensibly it is about the main character Leah’s intense relationship with the questionably recovering heroin addict...
Poet’s Corner: Nancy Aronie
By Nancy Aronie
I look at you like
you’re a crossword puzzle
and I can’t get one clue
How did this happen
that two people so different
so wrong for each other
fit as if God herself
used a celestial bandsaw
and made...
Secrets then and now
We’ve gotten so accustomed to broadcasting the details of our lives across various social media platforms that it’s getting hard to recall that our private lives were once indeed private, by design and by...
What’s past is present
Memory is a tricky thing. It can be fluid … remembering is not an objective, static act. Noted author, literary scholar, and seasonal Islander Rubin Suleiman’s “Daughter of History: Traces of an Immigrant Girlhood”...
Around the Writers’ Table
I recently received an email from a writer I know asking me to subscribe to his Substack. Then a second request came from another writer, who also has a Substack. I ignored both these...
Poet’s Corner: ‘Sunrise over Chilmark’
Sunrise over Chilmark
By Valerie Sonnenthal
I rise up from the warmth of flannel
crisp spring morning no frost
light as full as heaven
but when that golden eye
heats the horizon
blinds through branches
cracks across high blades of yellowed grass
touches...
First love, then loss
Pushing the limits of human endurance, free divers can hold their breath for terrifyingly long times, more than 24 minutes. But what if a human could actually breathe underwater? In “At Sea,” Emma Fedor’s...