Provincetown Public Library Blog

Photo of the fishing fleet about 1915 with navy ships behind them and Long Point in the background.

September 25, 2020Photo by Suzann Heron Tracks in the AfternoonA Poem by Marylou Mansfield Warmth of pure sunny dayreigned royal over the bay.Trail was soft, dryfrom the sun’s direction,extending an afternooninto early evening.Tracks indented,gave no clues.What was I...

Photo of house being moved from Johnson Street to Beach Point in 1905.

September 18, 2020Photo by Sandra Delzotti ChofuA Poem by Hilde Oleson Yes, listen to the wind. Softly it caresses new born leaves. It whispers in the ears of humans, Deaf as the stones to whom it has been speaking long.  So stones, ground down to sand, have much to...

Photo taken at Brown's Bathing Beach in 1910. From a scrapbook of Althea Boxell.

September 11, 2020Photo by Clayton Nottleman A Poem by Frank Milby My pear treeand the maple have grown oldthey touch their branchesI wonder if they talk at allor just share a quiet togethernessas their leaves search the sunand their shadows lie side by side To submit...

Photo taken in 1900 by John R. Smith of the original Race Point Light House and other buildings on the site dating back to 1816

September 4, 2020Photo by Cass Benson Summer's EndA Poem by Mark S. Peel As the hot, muggy evenings diminish,as the slow, sultry days expire,as the notes of red, yellow and orange appearbefore the Impressionist green leaf collages turn on fire,  remember the...

Remains of the buried forest near the end of Snail Road, taken by John R. Smith in 1900.

August 28, 2020Photo by Jamie Demetriou A Poem by Jamie Demetriou Like a sniper, I keep my weapon with me at all timesStealthy I look to shoot, to stop, to stealI keep my prize, that frozen piece of timeAnd then I look againThe time stampWhat I was remembering,...

Photo of a "beach biggie" in the Provincetown dunes circa 1955. Photo found in one of the many of scrapbooks of Althea Boxell.

August 21, 2020Photo by Jim Cornell Setting of the New MoonA Poem by Jan Kelly Oh, backwards she goesLeaving Jupiter above herHe in the skyShe, to the seaPregnant once again.  To submit your own photo or poem, email Assistant Library Director Brittany Taylor...

Photo of the Joshua Stickney Nickerson Whale Oil plant near Herring Cove, Race Point in 1890.

August 14, 2020Photo by Jason Brown Someone SaidA Poem by Tim Bosworth Someone saidpeople write poemsfor others. Me, not.I don’t Care about others. But they canlisten in.If they want To submit your own photo or poem, email Assistant Library Director Brittany Taylor at...

A postcard showing the tending of fishnets in 1965.

August 7, 2020Photo by Karen Elliot On the BeachA Poem by Neil Silberblatt The wind was howling this morning,as it is wont to do.So, of course, I howled backas I am want of mind. We went at this, the wind and I,for half an hour,exchanging blows.Each trying to get in...

Spreading nets at the George O. Knowles Wharf circa 1907. David Conwell Wharf can be seen on the right. Both wharves are now gone.

July 31, 2020Photo by Linda Ohlson Graham Edges of a DreamA Poem by Marylou Mansfield Chills from night airinvite a second blanket,drawn and tuckedaround the desire to sleep. A lazy settling into bedded impressions,foster imagery to form and filter the body. As one’s...

1900 postcard of the Pilgrim House, the oldest hotel in town. 

July 24, 2020Photo by Stephen Borkowski UntitledA Poem by Hilde Oleson Here comes the day. The dark sky is moving over.  Light is moving in, My brain stirs too. I feel you, life, even though I do now know my destiny. I feel a push, a thrust, a drag of my reluctant...

Photo from about 1880 before Freeman Street was built,. J.D. Hilliard's store on the right. 

July 17, 2020Photo by Jim Cornell HummingbirdA Poem by Jim Cornell Have you ever tried toPhotograph a hummingbirdIn flightIt flits, and jibs and jabsJumps and dipsy do’s Sometimes to the eyesAlso, to the lensFour wings appear to helpIt hover thereA buzzing from...

Cesco's Italian Restaurant and garden in 1920.

July 10, 2020Photo by Krasimira Banova Wild SideA Poem by Katharyn Howd Machan Off the straight and narrow.Outside the crayon lines.Dancing far beyond the darkletters of loud one-way signs.Up on a stage, glitter high heels clickingagainst a gasp that contains and...