Provincetown Public Library Blog

Photo and a Poem: January 15, 2021
January 15, 2021Photo by Stephen Borkowski Curious ConsiderationsA Poem by Marylou Mansfield Day breaks on a rain soaked day.Wind begins to fluster treetops.The fury of it allremains at bay,promising to consumesoon enough. Mind and bodymove in slow...

Provincetown History in Photos: January 13, 2021
Undated photograph of Fritz Bultman in his studio.

New York Times Best Sellers
COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK FICTIONTHE DUKE AND I by Julia QuinnTHE VANISHING HALF by Brit BennettHUSH-HUSH by Stuart WoodsTHE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. SchwabTHE LAW OF INNOCENCE by Michael Connelly COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK NONFICTIONA PROMISED LAND by...

Photo and a Poem: January 8, 2021
January 8, 2021Photo by Jamie Demetriou A Poem by Jamie Demetriou And it is at the time of nightshade thatI am truly alone with my thoughtsAnd in my thoughts are always ofconnection, then gratitude followsHere in this place I have been shown actsof kindness,...

Provincetown History in Photos: January 6, 2021
Undated picture of ice flows near Captain Jack's wharf

Photo and a Poem: January 1, 2021
January 1, 2021Photo by Krasimira Banova CharacterA Poem by Rob Taylor Each pond, with its place in the woods, holds distinct layout and character, where especially in winter, with no one visible, a unique...

Provincetown History in Photos: December 30, 2020
Black & white photograph of Provincetown Harbor believed to be taken in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Photo and a Poem: December 25, 2020
December 25, 2020Photo by Karen Elliot HolidaysA Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The holiest of all holidays are those Kept by ourselves in silence and apart; The secret anniversaries of the heart, When the full river of feeling overflows;—The happy days...

Provincetown History in Photos: December 23, 2020
Black and white photo of a 1958 winter view of the center of town Commercial Street looking east showing people, cars and building fronts; The Seamen's Bank Building on the left at the intersection of Ryder Street and Commercial Street and the steeple of the Center...

Photo and a Poem: December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020Photo by James Cornell Christmas CactusA Poem by James Cornell Our Christmas CactusBurst into bloom todayThree days before ThanksgivingIt has always likedTo strut its stuffA full month beforeIts naming dayThis hardy plantNearly a decade oldLoves to...

Provincetown History in Photos: December 16, 2020
1930 postcard featuring the "new State road" through the dunes to the tip of Cape Cod.

Photo and a Poem: December 11, 2020
December 11, 2020Photo by Clayton Nottleman Adjusting to the LightA Poem by Tim Bosworth I like to watch movies, That I’ve never seen nor heard of before.I saw one today, in it was readA poem about the dark.About adjusting your eyes to it.And what you see after you...

Provincetown History in Photos: December 9, 2020
A photo of the frozen pans of fish inside Provincetown's Consolidated Cold Storage plant in 1920.

Nan’s New Mystery Highlights
Nan’s New Mystery Highlights Many of you know that I read for comfort and escape, so of course I read LOTS of mysteries. Here are the new mysteries I’m most looking forward to as 2020 ends. The Art of Violence by S.J. Rozan. Latest in one of my favorite series,...

Photo and a Poem: December 4, 2020
December 4, 2020Photo by Krasimira Banova The GiftA Poem by Hilde Oleson In my hand I hold the world. I hold my hopes, my conquered fears, my dreams. Safely ensconced in a plastic bag, lying still, shining bright The tiniest of shells Are refugees from a turbulent...

Provincetown History in Photos: December 2, 2020
Ice in Provincetown Harbor in 1918.

Photo and a Poem: November 27, 2020
November 27, 2020Photo by Karen Elliot TimeA Poem by Mark S. Peel It used to be slowly.You never thought of its speed because of how busy You were except at holidays or when on vacation. Important dates seemed properly separated, Normally distant year to yearAs...

Provincetown History in Photos: November 25, 2020
Photo from 1944 showing all that remains of the Cape Cod Oil Works with the Pilgrim Monument in the distance.

Photo and a Poem: November 20, 2020
November 20, 2020 Photo by Stephen Borkowski BENEATHA Poem by Marylou Mansfield Somedays─ Somedays─ I wander the soundless,darkenedcatacombsstretched beneathmy senses,my realities,my dreamslike one pursuedby unknown entities,ghostly shadowsof what could...

Nan’s New Book Highlights
Here are some great, new memoirs and biographies to read while you’re waiting for Obama’s: The Dead Are Arising by Les Payne – Brilliant biography of Malcolm X, leader of the Nation of Islam and powerful Black activist. Available as an eBook on OverDrive. The...

Provincetown History in Photos: November 18, 2020
A photo, circa 1930, showing the Commercial St. side of Annie Boxell's (the mother of Althea Boxell, who amassed a large amount of scrapbooks) house, later the MacMillan house which was once used as a barracks for soldiers on Long Point.

Photo and a Poem: November 13, 2020
November 13, 2020 Photo by Christine Steckel MomentA Poem by Christine Steckel November’s greatcoatFlung across seawall and sandAs covered boats strainAgainst their taut tethered linesAnd gulls on the updraft ride To submit your own photo or poem, email Assistant...

Provincetown History in Photos: November 11, 2020
Black and white photo of store front appears to be on the harbor side of Commercial Street, heavily decorated with patriotic bunting. c. 1890

Photo and a Poem: November 6, 2020
November 6, 2020 Photo by Jane Weismann I love languageA Poem by Tim Bosworth I love languageJust 26 little letters bring the world to me. Its metaphors transport me.Its adjectives describe everything.Its stresses hold me.Its similes liken me.Its verbs move...

Provincetown History in Photos: November 4, 2020
The Battleship Vermont in Provincetown Harbor in 1930.

Photo and a Poem: October 30, 2020
October 30, 2020Photo by Sandra Delzotti A Poem by Edgar Allan Poe and Skip Parker Late at night dark and drearyLying awake weak and wearyThere came a knocking at my door‘Twas only Julie from Baltimore To submit your own photo or poem, email Assistant Library...

Un Progetto Speciale di Khristine Hopkins: A Staff Review of Italian Movies – Part 13
Zeffirelli’s La Traviata Poet Mark Doty has said, "If art's acceptable evidence, mustn't what lies behind the world be at least as beautiful as the human voice?" If you are unconvinced by that question, Franco Zeffirelli's magnificent production of the great Giuseppe...

Provincetown History in Photos: October 28, 2020
Horses on the Peaked Hill dunes 1977

Photo and a Poem: October 23, 2020
October 23, 2020Photo by Krasimira Banova Sunset at Mayflower BeachA Poem by Neil Silberblatt The burst of applause at the end -like an ovation after love making -threw me.It was not as though he was seeking any, thoughhe richly deserved it. Like Archie Rice at the...

Provincetown History in Photos: October 21, 2020
Photo of painters in the dunes of Peaked Hilled - 1977