A writer’s dream often includes the big book deal or the accolades from impressive foundations and institutions. I think deep down we all want that for our art. But it’s my hope and ambition to make my friends, the artists of the Southcoast, feel that same sense of pride and accomplishment right here at home.

If you are like most of us, the holidays – no matter how you may feel about them: good, bad, indifferent, annoyed – are disruptive to routines. Kids out of school, strange travel plans, loads of things we’re supposed to buy, or make, or events to attend.

In the late 1980s, I lived in Jefferson, NH, where I worked with an arsonist at the local family restaurant. Now before you get the wrong idea, I didn’t know he was an arsonist at the time. Heck, I sometimes wonder if even he knew, as he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. The actual infernal mastermind of the fires was the owner of one of two gas stations in town, who could often be seen sweeping microscopic pieces of fluff from the tarmac in front of his convenience store while wearing a pair of vintage Mickey Mouse ears.

The South Coast Almanac’s Walking Book Club walked their first anthology on Westport’s Gooseberry Island. Along the way we learned how about how a group of surfers successfully changed a local landmark’s name.

I find myself sitting, and staring, and delaying, and distracting, trying and failing, lost. I know exactly where I want to end up with my art but unsure of how to get there, bombarded on top of that with all the big and little challenges and wrongs that surround me. So when you are facing insurmountable odds, or many little evils, there are two ways to respond – through escapism or resistance.

While the state of Rhode Island is considered to have the largest concentration of stone walls in New England, Westport, MA, which borders Rhode Island, is said to rival adjacent Little Compton for the most stone walls in one town. Many of the stone walls in Westport were constructed in the early eighteenth century and have served as inspiration for artists and writers for generations.

Writers read from their anthology. Stewards of the land shared their stories. All spoke to the same theme.

Whether you seek a quiet haven on a hot summer day or wifi and a larger screen, library discovery is a fine onshore activity for cruisers. Sailing into a harbor brings you a different perspective on a town. The library tells you much about its history and character.

From the prompt “  “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” by Mary Oliver comes this beautiful story of the shrines we make in our lives to our memories, our experiences, and our loved ones.

Last month 88 people signed up to walk through a Mattapoisett salt marsh together. Along the way was a violinist from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. And then there was the book…

There’s a whole South Coast community of writers and we’re doing awesome things. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a one-stop shop for these community connections?

You never quite know what’s going to emerge at the monthly Westport Writers Group. And that’s a good thing!

A whole town writing together. Students at the school. People at the library. Customers buying scones at the local cafe. Writing about the seasons and about where they live.

How is creativity influenced by landscape?  How do artists of different genres see differently?

Let’s get the writers and the photographers together!

And we’ll showcase the landscapes that have kept us all sane throughout the pandemic lockdowns.