Arts & Entertainment
At the open air market in Oak Bluffs last Sunday, Billy O’Callaghan sat in a lawn chair at the back of his tent crafting a small gray whale out of clay. A woman moseyed into his tent and examined the small clay figurines and the charming driftwood furniture. “These are fantastic,” she exclaimed. “Just beautiful.” The artist, an Irishman with graying hair and kind blue eyes, nodded in appreciation. A construction worker by trade, Mr. O’Callaghan has lived on the Island for 26 years.
Baa Baa for Red Cross
On August 21 the Black Sheep on North Summer street in Edgartown is hosting a fundraiser for the Red Cross of the Cape and Islands. What the Black Sheep does best is food and wine, (to stroll through the store is like taking an edible tour of France), and their goodies will be in great abundance.
The first pairing of the evening will be three cheeses along with three crisp white wines. The second pairing will be three charcuterie paired with three summer reds.
It all begins with the drum circle. At first it’s just a few folks sitting behind their drums, striking the beat ever so softly. But the scene is being set at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs and quickly it begins to build as the audience streams in, no need for money or tickets, not on this night.
Music, poetry and sharks.
It’s not a frequent combination, but on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Martha’s Vineyard poet laureate Lee H. McCormack will read a poem at JawsFest to draw attention to the plight of sharks and to protect aquatic ecosystems. The anticipated audience exceeds 5,000 people, which would rank this event the most attended poetry reading in Island history.
Mr. McCormack will be joined by Wendy Benchley, widow of Jaws author Peter Benchley, who is president of the Board of Shark Savers.
How does one end up writing a book about a star child? For that matter, what is a star child?
Author Kay Goldstein was wondering the same thing a few years ago when she started writing the first pages of her newly released novel, Star Child, a process which caused her to delve into the depths of human experience.
Pulitzer prize-winning poet Jorie Graham has been coming to the Vineyard for thirty years. She often derives inspiration from the natural beauty of the Island.
“Perhaps my poems, if I am lucky, can awaken in [readers] a renewed relationship with the natural world which they can take with them into their lives...” she said.
