Arts and Letters

I had the great pleasure of hearing my friend Stephen Desroches read last week.  He’s been picked up by a great new gallery in Provincetown, the A Gallery, run by Adam and Marian Peck (also of the Adam Peck Gallery in Provincetown’s West End).  Adam and Marian are supporting a great group of local artists and writers, bringing back the tradition of art galleries showcasing and publishing written works as well as visual arts.

Steve read a beautiful piece of literary non-fiction entitled "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?", both very funny and very moving.  It was a packed house and his reading, as always, was beautifully done.  Congratulations, Steve!!  For those of you who missed it, do not fear.  You can get a chap-book style copy of the piece with photographs here.

In the story, Steve returns to his youth at a time when he was cast as Jesus in the Easter pageant at his church and when his family was dealing with his mother's breast cancer diagnosis.  The story is skillfully structured, managing the emotion without sentimentality and using a wicked sense of humor to balance the whole.  A pleasure to read and to hear.

While you are browsing the A Gallery, be sure to check out Chris Sousa’s work.  He is an artist who has lived in Ptown for many years and who is building a great career.  His work is exquisite and truly speaks for itself.  Beautiful figures, delineated musculature heightened by shadowy light, something compelling yet unsettling about the composition.  Definitely worth spending some time with him.

Both of these guys are worth watching and waiting for their next move!