Literary Tourism: Provincetown, Massachusetts

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Eileen's superior literate emotion is comic books, but she’s ever connected the lookout for her adjacent literate escapade nary substance what signifier it takes. She has a Bachelor's successful media studies, a Master's successful integer communication, a smattering of published abbreviated stories, and a earnestly cute dog. Follow her connected Tumblr and Twitter.

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In 1620, earlier landing astatine what would go Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Mayflower colonizers stopped successful Provincetown Harbor, located connected the precise extremity of Cape Cod. There, they signed the Mayflower Compact, laying the “ground rules” for their colony. Two years later, immoderate of the colonists would constitute Mourt’s Relation, an relationship of their travel from England to Provincetown to Plymouth. This was the first, but decidedly not the last, clip Provincetown would marque a large interaction connected literate history.

The adjacent large improvement came successful 1898 aft Provincetown had been decimated by a convulsive storm. Desperate for income, galore residents were gladsome erstwhile creator Charles Webster Hawthorne decided to spot his Cape Cod School of Art there, bringing successful his creator friends and tons of business. Since then, Provincetown has been a haven for artists, writers, and activists of each kinds, from Norman Mailer and Eugene O’Neill (whose archetypal play was produced here) to Susan Glaspell and Mary Heaton Vorse.

I would beryllium remiss if I did not besides item Ptown’s narration with the LGBT+ community. One of America’s most gay-friendly cities, Provincetown has been a haven for queer tourists and creatives alike for decades.

For today’s variation of Literary Tourism, I’m going to instrumentality you done galore of the bookish places to spot successful Provincetown’s historical district. If you’re a queer publication lover, you could hardly find a amended spot to travel!

Bookish Sites

Writers person surely near their people successful this historical town, arsenic evidenced by the sites below.

Authors’ Homes

As I said, Provincetown has a agelong past of welcoming writers and different originative types, including Eugene O’Neill and John Dos Passos. You’d deliberation that determination would beryllium astatine slightest 1 location preserved arsenic it was erstwhile these writers were surviving there, but that does not look to beryllium the case. There are lone a mates of plaques commemorating their erstwhile homes, arsenic good arsenic the theatre wherever O’Neill’s archetypal play, “Bound East for Cardiff,” was performed.

I ne'er made it acold capable down Commercial Street to spot the plaques myself, but you tin work astir them and see pictures here. Also, the Provincetown Museum has respective displays dedicated to the place’s literate history.

Fine Arts Work Center

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

Whether you’re a photographer, painter, poet, sculptor, writer, oregon immoderate different benignant of artist, you tin astir apt find a summertime store that fits your needs astatine the Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC). Once you be a workshop, you volition beryllium eligible to motion up for residencies successful the outpouring and fall, if you request a small quiescent clip to signifier your craft.

According to their website, FAWC was founded successful 1968 and is dedicated to “provid[ing] clip and abstraction to emerging artists and writers astatine crucial, aboriginal phases of their careers.” In accordance with their ngo of art, FAWC has respective bookish amenities onsite, including a library, a bookstore, and a array of escaped books successful the machine lab.

Provincetown Library

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

Formerly a church, the Provincetown Library is location to some books and a half-size exemplary of a schooner. If you are lucky, you volition beryllium told immoderate of this past by a resistance queen lasting successful beforehand of the room successful a pinkish princess formal and matching umbrella.

One of Ptown’s Little Free Libraries lives present arsenic good (check the bottommost of the representation above, to the close of the stairs).

Bookstores

Want to prime up a publication portion successful Ptown? Definitely not a problem!

East End Books

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

This cute store besides supplies the books for FAWC’s on-site bookstore. It has an full support dedicated to books astir the Cape.

Provincetown Bookshop

Exterior of a airy bluish bookshop with a woody motion featuring an owl hanging to the right

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

The oldest bookstore successful municipality (founded successful 1932), Provincetown Bookshop besides has a support of books astir and/or acceptable successful the area. There are a lot, arsenic you whitethorn imagine! I besides excavation the small owl connected the store sign.

Tim’s Used Books

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

Set acold backmost from Commercial Street; you entree Tim’s by walking on a shady way that includes a greenery-covered arbor. Inside you’ll find a full houseful of rooms lined with bookshelves (sometimes adjacent the shelves are lined with shelves). Every clip you deliberation you’ve seen it all, you find different book-filled country tucked distant with adjacent much hidden treasures for you to discover.

Womencrafts

Photo by Eileen Gonzalez

Described by my usher representation arsenic “one of the fewer feminist bookshops successful the country,” Womencrafts specializes successful books by and astir women of each kinds, including queer and disabled women. I particularly liked the Post-Its they placed connected definite caller releases, informing shoppers that, say, this publication has a lesbian character, oregon that 1 was written by a trans woman.

Books About Provincetown

From nonfiction similar Susan Baker’s The History of Provincetown to fabrication similar John Preston’s Franny, the Queen of Provincetown, determination is surely nary shortage of books retired determination astir this beautiful, active, amusive town. Maybe they’re not arsenic overmuch amusive arsenic roaming Ptown yourself, but they’re the adjacent champion thing!

Check retired our Literary Tourism tag for much awesome bookish abrogation spots!

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