Following Henry, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (#1)
In November 2018 I spent two weeks on the Outer Cape at the Truro Center for the Arts.
One intention was to reflect on Henry Thoreau's coastal observations that were published as "Cape Cod."
My goal as an artist-in-residence was to study the landscape and gather material with my camera. As a tourist, I was hoping for pleasant weather, random conversations, and some local seafood.
I had been surprised by Thoreau's descriptions of extreme ocean conditions, vast deserted beaches, and the human debris coughed up by shipwrecks. Although exploring the Concord woods with Thoreau was comfortably familiar, his essays in "Cape Cod" could be unnerving.
Thoreau's last sentence in Chapter 4 (The Beach) is unapologetic. He writes: "But I did not intend this for a sentimental journey."
I was following Henry but was thinking I would keep him at a reasonable distance.
Thoreau begins his story by describing the aftermath of a shipwreck in Cohasset, MA in Oct 1849. The ferry to Provincetown had been delayed and Thoreau took the opportunity to visit the destruction of the St. John from Galway with a death toll of 99. He walked the Cohasset shoreline strewn with the resulting debris, encountering those searching for salvage or bodies. Thoreau was to witness similar devastation on Fire Island, NY soon after in July 1850.
What was I hoping would come ashore on my outer Cape jaunt, and could I keep the shipwrecks at bay? I left my copy of Cape Cod in my SUV. I had work to do.
One intention was to reflect on Henry Thoreau's coastal observations that were published as "Cape Cod."
My goal as an artist-in-residence was to study the landscape and gather material with my camera. As a tourist, I was hoping for pleasant weather, random conversations, and some local seafood.
I had been surprised by Thoreau's descriptions of extreme ocean conditions, vast deserted beaches, and the human debris coughed up by shipwrecks. Although exploring the Concord woods with Thoreau was comfortably familiar, his essays in "Cape Cod" could be unnerving.
Thoreau's last sentence in Chapter 4 (The Beach) is unapologetic. He writes: "But I did not intend this for a sentimental journey."
I was following Henry but was thinking I would keep him at a reasonable distance.
Thoreau begins his story by describing the aftermath of a shipwreck in Cohasset, MA in Oct 1849. The ferry to Provincetown had been delayed and Thoreau took the opportunity to visit the destruction of the St. John from Galway with a death toll of 99. He walked the Cohasset shoreline strewn with the resulting debris, encountering those searching for salvage or bodies. Thoreau was to witness similar devastation on Fire Island, NY soon after in July 1850.
What was I hoping would come ashore on my outer Cape jaunt, and could I keep the shipwrecks at bay? I left my copy of Cape Cod in my SUV. I had work to do.
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Also in: Walden and Cape Cod
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