Recent Posts

An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays

Siasconset Ghosts

She had come down to open the house for the summer, again.

When the boys were younger, they had all come down over spring break to take the shrouds off of the chairs, stock the pantry, and restart the water and the electricity. Her husband, Benjamin, was a marvelous Professor of Economics and a force to be dealt with in the Faculty Senate, but he was not particularly handy. A degree in economics and a hand full of thumbs meant that he tried to turn the water on himself, broke something, and she always called a plumber to make sure it was done right.

Nantucket Events

Geschke Series Inspires Discussion & Thought

The Nantucket Atheneum has a long history of bringing distinguished people to Nantucket Island to speak. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Horace Greeley, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass are among those who lectured in the Great Hall of the Atheneum during years long past. Around the turn of this […]

Dune
Featured Restaurants

Choose Your Own Adventure

Those who like to go down a road less traveled should make reservations to dine at Dune, in the heart of downtown Nantucket at 20 Broad Street.

When chef-owner Michael Getter opened Dune in 2009, after working for decades in the Nantucket culinary scene and as a wine pro, word quickly spread about his superb, innovative cuisine featuring fresh seasonal ingredients. Now, 15 years later, Chef Getter and his talented team are still serving some of the best food on Nantucket in preparations that make every meal a fun culinary adventure.

Nantucket Events, Nantucket History & People

The Magical Realism of Katherine Howe

Every June, the Nantucket Book Festival brings together readers and authors in a celebration of the written word. Over the years, this weekend event has welcomed to our island hundreds of well-known authors including Alice Hoffman, Dennis Lehane, Tiya Miles, Marlon James, Jodi Picoult, Sebastian Junger, Imani Perry, Hernan Diaz, Jennifer Weiner, Charles Graeber, Isabel Wilkerson, James McBride, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, and Azar Nafisi. The Book Fest also showcases Nantucket writers: Nathaniel Philbrick, Elin Hilderbrand, James Sulzer, Nancy Thayer, Steve Sheppard, and Gabrielle Burnham have made appearances. Kwame Alexander, Margaret Atwood, Erik Larson are among the more than 20 authors who will speak at the 2024 Festival held this Thursday through Sunday.

Theatre Workshop of Nantucket Cast of Sense & Sensibility
Nantucket Arts, Nantucket Entertaining, Nantucket Events

Sensational Adaptation

Lively and entertaining with a dash of lunacy: Theatre Workshop of Nantucket’s current production is playwright Kate Hamill’s playful version of Sense and Sensibility.

This theatrical adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel is a contemporary take on navigating love, loss, and societal expectations in 18th-century England. Hamill’s script gets to the heart of the story while bringing a fresh and energetic perspective to this very well-known comedy of manners.

Stand by Me
Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

Stand by Me

There’s a scene at the start of the fantastic 1986 movie “Stand By Me” where Richard Dreyfuss is sitting in his car, trying to come to terms with the death of one of his childhood buddies. As this character looks up from the newspaper article that had delivered the bad news, he sees two kids who look about thirteen pedaling by on their bikes. We see the Dreyfuss character immediately taken back in time, back to that age, back with his neighborhood gang. It’s a poignant moment that starts this brilliant coming-of-age movie (based on the Stephen King novella The Body).

An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

You’ll Need a Bookcase

I can’t buy a decent bookcase. If I want, I can get one on Wayfair or from Ikea that looks like a bookcase, but the shelves won’t hold anything heavier than a take out meal. I can find one created by a craftsman made of walnut and sturdy enough to hold the Harvard Library in leatherbond, but the bill is roughly what you would pay for a used Toyota. And it won’t buy the groceries.

lone star tick
Island Science

Ticks on the Hunt

I first encountered Lone Star ticks on Tuckernuck Island in 2015. I had one adult female hitchhike back to Nantucket on me, and I reported it to Tick Report. At the time, it was only the second report from Nantucket, with many more known from Tuckernuck Island. Of course, birds fly easily from one island to another, and deer swim. It was just a matter of time before Nantucket and all of its available habitat became the next place for Lone Star ticks to populate.