Russell Steven Powell

EUPHORIA, June. (Russell Steven Powell)

THE 18 HISTORIC SHACKS scattered across a five-mile stretch of the Cape Cod National Seashore are the subject of a documentary, a book of poetry and photography, and a series of published journal entries and artwork made in the dunes.

They will all be available this Sunday, February 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Brook Hollow Press’s table at the 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗮𝗿, 92 Race Street, Holyoke.

The poetry and photography collection SEASON OF DREAMS by Jonathan A. Wright was mostly written during a two-week, late-spring residency in a dune shack. The work details the unique experience of time alone at the edge of the world. 

SHACK TIME is a 27-minute video documentary about the artist shacks in the dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Produced by Russell Steven Powell, Shack Time features rare photographs by Walker Evans and of Jack Kerouac, interviews with several shack owners, and writers Annie Dillard and Cynthia Huntington reading from their work. Shack Time was chosen for the 2001 New England Film and Video Festival and aired regionally on WGBH-TV in Boston.

“Living in the Dunes” is the final chapter of Powell’s book, FEELING THE HEAT. Its nine journal essays, written while living in a shack, are accompanied by Powell’s watercolors, pencil sketches, prints, and photographs of the dunes. 

Powell has visited the shacks off and on since 1984, including an Outer Cape Artist Residency Program in 2013. To see more of his artwork from the dunes, visit Dune paintings.

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THE RACE STREET BAZAAR features books, artwork, vinyl, toys, new and used clothing, collectibles, housewares, and more every Sunday through February in the large music hall at Gateway City Arts. 

Judd’s Restaurant will be open for Sunday brunch next door, also from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To get to Gateway City Arts, take Exit 15 on I-91 and head straight down the hill on Route 141 East for 2.5 miles.

Gateway City Arts is just beyond the Children’s Museum, in the heart of Holyoke’s historic canal district, within walking distance of Holyoke’s Train Station. 

There is free on-street parking, and Gateway City’s Bistro will be open for coffee, tea, soda, snacks, and pastries. 

Visit gatewaycityarts.com for more information and a schedule of events.

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CHRISTINE COPELAND, whose watercolors illustrate her children’s books Seasons in the Forest and Have You Seen the Ghost of John? (a Readers’ Choice award winner), and Russell Steven Powell, whose books include America’s Apple, Apples of New England, My Interview with James Baldwin, and Molly’s 17 Rules for Living, will greet people and sign books at Brook Hollow Press’s table this Sunday. 

Powell will have a number of watercolors in sizes ranging from 9×12 to 12×16, beginning as low as $125.

Brook Hollow’s table will also feature signed copies of the poetry volumes After the Rain and Season of Dreams, by Jonathan A. Wright, and his book, Living Building Makers, which tells the story of the building of the revolutionary R. W. Kern Center on the Hampshire College campus.

Credit cards accepted.

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BROOK HOLLOW PRESS publishes quality books across genres that are rooted in New England people, landscapes, and culture. 

Based in western Massachusetts, Brook Hollow Press features books by and about New England (especially the Connecticut River watershed region), with an emphasis on environmentalism and the arts.

Brook Hollow Press is named for a meandering section of the Mill River in Hatfield, Massachusetts, which winds its way to the Connecticut River through forest, meadow, and flood plain.

Learn more at brookhollowpress.org