SEACOAST GALLERY

Look up and you'll see this week's header at the top of every web page. In a perfect world, that picture changes every Friday, or Monday -- or whenever we get to it. If you liked our first archived header collection, you'll go ape for this series. Okay, maybe you don't notice them at all. But we think it is amazing how scenic our little 18 mile seacoast is.

SEACOAST POEMS

Three men in a tent on the seacoast. Here is another of Whittier’s many poems about our coastal region. The words may be tough to follow, at first, but give it time. Read carefully – and aloud – and discover the universal message. We’ve paired this poem with some remarkable David Bros. Images from the same era, soon after the Civil War, when people needed a few days and nights of surf, and sand and contemplation.

SEACOAST BOOKS

Seacoast author Rodman Philbrick’s latest storyl is about tiny people – really tiny people. The "Tinycawlers" live on an island in Maine. The new book was commissioned by the Boston Globe. In this exclusive interview, the author of "Freak the Mighty" and nearly 40 other books brings us up to date with his latest work.

SEACOAST POETRY 

Two 19^th century poets tell the story of the same shipwreck at the Isles of Shoals. Celia Thaxter’s poem appears to purposely provide a female answer to the masculine tragedy by James Kennard. Here side-by-side for the first time, they offer contrasting views of a mysterious event in Seacoast history.

SEACOAST BOOKS

Once considered simply a footnote to history, the Russo-Japanese treaty, signed here in 1905, is building momentum. Scholars and students are taking a fresh look at exactly what happened in New Hampshire at the dawn of the 20^th century. This new volume offers another peak behind the curtain at the people who stopped war – with an eye toward how we might do the same again.

SEACOAST COOKBOOKS

Read yourself to good health? Not exactly. But it can’t hurt to hear what these two locally published cookbooks have to offer. Seacoast NH authors Allison Anneser and JoanStyrna offer simply prepared recipes for wholesome food in two new paperbacks. Step one, buy the books. Step two, eat food. Step three, live longer and feel better. Sounds easy enough.

NH FILMS

Bode Miller is all New Hampshire – opinionated, independent, hard-working, but just as determined to enjoy life. Okay, maybe he’s got a little California in him too. Independent filmmaker Bill Rogers has captured the Bode spirit and story in a documentary film. We couldn’t slow Bode down for an interview, but we got the next best thing.

SEACOAST POETRY

Forget the Grinch and Mr. Scrooge. The meanest cheapest man in the world is – or was – Lot Skinner. He was so cheap he would bite a raisin in half when weighing out a pound. Portsmouth-born poet James T. Fields went on to make his fortune in Boston. One has to wonder if Lot Skinner was fashioned on the owner of a Portsmouth grocery store.

SEACOAST BOOKS

No, this is not about Hurricane Katrina or the Bush administration. New England has its share of disasters too. "Disasters Etc." is a new book about codfishing, shipbuilding, sea captains, and maritime law in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Today it is a yachting capital, but there was a time when Marblehead was considered "backward, dirty and immoral". Click to more..

SEACOAST POETRY

When the elderly NH governor married his young housekeeper It was the Seacoast scandal of the 18^th century. Commoners simply did not mate with royalty in those days. The story was 100 years old when New England’s top romantic poet transformed it into verse. It appeared in his most famous collection, "Tales of a Wayside Inn" that also included the classic and often innaccurate poem about Paul Revere’s ride. Here is the complete Longfellow ballad.