William Irvine, “The Resting Fishermen,” 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches. COURTESY: COURTHOUSE GALLERY FINE ART

Working Waterfront

William Irvine’s sleeping fishermen

“Although the painting is called ‘The Resting Fishermen,’” painter William Irvine explains via email, “they are actually asleep.” A trio of barefoot simply-clad men, eyes closed, lean against each other, their backs against a small shed set on a dock strewn with lobster traps, buoys, oars, nets, and rope, with… SEE MORE
A view of the harbor on Swan's Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Hearing stories of love and loss

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Being a “person from away” is not a new experience for me. I was born in the Southeast where my… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fraying family is unwanted ballast

Sailing at the Edge of Disaster: A Memoir of a Young Woman’s Daring Year By Elizabeth W. Garber, Toad Hall Editions (2022) Among the many weird things that were happening during the social upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s, one of the weirdest was the wholesale revolt of children against… SEE MORE