Description

The 3,000-acre swath of boulder-strewn land that makes up the center of Cape Ann has been known as Dogtown for generations.?Many artists have been intrigued and inspired by it’s unique and changing landscape including Marsden Hartley, Louise Upton Brumback, Jan Matulka, Stuart Davis, John Sloan, and Helen Stein. More recently contemporary artists Ed Touchette, Gabrielle Barzaghi, and Les Bartlett have felt the pull of Dogtown just as earlier artists did. 

Along-side their visual counterparts, writers have also flocked to tell the stories of the area including Jonathan Bayliss, Kitty Parsons, Percy Mackaye, Charles E. Mann, Roger Babson, Britta Karlberg, Anita Diamant, Mark Carlotto, Charles Olson, and James R. Scrimgeour. In this CAMTalk, Trenton Carls, CAM’s Head Librarian & Archivist, and Leon Doucette, CAM’s Assistant Curator will discuss the impact that Dogtown has had on Cape Ann’s artistic and literary landscape.

During the event, two contemporary local poets will read original work inspired by Dogtown: Suellen Wedmore, a CAM Docent, and Heidi Wakeman, a Board Member of the Gloucester Writer's Center.