The Work Center is as good a place to write and paint today as it was when I was a Fellow-but that is only one of the
reasons Nancy and I come back. It has meant a huge amount to me to reconnect to the Work Center the last several Septembers as a Returning Fellow-to be a part of the
community again that served me so well when I was a younger writer, to reconnect with Provincetown, to spend time again with writers and artists we have known over the years and to meet other writers and artists who have been at FAWC in different eras.
Certainly the Work Center has changed since my time as a Fellow-for one thing it has expanded, and it's far more flush-and Provincetown has changed, too, also far more flush (if only we could have kept pace). But the essence of both FAWC and Provincetown remains a solid vein running from back then to now. Thus the freshness of change is part of our returning, along with the expected familiarity and
nostalgia. This combination, and the work we're able to get done, is why we make an effort each year to manipulate
complicated schedules so we can keep on coming back.
Ben Brooks Writing Fellow 1975-1977
Jeanne and I have returned three times since our first stay at the Work Center in 1995. We always leave with a pile of poems, notes, drawings, and a resolution to simplify our lives, which slowly wears off until we come up again for another booster shot. We like the feel of the place, the look of the town, and the people we meet. It's wonderfully conducive to work. Many thanks to all who help make it possible.
Peter Meinke Senior Fellow 1995
The Open
Watching Steffi beat Monica on t
v at Fat Jack's in Provincetown I was
seized with an urge as I sometimes am to
write a syllabic poem on the spot which
was none too clean and packed to the gills with
elbows and shrimp Hey Sparky I yelled to
the bartender you got a pen? Sure he
said knowing my propensities make it
ten syllables a line Well why not I
said but on the other hand why? Because
look this is the tenth game of the third set
Sparky said so I smoothed out the napkin
While the crowd screamed You can do it! And wrote
Watching Steffi beat Monica on t
Peter Meinke
From Zinc Fingers, University of Pittsburgh Press
Returning Residencies
Like nature, the Fine Arts Work Center abhors a
vacuum. There is never an empty moment, no
fallow interlude following the Fellowships. In May, June, and September, between the Winter Fellowship Program and the Summer Workshop Program, the Work Center invites former Fellows back to participate in the Returning Residency Program. For a modest fee, former Fellows can return to apartments and studios to renew both their work and their relationship to Provincetown.
During these in-between months, the hectic pace of the summer schedule and the burning intensity of the Winter Fellowship Program mellow and fade. The advantage is that everyone who participates in the Returning Residency Program has stayed at the Work Center before; they know the lay of the land and what to expect. Their expectations are simple-a measure of time removed from the bustle and worry of everyday life, a brief period that brings them back to what they care most about, their work and the community that supports them in their endeavors.
All former Winter Fellows and those who received residencies through other Work Center-related
programs are eligible to participate. All Returning Residencies are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and are subject to space and time availability.
