GLOUCESTER ENCOUNTERS
Essays on the Cultural History of the City 1623–2023

An informed, opinionated anthology of original essays at the City's 400th Anniversary


Edited by Martin Ray

First published November 2022
Second printing March 2023

Softcover, 276 pages
Fully illustrated, featuring over 150 original and historic photos, maps, and documents

Retail: $30.00

Featuring contributions by: John Ronan, Mark Carlotto, Linda Brayton, Lise Breen, Erik Ronnberg, Peter Anastas, Martin Ray, Charles Nazarian, Gordon Baird, Paul Cary Goldberg, Jim Seavey, Susan Erony, Leslie Bartlett, Susanna Natti, Prudence Fish, Elizabeth Enfield, Dan Greenbaum, Gene Martin, The Bell Family, Mike Costello, Paul Lundberg, Adam Curcuru, Ron Morin, Jane Peck, Patti Amaral, David Wise, Jonathan Pope, Regina Cole, Sharron Cohen, John Christie, Janda Ricci-Munn and Michelle Carrancho, Marc Levy, Russell Sherman, Gail McCarthy, and Ken Riaf

Praise for Gloucester Encounters

What an amazing collection of stories and insights into one of the most famous fishing ports in the world. It’s a world that is so rich, authentic and colorful that one can dip in on almost any page and be captivated.
Sebastian Junger
Author of The Perfect Storm

A kaleidoscopic view of Gloucester as it celebrates 400 years as a settlement, town, and city...the landscape, the seascape, and especially the people: fishermen, artists, merchants, immigrants, slave-owners, freedom fighters, quarry workers, and the Native people who were here before.
Anita Diamant
Author of The Red Tent, Good Harbor, and The Last Days of Dogtown

This collection of essays on Gloucester’s 400-year history and culture is like the seabreeze stirring the city’s essence to life. Its celebration of local writers is a revelation of the unique, rich sense of place that makes this ancient seaport the wonder that it is and will hopefully remain for generations to come.
Elyssa East
Author of Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town

Gloucester Encounters Book Launch

Held at the Cape Ann Museum, November 19, 2022
View recording on Vimeo