The Washashores, a collection of short stories by Provincetown author R. D. Skillings.

These 12 engaging tales are set in Provincetown in the ’60’s and ’70’s.  The realities of the Vietnam War bear down even on those who’ve tried to escape, arriving with a few possessions and the vague hope of an artist’s life on this narrow stretch of sand. Joints and lovers are passed from hand to hand and the dancing at Piggy’s reaches a frenzied pitch. . .as the nation holds its breath, fearing a worldwide catastrophe, watching a Presidency unravel.

Eerily reminiscent of today while vividly describing what we now think of as “simpler” times, The Washashores paints a compelling portrait of the bohemian life at land’s end.

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About R.D. Skillings: R. D. Skillings has been a unique and compelling chronicler of Provincetown and its people for more than fifty years. He moved to Provincetown in 1967, became one of the first Fine Arts Work Center Fellows (1969 – 1971), then joined the Writing Committee, where he was instrumental for many years.

His works include: Alternative Lives, stories, Ithaca House, 1974; P-town Stories (or The Meat-rack) 1980; Apple-wood Books, stories; In a Murderous Time, 1984, stories, Apple-wood Books; Where the Time Goes, stories, University Press of New England, 1999; How Many Die, novel, University Press of New England; Obsidian, novella, Arts End Books, 2001; Memory for Marisa Rose, Arts End Books, poems 2003; Summer’s End, Provincetown Arts Press, stories 2016.

Author Jhumpa Lahiri said of Skillings, “For forty-five years this town has been Skilling’s muse, his mooring, the setting and subject of much of his fiction. He is a character for whom place is character and vice versa.”