This New England

Two fine New England stories in the April 22 Boston Globe.

One is David Filipov's "Heyday gone, N.H,. granite artisans carve a new niche.''

Yes, granite was once a very big industry in the Granite State, and the stone is very beautiful, varied and is worked by true artists.

The other piece, by Bryan Marquard (which makes me think it should be Marquand, as in John P. Marquand, who deserves a revival) about Jonathan Bayliss, the Gloucester man who wrote four sprawling, experimental novels set in and about that fishing town. He also wrote two plays.

To support his family he performed a succession of serious jobs as a business and public servant. But at his recent death at 82 he had been working for a long time only on his writing.

What endurance! He could only self-publish his work, despite the high quality and ingenuity that some readers lauded. He just couldn't find a regular publisher.

But what a passion! As Larry King, of all people said, "writers write.''

In silence.

XXX

Taoist priests say prayers for ancestors in return for fat payments from families in a highly inclusive multicultural ceremony at the First Unitarian Church in Wellesley, Mass.

Just kidding, it's in Suao, Taiwan, where I was wandering one day recently in search of transcendence and eels. Suao is a fishing town that has certain New Bedford/Gloucester-like activities but in many ways is much nicer.

 Tags  Jonathan Bayliss; granite industry

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