‘Tongue-rich smells’

— Photo by Gary Rogers

“Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire”, by William James Glackens (1909)

“I am built of the scent
of August marsh,
wishing well verdigris pennies,
the first turn of leaf-molded dirt.
Tongue-rich smells
permeate my fingertips,
behind knees, inside elbows.’’

— From “After — For Adam,’’ by Portsmouth, N.H.-based poet and librarian Lesley Kimball

Nature and abstraction

“Portsmouth (N.H.) Harbor Salt Pile’’ (archival silver gelatin print), by Carl Hyatt, a Portsmouth-based photographer, in the group show “Abstract Nature,’’ through April 24 at Cove Street Arts, Portland, Maine

The gallery explains that the show explores “the abstraction of nature through archival and digital prints. The exhibit title seems like a contradiction on the surface: abstraction is a manmade concept, thus nature on its own can't be abstract. However, abstraction as an art form elevates the essence of its subject by manipulating or removing parts of it.’’

Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire by William James Glackens (1909)