The serpent on the beach: sources of The Mornith War

As I was at work on The Mornith War,something mysterious happened inGloucester, Massachusetts, the city where I live.

For decades, a painting of a serpentine creature endured ona big rock onCressy’s Beach, a beautifulplace on the western side ofGloucester Harbor. Here’s a pictureI tookin 1991, visiting the creature withpoets Ken Irby (on the left) and Gerrit Lansing.

No one I ever spoke to knew who was responsible for the original painting, or who touched it up from time to time,keeping it from...