Heat Advisory Tue 11am – Thu 7pm: Uncomfortably hot with heat index values up to 100°F expected

Heat Advisory in effect from July 15, 11:00 AM EDT until July 17, 07:00 PM EDT At Providence, a Heat Advisory is in effect Tue 11am through Thu 7pm, likely to be extended into Fri, with...

Friends with Beer-nefits!

We all know what friends with benefits are. If you have any, good for you. I think that they are hard to maintain, no pun intended. It’s always that one’s feelings that get in the...

Grace Darko: Bridging worlds through sound and story

Grace Darko’s music serves as a bridge, connecting the vibrancy of African heritage with the pulse of American jazz and soul. As a first-generation African American woman carving out her space in the jazz world,...

Roots Report

Okee dokee folks…While setting up for my show the other day I had a conversation with the sound person about music. I was shocked to find out that he didn’t think much of a lot...

You Feelin' Scurvy, Dog?: The popular parking lot show enters another summer

The Scurvy Dog will have hosted their second Parking Lot Mega Show of the season by the time this article is printed. The award-winning festival (cough cough, Motif) is celebrating its 11th year, and is...

What is Bio Blitz: Less glitz, more dirt

Why Have a Bio Blitz at Peace and Plenty Community Garden?  That may have been a question the 17 people had on their minds as they huddled together in the bustling 30-some degree cold on April...

Writing History: "No Kings Day" in Providence

Since the beginning of 2025 groups have gathered across the US to denounce moves made by the Trump administration, and have successfully made their voices heard across the political and social spheres. Protests began with...

American Caesar Salad

Funeral for RI environmental bills A variety of local ecological leaders embraced satire this past week by holding a funeral for 19 bills that tried to pass through the RI legislature over the year. All of...

Poems: Olivia Thomakos

All Summer after“What’s LoveGottoDo?” by Richard Blanco All summer I wander between houses, couches, in and out of Dil and Lil’s secondhand Murano, air conditionless, legs suctioned to the seats / Radio set to whatever isn’t static,...

Ants in the City: Assemblage of joy

A special edition for Motif’s Fiction and Poetry issue Running along the boardwalk  on the way to the shore, In two's and in three's, racing  on their way, Crematogaster  sisters, acrobats with heart. The farmers brought us out  to see the...

STAGING CHALLENGING SCRIPTS: Written by and about marginalized people at the Head Trick Theatre, PVD

This is the sixth article in a series about community theaters located throughout and adjacent to Rhode Island. With its 2024 production of The Lucky Chance — a 17th-century comic farce about the perils of...

On Writer's Block

I had a teacher tell me once that if you can’t think of what to write about, write about your table. Spend ten minutes writing everything you can. The next day, write about the table....

For Writers: How to create, submit, and publish

I’ve always believed that people could achieve incredible things, if only they had some guidance. A mentor. Someone to show them the ropes. Ideally, someone who’s actually been through it themselves and has real-world experience,...

With Age Comes Weissdom

There are many governmental officials and civic leaders in Rhode Island with an abiding fear of Herb Weiss. Not because he’s a scary fellow – he’s one of the nicest, most garellous humans you’re likely...

Print Magazines Have Taken It On The Chin: But they're far from out for the count

The pandemic delivered an uppercut, but not a knockout punch, to the print magazine industry. Still, a number of titles vanished from newsstand racks in the wake of COVID-19; either folding outright or migrating to...

Reading is a solitary act: But is it really?

While you may read alone, on the train, or in your bed, is there a conversation involved in the process of reading? Reading is considered a solitary act, but what happens before picking up a...

Blackout: Fiction

Darkness descended on the denizens of Providence one brutally hot evening in mid-July for approximately seventy-two minutes during a city-wide blackout. While some of it may have spilled over into the neighboring towns of Cranston...

Summer Reading: What's on your summer reading list?

What’s on your summer reading list? Do you gravitate towards juicy beach reads that you can get through despite whatever degree of heat exhaustion you might be experiencing? Do you reach for something that takes...

Modern Day Poetry: Lyrical doesn't mean less literary

A conversation with two local artists proves that the modern-day poet is not only found at poetry settings; you can also find them at the studio. When we think of poetry, do we think of the...

Dial Tone: RI steps in to save lifesaving LGBTQ+ hotline

RI’s 988 Suicide and Lifeline services will continue full operations when the federal government removes the “Press 3” Option. The option connects LGBTQI+ youth under 25 with affirming crisis counselors through The Trevor Project and...

Remember Me, Remember Me: Fiction

Jenny Wood, the narrator of “Remember Me, Remember Me,” is a ghost who died at age three and developed the ability to absorb the memories of other ghosts, gathering into herself interior worlds she would...

Stop, Rock, And Roll

Stop, Rock, and Roll is back! As summer arrives, here are five local tunes to help you soak in the sun. Aloe – “Ouch!” Sultry vocals play out over a restrained beat to kick off Aloe’s...

On the Cover: Alejandra Spruill

In her compositions, multimedia artist Alejandra Spruill of Orange, MA, focuses on contrast. “I look for things that don’t go together, but create a whole,” she says. For example, Spruill says, “I took a painting...

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