Activist, writer and actress Abigail McGrath, who founded the Renaissance House in Oak Bluffs, died on Dec. 20. She was 84 and had been living with liver cancer.
Ms. McGrath was known on the Vineyard and beyond for her dedication in nurturing the voices of writers. She started the Renaissance House in 2001 to host artist retreats and writing salons.
Her eldest son, Jason Rosen, said Ms. McGrath never stopped working until the end. He described her as an individualist with a passion for using art to create conversation.
“When she wanted to do something, she did it,” Mr. Rosen said.
Mr. Rosen said he and his family are committed to preserving her legacy, and are planning ways to keep Renaissance House running in a new format, including hosting events such as poetry salons. But he admitted it wouldn’t be easy without his mother, who ran everything at the nonprofit.
“It was a one-man show, so we can’t do Renaissance House the way she did...” Mr. Rosen said. “It is our intention to continue her tradition in some form or another as to our strengths.”
Renaissance House honors the legacies of Ms. McGrath’s mother, Helene Johnson, and cousin Dorothy West, who were both part of the Harlem Renaissance and wrote about the aspirations and hardships of Black Americans.
Mr. Rosen said Ms. McGrath grew-up in the projects of Brooklyn where she had a up-close view of the injustices Black Americans faced. But she also went to progressive schools where she was surrounded by like-minded classmates, including political activist Angela Davis, and learned the power of fighting back.
“She grew up at a time in America when terrible things were happening and people were really acting up about it,” Mr. Rosen said. “That’s when she got involved.”
Dorothy West’s novel The Wedding, which is about an interracial marriage on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1950s, is based on Ms. McGrath’s relationship with her late husband, Anthony (Tony) McGrath who died in 2018. The McGraths led readings of Frederick Douglass’ speech What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July? for over 20 years.
Mr. Rosen said the family is planning a memorial this summer, and are hoping to honor his mother in this year’s Fourth of July reading.
While Ms. McGrath’s legacy is in fostering writing, Mr. Rosen said his mother had not done much writing herself until recently.
“She didn’t really start writing until she thought of Renaissance House,” Mr. Rosen said. “She sort of created herself in her older years.”
Her career was predominantly in acting, earning a degree in theatre arts from Bard College in New York. When not on the Vineyard, Ms. McGrath lived in New York City her whole life except for a brief stint in Paris when she danced at the Folies Bergère.
In 1967, Ms. McGrath starred in Andy Warhol’s Tub Girls. She was paid $100 for her work in film which she used to pay her New York rent.
Later, she started the Off Center Theatre in Manhattan creating political satire shows performed in churches and on the streets. She starred in other films such as the 1972 live-action and animated film Voulez-vous Coucher Avec God, and taught film classes at New York University.
She visited the Island many times as a child but started coming regularly as an adult in the 1970s.
At Renaissance House, Ms. McGrath would cook hearty meals and host dinner parties where she and guests would have elaborate discussions about artistic inspiration and the importance of writing.
Filmmaker Stanley Nelson Jr., a resident of Oak Bluffs and an award-winning documentary filmmaker, said Ms. McGrath invited him to Renaissance House to speak at the dinners. He said he remembered the impact her conversations had on other filmmakers who took part in the retreats, as well as the spectacular taste of her baked bluefish.
“She was a wonderful person and kept the Renaissance House going [seemingly] all by herself and in her own will,” Mr. Nelson said.
Dr. Jessica B. Harris, a culinary historian and author, said her friendship with Ms. McGrath developed in recent years and quickly blossomed. Ms. Harris visited Ms. McGrath in the hospital the day before she died.
“She called me dumpling. I think it must have been a term of endearment that her mother used,” Ms. Harris said. “If she was trying to assuage something or whatever, she’d say ‘don’t worry, dumpling,’ and no one will ever call me dumpling again.”
Ms. Harris said she included Ms. McGrath in her latest cookbook, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine, which will be released in June. The section about Ms. McGrath details their friendship and Ms. McGrath’s roots in Northern African-American cooking.
“We only met a decade and a half ago when I was asked by a mutual friend to read one of her mother’s poems at a fundraiser,” Ms. Harris said, reading from the excerpt in the book. “Needless to say, it was friendship at first glance. ”
Ms. Harris said she is grateful she had the chance to read the excerpt to Ms. McGrath before she died. She said the death of Ms. McGrath is a tremendous loss, one the Island will grieve for years to come.
“Abigail was a fixture in many ways...” Ms. Harris said. “She was a giving and generous person, in some cases even when it didn’t serve her well, she was still giving.”
Before she died, Ms. McGrath dreamed of building a garden outside of the Renaissance House. Ms. Harris said Ms. McGrath told her she wanted it to be a poetry garden where one could read lines on signage posted throughout the flora in order to free their mind.
Ms. McGrath had created a GoFundMe campaign and raised over $2,000 for the project. Mr. Rosen said he and his family intend to get the link up-and-running again and are looking into the logistics to bring the project to fruition.
“She was working right up until the end,” Mr. Rosen said.
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