Provincetown is significant as the Massachusetts terminus of Robert Cohn's literary-magazine venture: the review began publication in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and finished in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Its place in Cohn's history joins geography to cultural production, showing how a project financed by personal wealth moved across distant literary communities before becoming too expensive to sustain.

Definition and Setting

Provincetown appears as the eastern endpoint in the review's publication history. The magazine did not remain fixed in one cultural setting; it commenced in Carmel-by-the-Sea and concluded its run in Provincetown. The movement between California and Massachusetts gives the location a precise narrative function: Provincetown is where the venture's documented trajectory ends, not merely a passing backdrop.

The Magazine's Final Stage

Robert Cohn initially backed the review with part of the fifty thousand dollars remaining from his father's estate. At first he was regarded purely as an angel, and his name appeared on the editorial page only as a member of the advisory board. As the magazine developed, however, he became its sole editor and discovered that he liked the authority of editing. The review's arrival in Provincetown therefore coincided with Cohn's transformation from financial supporter into an active cultural authority.

The venture ultimately proved too expensive, and Cohn was sorry when he had to give it up. Provincetown consequently carries an undertone of termination: it is associated with the magazine's final publication location and with the end of Cohn's first sustained attempt to shape a literary institution. The location records not a triumphant consolidation but the last stage of an enterprise whose economic demands defeated the enthusiasm and authority it had given him.

Connection to Cohn's European Life

After the magazine failed, Cohn had other concerns. Frances, the forceful woman who had become closely involved with him and had hoped to rise with the magazine, urged him to go to Europe and write when it became clear that the publication was not going to rise. They went to Europe and stayed for three years: the first was spent traveling and the final two in Paris. Provincetown thus belongs to the American phase immediately preceding Cohn's European literary life.

During the European years, Cohn wrote a novel, read extensively, played bridge and tennis, and boxed at a local gymnasium. His movement from the magazine's American locations to Europe parallels a change in cultural role, from editor and financial backer to aspiring writer. Provincetown is therefore a geographical marker of transition between an unfinished publishing venture and the writing-centered life that followed.

Narrative Significance

The contrast between Carmel-by-the-Sea and Provincetown makes the magazine's history episodic and mobile rather than institutionally settled. Its route crosses the continent, while its ownership and editorial structure also change: Cohn's money first enables the review, and his appetite for authority later draws him into sole editorship. The location's importance lies in this convergence of place, money, and literary ambition.

Provincetown also helps define the limits of Cohn's cultural power. He can finance a review, assume editorial control, and enjoy the authority that follows, but he cannot prevent the project from becoming too expensive. The town therefore stands at the edge of an enterprise that briefly expands Cohn's identity before forcing him to abandon it and follow Frances to Europe.