This week, the Reporter bades fare-thee-well to one of our all-time ace reporters and editors. Dan Sheehan, a member of our staff since 2017 and our arts and features editor since 2019, is leaving Boston to pursue new opportunities on the West Coast. He will be sorely missed in our newsroom.
Aside from being one helluva prose writer and copy editor, Dan is an accomplished drummer. When he hasn’t been tapping out reams of copy, you’d most likely find him teaching in his beat laboratory on the side of Meetinghouse Hill or playing an impromptu set on the Rose Kennedy Greenway or at backyard Dot Day BBQ.
Like so many of our friends and neighbors, Dan is not a Dot native. He grew up in Connecticut, was schooled in DC (Georgetown), and is delusionally devoted to the NY Yankees. But, like the true percussionist and hip-hop junkie that he is, he immediately seized on the beats and rhythms that punctuate daily life in this neighborhood. His best work sought to amplify artists who’ve sometimes struggle to get the shine they deserve in this town. It’s a mission we intend to continue.
You get the picture: Dan’s going to be missed around here. But, since this is his last edition, it’s time to pass him the mic.
– Bill Forry
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I’ve learned a lot about Dorchester in my last four years at the Reporter. As the months passed since I first arrived in the neighborhood, I learned where to catch a live show or open mic session, where to get the best bowl of pho, where the worst traffic jams occur. But I think the most important thing I’ve learned from my time here is community: What it means, who makes it up, and how a collective of living, breathing individuals can come together to spark joy or derive meaning from life in troubled times.
As much as city government and other apparatuses are central to the functioning of Boston, there is an extensive, often overlooked network of activists, non-profits and charitable organizations that keeps the town running: Neighbors depending on other neighbors, and returning the favor.
That reality is reflected in Dorchester’s arts community as well, an astonishingly talented and diverse group of people that continue to create and flourish against the odds. Dorchester lacks the cultural resources and the large, established music venues of Cambridge or Downtown, but makes up for it with a stubborn DIY spirit that has seen hubs of music and art bloom in every corner of the neighborhood.
The great work being done at Dorchester Art Project in Fields Corner is a perfect example of a community built from the ground up that showcases the immense talent that Dorchester has to offer.Â
I look forward to returning to Dot at some point in the future, knowing well that artists and communities of all kinds will continue to make it a better place for everyone, one day at a time. It has been a privilege to cover this neighborhood and amplify the voices of artists and other miracle workers who call it home.
Thanks for reading and see you all soon.
– Dan Sheehan
