A little oasis lives in the city of man,
a place insiders drink to divinity.
Their libations skim the surface bare —
lauding scapegoats, mocking strangers.
Waddling toward Jerusalem
There are two ways of viewing the idea of sacrifice in human culture. One is a selfless gift or a waiver of gratification. The other involves a taking of life for personal gain. [Read More]
Portland pays an old debt of gratitude to Billy Hults
It’s taken three decades for Billy to receive public recognition for the magic he stirred up in Portland. He’s been honored as a “side player” by the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, an eight-year-old organization that few musicians here on the coast have heard of. Better late than never, some might say. Lessons can be gleaned from the lag time. [Read More]
Psyche combs the clearcut for lost souls
After the cutters were finished, 50 acres of forested watershed near our home was pretty much gone. Familiar habitat was replaced by strips of trees surrounded by stumps, slash, and orderly heaps of logs — cash crop to grease the skids of our consumption. Read More
Gallery Song
Look what can happen with ceramic,
wood, and sea-tumbled stones;
with pigments and sand;
with fabric, glass, metal, and sun-dried kelp.
With words, fledged
in holy conversation.
Holy maniacs, it’s Brian Doyle!
It took me a chapter or two to adapt to Doyle’s chanting blend of poetry and prose. Then I went crazy for it, wanting more and more. And I’m equally enthralled with his new novel, The Plover, which continues the saga of Declan O’Donnell, a hard ass with a heart of gold who sails off into the Pacific alone. The book is scheduled to hit the shelves tomorrow (April 8), just a few days ahead of Doyle’s keynote address at the annual Get Lit gathering in Cannon Beach. [Read More]
Slow Food for Thought
In the beginning there was conversation, musings, the exchange of local words. A good story might be gathered in the morning and roasted at fireside talks over many evenings. Words could be risky, we learned, but also nutritious, mind-blowing, and profitable. So people made petroglyphs, cuneiform clay tablets, papyrus scrolls, telegraph cables, CB radios, and smartphones…. [Read More]
Art Show
Pick a medium, any medium.
Shuffle it with streamlined themes
and magic random thoughts.
Cut it, quick, whoever you are.
Now hide it from the pros
who’ve done every dream.
Beyond Milk Duds and Fear of Death
Tradition says this is a time of year when matter and spirit mingle. The boundary between darkness and light becomes sheer now, at the end of harvest.
Cannon Beach honors the seer of Earthsea
“Our little house is a wonderful, quiet place to work. Also a very good house for dreams, many people who’ve slept there have told me that. Dreams and the kind of writing I do have some connection. One morning when I was waking up in our Cannon Beach bedroom, the whole idea of one of the “Earthsea” books came to me as the light grew. When I got up, it was daylight and I had a novel to write.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
[Read More]