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Legacy of a playful local resistance

October 13, 2015 by Watt Childress 4 Comments

Forever playful, John Fraser. In communities where people approach life with a bit of whimsy, his kind of disposition becomes part of our civic identity. If neglected, we are easily overrun by tedium. [Read More]

Filed Under: Art, Featured Writing Tagged With: Cannon Beach, John Fraser, Juan Man Band

Make Good Deals

August 12, 2015 by Watt Childress 5 Comments

Trade is an old reason to gather round the table. Two deals now focus our attention. One seeks to relax trade sanctions on Iran in exchange for a halt to nuclear armament. The other seeks to liberalize trade among Pacific-rim nations in exchange for, well, we haven’t been told yet. [Read More]

Filed Under: Featured Writing, Politics, Spirit Tagged With: Iran nuclear deal, Israel, trade policy, Trans-Pacific Partnership

Sentences

July 6, 2015 by Watt Childress 2 Comments

Minds dip all day into words,
seining food from conversations
and roving stacks of books.
We gather, compose, revise —
slowly meaning more.
[Read More]

Filed Under: Art, Poetry, ULE

Indie Strum at Jupiter’s

May 15, 2015 by Watt Childress 2 Comments

Indie authors exude do-it-yourself spunk. They’ve learned to sustain their creative work with internal drive and direct contact with readers.[Read More]

Filed Under: Books, Featured Writing

Return to the scene of our baptism

April 2, 2015 by Watt Childress 3 Comments

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.

Filed Under: Poetry, Spirit, ULE

Waddling toward Jerusalem

March 22, 2015 by Watt Childress 2 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Nature, Spirit, ULE

Portland pays an old debt of gratitude to Billy Hults

November 9, 2014 by Watt Childress 1 Comment

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]

Filed Under: Featured Writing, Song and Dance

Psyche combs the clearcut for lost souls

October 30, 2014 by Watt Childress Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Books, Culture, Featured Writing, Nature

Gallery Song

May 19, 2014 by Watt Childress Leave a Comment

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.

[Read More]

Filed Under: Art, Poetry, Spirit, ULE Tagged With: Cannon Beach, Evelyn Georges, White Bird Gallery

Holy maniacs, it’s Brian Doyle!

April 7, 2014 by Watt Childress 5 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Books, Spirit, ULE

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More Gleanings

Memoir

February 13, 2026 By Steven Mayer Leave a Comment

End of the Street

August 4, 2025 By Steven Mayer 2 Comments

Here Try Some of This Ointment

April 17, 2024 By Watt Childress 4 Comments

We are the Luminaries

August 8, 2023 By Watt Childress 2 Comments

Open Letter for Creation’s Caregivers

June 19, 2023 By Watt Childress 5 Comments

Additional Wisdom...

Readers’ Comments

  • R²
    January 7, 2026 at 7:19 am
    on Smart travel money helps care for places we love
    Couldn't agree with you more. We're dealing with that all right now trying to get the air museum in tillamook
  • Pam Wade
    December 6, 2025 at 8:29 am
    on Adventures with author Charles de Lint
    The first work I read by Charles de Lint was Greenmantle followed by Moonheart. Since then there has not been
  • Trudy
    October 8, 2025 at 2:42 pm
    on Hankering for Paradise: My Discovery of The Wave Crest Inn
    I stayed at the Wave Crest for a night in the late 70s. If I remember right, the cost was
  • K H
    September 24, 2025 at 8:09 am
    on The Genocide of the American Indian, and Their Refusal to Die
    This response is far from timely, I know. But in honor of the ancestors I thank you for helping us
  • Ronald Logan Buchansn
    September 22, 2025 at 12:35 am
    on Three Poems and a Mountain
    Logan, on my annual summer browsing at Jupitor's I read "Freewriting In A Parked Car" and instantly purchased your book.
More Comments...

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