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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

Slow Food for Thought

February 28, 2014 by Watt Childress 3 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Culture, ULE Tagged With: Crazy Eddie, Cuneiform Clay Tablets, Kewl, KMUN, The Clash

Art Show

February 18, 2014 by Watt Childress 1 Comment

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.

[Read More]

Filed Under: Poetry, ULE Tagged With: Feller Kiln, wabi-sabi

Beyond Milk Duds and Fear of Death

October 31, 2013 by Watt Childress 9 Comments

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.

[Read More]

Filed Under: Culture, Spirit, ULE Tagged With: All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, Day of the Dead, Halloween, Michael Burgess

Cannon Beach honors the seer of Earthsea

March 30, 2013 by Watt Childress 6 Comments

“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]

Filed Under: Art, Books, Featured Images, ULE Tagged With: Ursula K. Le Guin

Valentine for Flipper

February 14, 2013 by Watt Childress 16 Comments

One of the most important cultural centers in the ancient world was founded by a dolphin. According to a Homeric Hymn, the creature jumped aboard a ship sailing from Crete and commanded the mariners to build a sanctuary at Delphi. The animal was said to be a manifestation of the Greek god Apollo. Apollo Delphinios.

[Read More]

Filed Under: Culture, Nature, Spirit, Television, ULE Tagged With: Delphyne, Dephi, dolphin, Flipper, omphalos, sea serpent

Evergreen Testament

December 26, 2012 by Watt Childress 6 Comments

Suddenly I feel like I’m standing on sacred ground. My sense of kinship with the place expands in the company of cedars, some large enough to barely get my arms around. I press my palms against the taut skin of their trunks. I revel in the scent of sprigs picked up from earth their kind have nourished for lifetimes.

[Read More]

Filed Under: Culture, Nature, Spirit, ULE Tagged With: cedar, Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes, Glencoe High School, Lewis Hyde, potlatch

North to Neahseasu

November 18, 2012 by Watt Childress 6 Comments

“The old word is the best,” affirmed Pendragon, in a voice that could have been used to caution visitors about certain secluded coves during the new moon.

A heightened sense of awareness came over me as the talk swirled round the three of us gathered by the Food Mart (which, despite the sign out front, our family insists on calling the “Blue Store”). I felt at one with Nehalem, “place of the people.” [Read More]

Filed Under: Culture, Feature, ULE Tagged With: Neahkahnie, Neahseasu, Nehalem, Tillamook Head

Indian Summer

October 5, 2012 by Watt Childress Leave a Comment

Autumn conjures up hallowed thoughts of education. Scholars conversing under sturdy campus oaks. Visits to libraries late at night, haunted by information.

Yet harvest’s end heralds an older turn from physical to mental labor, one that predates mortarboards and standardized tests. It’s a release of time to reflect on our ways, raid the smokehouse of knowledge, slice into some farm-cured ideas. [Read More]

Filed Under: Culture, Nature, Spirit, ULE Tagged With: Appalachia, Dobyns-Bennett Indians, Kingsport, Long Island of the Holston, Tennessee, Warrior's Path, White Buffalo

One and One

August 12, 2012 by Watt Childress 2 Comments

Counting steps one
is open to chaos.

One ankle is sprained
feeding ducks before work.
Then glasses are squashed
during one lame hunt for
the perfect book to wow
a whitewater scholar.

Filed Under: Poetry, Spirit, ULE, Uncategorized

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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

  • Carol Newman
    May 13, 2026 at 3:18 pm
    on Opening the Book of Indigenous Grief
    Deep gratitude for your learnings and teachings dear Cliff.
  • Maranne
    April 25, 2026 at 8:01 am
    on Opening the Book of Indigenous Grief
    Wow… Taylor: a deep poetic Ponca man. So full…overflowing with wisdom, with heart, with courage to share. I’m thankful for
  • Watt Childress
    April 22, 2026 at 6:12 pm
    on Opening the Book of Indigenous Grief
    Thank you for these beautiful words that go straight to the heart of healing.
  • 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
More Comments...

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