I love reading. I love language. I love reading about language and there are few people whose thoughts on language I’d rather read than Yoko Tawada’s. She writes in both Japanese and German and I’ve long been a fan of her fiction, which uses language creatively and often explores it thematically. To me, these essays …
These essays are a feast for the eyes and the mind, exploring edible wonders from around the world. –Rachel, Brick & Mortar Books, Redmond, WA Could you use some nourishments and jamborees? I feel like most of us can. Treat yourself to food writing and other books that replenish at Brick & Mortar Books and …
Award-winning indigenous writer Sasha LaPointe shared part of her history with us in Red Paint. Now, she returns with a set of essays that add to the story in a new memoir that is honest, at times disturbing, but always interesting. She wants us to know what it is like to be a queer indigenous …
This book is a joy to hold and behold. Just what the Universe has ordered up for these trying times, and Margaret Renkl has delivered. 52 transcendent meditations on the natural world. Brief yet beautiful with illustrations to accompany done by her brother. Over and over Margaret reminds us that even though “The world is …
A beautiful collection of nature essays from an array of black essayists & poets– A Darker Wilderness is a literary treasure trove. As each writer sets about drawing upon an archival object to use as a portal for their own ruminations on the American natural world & memory, the sum of these personal histories & …
“Looks like northeasterly winds fifteen knots with scattered clouds and light rain,” the Alaska Airlines pilot announces (or something like this) when you land at the Kodiak Airport. You drive into town with waterfalls and scree slopes on your left, the seaport on your right, and a magpie dashing along beside you. Maybe you’ve come …
From the website of beloved Oregon author, Cai Emmons: Dear Readers, It is with sadness that we share the news of Cai ending her remarkable life on January 2, 2023. She had planned her death for her 72nd birthday, January 15, but ALS had other ideas. Like so much of her life up to this …
I keep a spreadsheet that lists every book I’ve read since 2010. It’s the most consistent and representative record of my life that I have—a life spent reading. I can look back and see that I spent the summer of 2015 reading or rereading Jane Austen novels, and the summer of 2016, all of Sarah …
From Portland’s Annie Bloom’s Books: Books from Local Authors Want another way to shop local this holiday season? Pick up one (or more!) of these wonderful 2022 books from Portland authors. Lost Restaurants of Portland, Oregon (Paperback) by Theresa Griffin Kennedy A full menu of unforgettable events and historical milestones. Delve into the Rose City’s …
From lithub.com September 7, 2022 by Cai Emmons At eight years old I began writing poetry. I loved the sounds of words, and I loved stringing them together, often nonsensically. I liked the solitude of writing, the secrecy, the fact that I was in control. I did it knowing that poetry carried little weight in …
