Finding A Lost Northwest Book

In the Sunday Oregonian, Matt Love from Nestucca Spit Press writes about his sleuthing to find whether or not an anthology was published for Oregon's centennial. Indeed there was and my favorite Oregon poet, William Stafford, had both a poem and short story in the anthology.

Love made a PDF of the short book available (it's in the public domain) at his website for downloading. Makes for interesting reading, especially for Oregonians with curiosity about the state's history and its writers.

###

Finding A Lost Northwest Book

Marilynne Robinson's Novels: Article by David Propson

One of my favorite fiction writers, Marilynne Robinson was featured in The Wall Street Journal today in a story by David Propson titled "Weaving Humanity Into History."

Robinson wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Gilead" and an earlier book, "Housekeeping." "Gilead" stands as one of the Top Ten novels I've ever read and I look forward to my reading of her new book "Home" (which I started last evening).

Propson writes the "one of Ms. Robinson's aims in "Gilead" and "Home" seems to be to weave humanity back into history. Her quietly lyrical novels are in fact haunted by the past, preoccupied by the possibility of redemption -- not only of their characters but of their country. "Gilead" and "Home" are -- among much else -- antidotes to the processes of historical forgetting that Ms. Robinson sees constantly at work."

If you're looking for splendid book to enjoy this October, I highly recommend "Gilead." After you've read it, I suspect you'll want to continue your time with Robinson's characters and their Iowa town in "Home" (instead of having to wait four years between publication of the novels like I did).

Marilynne Robinson's Novels: Article by David Propson

"Slug Queen" Story in The Wall Street Journal

A young reporter from Oregon, Mary Pilon, wrote a front page Wall Street Journal story which resulted in an article in her hometown newspaper:

"Our queen of gastropods oozes charm upon Wall Street Journal front page" | The Register-Guard

Take a look at the original WSJ story which include some playful video.

Such is life in Eugene in September!

###

"Slug Queen" Story in The Wall Street Journal

An Amazing and Beautiful Travel Blog

Last Sunday's Oregonian featured an extraordinary blog -- Notes from the Road -- by Erik Gauger in the newspaper's travel section.

I'm enjoying reading his many blog posts and viewing his amazing photos creating with a 4 x 5 camera, his hand-painted sketches, watercolor maps, and travel notes.

I heartily recommend the site for some good reading on a beautifully illustrated blog.

###

An Amazing and Beautiful Travel Blog

Top Choice for a Next Career: Editorial Cartoonist

I love editorial cartoons. Being an editorial cartoonist is my top choice for a "next career." With all the "stuff" from Washington over the past eight years and now, the political campaign for the Presidency (or is it for the Vice Presidency?), there are so many laughable opportunities to choose from.

Jack Ohman, working for The Oregonian, is among the best editorial cartoonists around today. His cartoons are published online daily for those of us who don't get the Portland newspaper every day. Take a look at the his cartoons over the past week or so.

Do you have a favorite editorial cartoonist? Or a favorite editorial cartoon? Let me know who or what is making you laugh when you read an editorial page.

Top Choice for a Next Career: Editorial Cartoonist

Quitting Your Day Job to Write at Home

In today's Oregonian (Aug. 31), mystery writer April Henry writes about her experience of quitting her day job to write full-time at home. As one who has done just that more that once, I found her story of the "dream" and the "reality" hilarious (and ever so true):

What really happens when you quit your day job

Unlike April, virtually all my writing from my home-based office has been non-fiction. She took her "leap" home from her corporate job after writing six novels. I took my first leap home to write nearly 30 years ago when I was in my mid-30's. I joined the technical writing business my wife had started and together, we made a great success of it writing computer-user manuals for large corporations in the Chicago area. It was fun and sometimes exhausting. And it made parenting little boys a bigger challenge plus stretched our marriage to the breaking point.

One of the first "realities" I learned very quickly about myself was that I needed to "leave home" to be able to work at home. I needed to get out of the house in the morning and walk to a neighborhood restaurant for my morning coffee (and journal write about my life before starting any writing on work projects). Over the years, I've done variations of that morning ritual. Today, I go for a morning walk for daily exercise and just watch my mind "roam" wherever it needs go as I notice my surroundings (without writing anything down!). I start working on writing projects shortly after I get back home (actually, I usually read and respond to email first). Sometimes, I take my laptop to a coffee shop to write first drafts amidst the clatter and chatter. But I need the solitude and silence of home to edit and finish my writing projects.

Do you write at home? What works for you? Did you find that "reality" didn't exactly match your "dream" when you quit your day job to work from home?

Quitting Your Day Job to Write at Home

The Work and Art of Writing

Sunday's Oregonian (Aug. 24) had a piece on writing by the "metal cowboy", Joe Kurmaskie, who interviewed authors about their writing process. A fun read. Yet the subject seems to be a perennial (and serious) question for writers or people "thinking" about becoming writers. Take a look: The work and art of writing: muscle vs. muse

After over forty years of writing for a variety of media (which included many, many days of waiting for my "muse"), I come down strongly on the side of "muscle". What does my muse have to say about that? Could be a long wait! Meanwhile, keep those keys clickin', Todd.

###

The Work and Art of Writing

Writing Book Reviews

One of my monthly assignments is to write a book review for our city magazine, Springfield Connection. Thankfully, I get to select books of my choice for the reviews so I'm always writing about books of interest to me.

Even so, I find it challenging to write just 500 words about any book I've read. My hope is that I capture the essence of the book and convey enough information for a readers of the review to decide whether to not to spend time reading the book. So far, I've reviewed only non-fiction books but plan to review some fiction and poetry in the future.

Here's a sample of my latest book review (others featuring Finding Our Fathers, The Mature Mind, The Last Lecture, and The Legacy Guide are available in back issues of Springfield Connection and on my website):

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor

By Todd Peterson

The human brain. It’s mysterious. And it’s marvelous!

Our brain contains about 100 billion neurons. It consumes a quarter of the body’s oxygen and most of its calories. Yet just weighs about three pounds.

Our brain is the seat of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion. It is the control center that regulates bodily activities, receives and interprets sensory impulses, and transmits information to our muscles and body organs.

But what happens when the brain is injured? In My Stroke of Insight, neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor tells about her personal experience and remarkable discoveries about the brain.

At the age of thirty-seven, Taylor experienced a massive stoke in the left side of her brain. The brain scientist observed her own brain deteriorate over four hours as she lost her ability to recall any of her life. She could no longer talk, walk, read, or write.

It took Jill Taylor eight years to recover from her stoke. What she learned during her healing journey has implications for every human being, not just those who suffer a stroke or other brain injury.

Taylor’s stroke damaged the left hemisphere of her brain – the language center, home of the ego, the rational, time-oriented “left mind.” She experienced living from her brain’s right hemisphere – her “right mind” that remembers isolated moments, thinks in pictures, and perceives the “big picture”.

Taylor writes that “to the right mind, no time exists other than the present moment, and each moment is vibrant with sensation. Life or death occurs in the present moment. The experience of joy happens in the present moment. Our perception and experience of connection with something that is greater than ourselves occurs in the present moment. To our right mind, the moment of now is timeless and abundant.”

The two hemispheres of our brain not only perceive and think differently neurologically, they “demonstrate very different values based on the types of information they perceive, and thus exhibit very different personalities. My stoke of insight is that at the core of my right hemisphere consciousness is a character that is directly connected to my feeling of deep inner peace. It is completely committed to the expression of peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world.”

By recognizing the differences in the right and left mind, we can lead our lives with a more “balanced-brain approach.” We have more choice in how we think, fee, and behave when we are clear about which side of our brain is processing different types of information. The author describes how to connect with the deep inner peace that resides in the right side of our brain.

From her experience, Taylor believes “the more time we spend running our inner peace/compassion circuitry, then the more peace/compassion we will project into the world and ultimately the more peace/compassion we will have on the planet.”

Ultimately, all the difficult work Jill Bolte Taylor did to recover her left hemisphere functions has made possible the sharing of her right mind discoveries. (Her speeches and interviews are available at www.drjilltaylor.com).

My Stroke of Insight is a fascinating look at the human mind, an inspiring guide for people recovering from a brain injury, and a gift to everyone seeking deep inner peace in their lives.

###

Writing Book Reviews

Why Read Poetry Aloud

In my reading of the Friends of William Stafford newsletter (Summer 2008), I came across a startling observation by poet Li-Young Lee about reading poetry aloud. He was responding to the question "Do you think it's important to read poetry out loud and if so, why?" (from a member of the audience at Poetry Downtown in Portland):

... I think of a poem as the musical score for the instrument that is the human voice. The human voice speak only on the exhalation breath, which is the dying breath. Because poetry packs a lot of meaning into a few short words, it could be said that reading poems aloud is about making our ever-approaching deaths more meaningful -- that reading aloud exercises our dying breath and gives it increased vitality ...

One of my favorite things to do is read poetry out loud and I especially enjoy reading William Stafford poems at our local celebration of the poet's birthday each January. Everyone in the audience has an opportunity to read one or more of Stafford's poems (or one of their own in remembrance of the poet) in front of the group of usually 25-50 people.

Years ago, I recall "practicing" reading poems I selected out loud before going to the celebration (I suppose to reduce my fear of bumbling in front of the crowd). But in recent years, I've chosen to just silently read through several poems ahead of time and select a few possibilities for my reading. At the celebration, I make my poem selection based on what feels right in the moment, go up to the lectern, look out at the audience, and read a poem aloud "for the first time." That's when I experience the vitality of the "dying breath" that Li-Young Lee described.

Do you read poetry or prose aloud to people in your life? To a large audience? Let me know your experience and your reaction to Lee's observation about reading poetry out loud.

NOTE: Li-Young Lee's newest collection is titled, Behind My Eyes. His lovely poem, To Hold, is reprinted in the Friends of William Stafford newsletter. It contains the lines "One day we'll lie down and not get up. One day, all we guard will be surrendered."

###

Why Read Poetry Aloud

Writing About Elders

One of my favorite assignments is to write stories about people who've lived 80 years or more. I enjoy interviewing elders and hearing their life stories (see more at my Creating Your Life Legacy website). Recently, I was assigned a story for Springfield Connection Magazine about an 85-year old writer, Milt Cunningham. I had read many of his weekly op-ed columns in the Springfield News (closed in 2007) and looked forward to having a lively conversation with him.

Here's the story I wrote about the man whose "bones are made of Big Horn granite," published in the August 2008 issue of Springfield Connection:


Milt Cunningham: Springfield’s “Big Horn” Wrangler of Words

By Todd Peterson

“I’ve always said my bones are made of Big Horn granite,” Milt Cunningham declared with a lilt in his voice. The 85-year old native of Wyoming grew up in the Big Horn country where he worked as a ranch hand and logged in the mountains with horses.

“Way back ... when I was ten years old ... I recall playing with language, making sounds with words like playing scales on a piano,” Milt said. “I wrote lots of doggerel and limericks.”

Over the years, Milt Cunningham has written over fifty short stories, many more limericks, and a novel. Most people in Springfield know him from his 16 years of writing feature stories and op-ed columns for the now defunct Springfield News.

Milt and his wife Kathleen moved to Oregon in 1955 to go to college. At the time, they decided to buy a temporary home while completing their Master’s degrees at the University of Oregon. Today, fifty-three years later, the couple is still living in that “temporary” home in Springfield.

Both Milt and Kathleen became teachers of language arts. Milt first taught at the old Coburg School and then moved on to Thurston for 22 years. He retired from teaching in 1985 and has focused on his writing ever since. Kathleen became a college teacher, an artist, and a poet as well as the “best and severest critic” of her husband’s writing.

Of his years of writing for the Springfield newspaper, Milt says “I morphed from a feature writer to doing mostly political writing. The editorial page became my bully pulpit (like Teddy Roosevelt) where I could reach lots of readers and hopefully change some minds.”

Milt spent about ten years writing his novel, Where Trails Cross, published in November of 2007. The book is a 512-page tale of life in the Big Horn Mountain area of Wyoming in the 1850's.

In the “Afterword” of his novel, Milt notes the impetus for his story: “For many years I have thought about the men who decided to move their families to Oregon or California against the wishes of their wives, and because of that decision lost them all on the way. Often they all died in the same catastrophe: from drowning or the ravages of cholera, small pox, or some other illness. Usually the men married again, often very quickly by our modern thinking. Part of the reason is that people needed each other to survive.”

Milt goes on to say “But I always wondered how a man could live with himself, knowing that his wife and children had all perished specifically because of his decision.”

After several years of dealing with health issues, Milt Cunningham characterizes the “golden years” of his life as the “rusted years.” Married nearly 60 years to Kathleen, he says “that’s a long time to live with a man like me!” And a long time for Springfield readers to enjoy the prose and poetry of the man from Big Horn country.
_______________________________________________________________________

For a copy of Milt Cunningham’s novel, Where Trails Cross, please call him at (541) 746-4185.

###

Writing About Elders

More on Writing About Artists: Bob Keefer on Mark Clarke

One of the many pleasures of living in Eugene-Springfield is having an excellent daily newspaper. The Register-Guard is a family owned newspaper, surviving into the fourth generation of the Alton Baker family. After growing up on reading The Minneapolis Star & Tribune (when they were morning and evening newspapers) and later working as an intern at the paper, plus several years of reading The Chicago Tribune, I appreciate great newspapers.

Last Thursday in the weekly R-G Arts Section, arts editor Bob Keefer wrote an exceptional story about one of the Northwest's finest artists, Mark Clarke. Having written many stories about local artists over the past year and a half, I especially enjoy Keefer's talent at capturing the essence of the artist and his art.

To see more of Mark Clarke's art, visit the Karin Clarke Gallery website.

More on Writing About Artists: Bob Keefer on Mark Clarke

Review of Garrison Keillor at the Oregon Bach Festival

For people who read my comments about Garrison Keillor, the show he did for the Oregon Bach Festival was a "happy to be there" event for me and the capacity audience. I was going to write about it but, after reading Marilyn Farwell's excellent review of the show, I decided to post her story instead. Enjoy!

###

Review of Garrison Keillor at the Oregon Bach Festival

The Cartoon Cover: A Rorschach Inkblot

Of all the stories and analysis I've read about the "satirical" cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama on the cover of The New Yorker, today's political commentary in the Oregonian best hits the mark.

Cynthia-Lou Coleman, associate professor of communication at Portland State University, writes that Journalists assume they get it, you don't. I especially appreciated her comment that the cartoon is "not just a mirror; the cover is a Rorschach inkblot that allows you to peer into the picture and interpret its meaning through your own prism. Problem is, our prisms are not the same, and it's folly to assume what others are thinking based on our own individualistic viewpoint."

How did you interpret the cover? And what do you think of the "folly" of assuming what others think about it?

###

The Cartoon Cover: A Rorschach Inkblot

Literary Influences of Writers (with Billy Collins)

Reading poet Billy Collins story in the Weekend Journal brought to mind my boyhood in western Minnesota and the Saturday morning's I enjoyed at the Hollywood Theater. His article, Inspired by a Bunny Wabbit, spoke to the "question of literary influence" on writers. Collins confesses that his "own poetry would not have developed in the direction it did, for better or worse, were it not for the spell that was cast over me as a boy by Warner Bros. cartoons."

I can relate to the "spell" of cartoons I watched most every Saturday when I was a boy. Like Billy Collins, I watched Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd on the big screen at the "Hollywood" (we actually had another movie theater a half a block away and a drive-in theater on the outskirts of town -- the Star-Lite -- in our town of less than 6000 people).

But unlike the former U.S. poet laureate, my not-so-literary influences were the ever-present cowboys -- Gene Autry (always singing!), Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers (and Dale Evans), and the Lone Ranger (and Tonto). I don't remember a single film title, just lots of good guys (white hats) chasing bad guys (black hats) riding horses across the dusty prairies of the West. Of course, the good guys were always successful in their chase and the bad guys ended up "behind bars" for the rest of their days (or until next Saturday's movie).

Whether or not watching cowboy movies on Saturday mornings in the 1950's has "inspired" my writing, I've written thousands of words over the years about "good guys" (good products, good services, good news, good people). I haven't written very much about "bad guys" except references to competitive products and services (most not really "bad", just less good). Of course, the "chase" seems to have been a consistent theme ... find the right product, the right service, the right words ... throughout my years in the business world.

No doubt, my writing would have taken a different direction if I would have been influenced (as Billy Collins was) by Looney Tunes' cartoons always ending with "the unmistakable bull's-eye and Porky Pig letting us know that that is, indeed, all, folks."

Who are your literary influences? Who or what inspires your writing today?


NOTE: Photo of Hollywood Theater (no longer showing movies) by S McGee on Flickr.

###

Literary Influences of Writers (with Billy Collins)

Writing About Creative Artists

For over a year, I've been writing about local artists and their creative work. What started as blog postings coupled with photos of art ended up being a series of articles published in our weekly newspaper (now defunct) and continuing today in a start-up monthly city magazine.

When I started the series, I decided to ask every artist I interviewed the same four questions:

1. What or who inspired you to begin your work as an artist?

2. Did you have mentors to guide you (or favorite artists/teachers)

3. What difference does creating art make to the quality of your life?

4. What legacy as an artist would you like to leave future generations?

I intended to use their answers as direct quotes "in the artist's own words." I also posed another question to help provide a focus for me in describing their work:

In a few words, how would you describe your art?

Along with the questions, I gathered information "About the Artist" (birthplace, arts education, shows, etc.) to include in each blog posting.

My goal of "50 Artists" interviewed in one year (the Emerald Art Center's 50th Anniversary year) turned out to be too aggressive to achieve. Even so, I expect to reach the goal of 50 stories yet this year.

The interviewing and writing experience has been very inspiring for me -- meeting so many creative people and learning about their art, their mentors, and their lives as artists. It has also challenged me, especially when I didn't "connect" with the art or the artist.

Overall, I've received positive feedback about the articles and in only one case did the artist protest to me that "I didn't get it" (what he was trying to convey to the world with his art). I invited his comments for publication but he chose not to respond.

The "50 Artists" blog has generated 4669 visits by 3385 unique visitors since its inception in May 2007 and has generated 10,298 page views to date. In addition, the newspaper had a readership of 8000+ people each week and the new city magazine's online and print readership tops 5000 people in just its fourth month.

The experience of writing (and photographing art) has kept me focused on "creativity" and continues to energize my work as a writer. And it led me into a new business venture creating websites for artists!

For writers seeking an inspiring outlet for their creative energy and a focus for their work, I encourage you to visit your local arts organizations and art galleries to find an artist (or 50!) to write about for a year or more. Let me know about your experience.

Writing About Creative Artists

Where J-School Led Me

Forty-three years ago I climbed the two levels of concrete steps of Murphy Hall and opened the door to the "J" School for the first time. I had decided that journalism would be my new major at the University of Minnesota. I had no idea where journalism and my college education would lead me. At the time, I was more concerned about keeping my draft deferment to stay out of the Vietnam War.

I did get my degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. And did not go to Vietnam. But my six years of Army Reserve duty in Ohio nearly got me to Kent State University on that tragic May 4th in 1970. Our unit was told that we could be called up to replace Ohio National Guard troops at any time. It didn't happen. But four students were killed and nine wounded by the 67 shots that rang out for 13 seconds that day in May.

My journalism degree ultimately led me into the marketing communications business. I didn't have the "stuff" to be a news reporter or feature writer. Newspaper reporting required "speed-writing" on daily deadlines. And magazine writing required story-telling skills I didn't have.

So instead, over the years I've written about hundreds of technical products -- from industrial diamonds, carbon disc brakes, and aerospace technology to spectrophotometers, plastic caskets, and computer software. Plus written advertising and publicity to market industrial magazines, training services, outdoor and city publications, retail businesses, and professional services. More recently, I've created websites for artists and small businesses and written blogs for an art center and my own business ventures.

The "selectric"typewriter days of J-School are long gone as are paste-up of ads for "lean, meaty spareribs" during my internship days at the Minneapolis Star & Tribune. I sit here at my laptop "tic-tic-tic-ing" away on the keyboard, "grabbing" a digital photo from the hard disc, checking my email, and "googling" the internet for a world of information. All inconceivable when I took those first steps into Murphy Hall.

Looking back at my worklife, the writing skills I learned in journalism school have blessed me in inconceivable ways as well. I received the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" skills to write about anything and everything. And my love of learning and curiosity about life are still with me -- even greater now than in my 20's. For all that and more, I say "thank you" to the teachers inside Murphy Hall -- Jim Barton, Virginia Harris, George Hage, Mitch Charnley, Don Gillmor, and others.

And I'm excited about being in the audience at the Bach Festival next week when a guy who wandered Murphy Hall when I was there (even though he was an English major!), Garrison Keillor, spins his tales of Lake Wobegon and sings with Maria Jette. I suspect we won't be the only Minnesota (and Iowa)-born folks in the Hult Center that night.

Where J-School Led Me

Good Writing from "A Writer's Coach"

The best book I've read about writing in recent years is Jack Hart's, "A Writer's Coach." In the introduction to his book, Hart shares answers from participants in his writing workshops about the qualities of good writing.

"Good writing, they say:

• radiates energy, crackling with a vigor that pulls readers along. It has internal strength, an inherent force that moves readers.
• gets to the point, regardless of what the point may be. Good writers don't waste their readers' time.
• transports them, putting them into a scene where they can see the autumn light and smell the fallen leaves crunching underfoot. It's rich, in other words, in what journalists call color.
• has personality, a tone both appropriate to the subject and inviting for the reader. The words sound right. They fit with one another and the mood of the reading occasion.
• can dance. Good writing has a rhythm that pleases in its own right, creating cadences that give pleasure regardless of content.
• is clear. You never have to read a well-written sentence twice--unless it's for the sheer pleasure of the experience.
• is mechanically correct. Good writers know their tools, and they never trip readers up with lapses of grammar, usage, or style.

There's broad agreement on the goals. The trick is to achieve them in your own writing, regardless of the purpose."

Seven goals for good writing. And, as Jack Hart says, "The inspiration is up to you."

Good Writing from "A Writer's Coach"

"Must Reading" and Best Writing About Oregon

My favorite local newspaper columnist, Bob Welch, offered a "must reading" list today for people visiting for the Olympic Trials. His list included 10 books "to read by Trials' end to understand us from all angles." He also adds 10 more Best of the Rest books (and Ray Atkeson's photography books) on his blog.

Lots of great writing and great reading about Oregon and Oregonians. I'm a 20-year "transplant" from Minnesota so I'm still learning about our beautiful state, its people, and many fine writers.

"Must Reading" and Best Writing About Oregon

Welcome New Blog Readers

I'm starting a blog accessed via my new website, www.oregonwriterandeditor.com.

As soon as the website is complete and "live" on the internet, I will begin posting about writing, editing, and related topics.

Tune in soon!

I invite your comments and links to your favorite blogs.

Welcome New Blog Readers