Clik here to view.
Drinking in America: Nope, It's Not a Mixology Guide
In Susan Cheever's latest, a nation built by lushes (that'd be us). by Santi Elijah Holley WHEN WE STUDIED American history in school, and we read about the colonists and the holy Founding Fathers, we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kliph Nesteroff's Entry-Level Intro to Comedy
The Comedians is a welcome installment in the history of jokes. by Robert Ham THE WORLD certainly isn't in dire need of more books about American comedy. We've already been treated to great reads like...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David Thomson's Tips for How to Watch a Movie
Step one: Have fun. by Erik Henriksen "I STILL CLING to the hope that there can be good movies that entertain nearly everyone without being stupid or dishonest," British film critic David Thomson...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From a Tent in the Wallowas, a Gallery of Decay
Justin Hocking on book arts, memoir, and global warming. by Joshua James Amberson FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of Portland's Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC), creative writing instructor,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Exploitation Machine
John Seabrook on how your Top 40 sausage gets made. by Megan Burbank "ORDINARY DOMESTIC LIFE needs its bliss points, those moments of transcendence throughout the day," New Yorker staffer John...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Required Reading
Portland book-people share the best things they read in 2015. by Megan Burbank BECAUSE I AM NOSY and curious to a fault, one of the best parts of my job is asking Portland writers about their favorite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Sound of Gravel Is an Uneasy Return Home
Ruth Wariner recounts a fundamentalist upbringing. by Adam Segal HERE'S AN AMERICAN TALE you may not have heard: In 1972, the polygamist prophet Joel LeBaron was shot to death by followers of his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Catholics to Kerouac, the Life of Robert Lax
Michael N. McGregor's Pure Act is a contradictory portrait of the minimalist poet. by Suzette Smith ON THE COVER OF PURE ACT, Robert Lax sits in a barren room, long legs crossed, a cat held firmly on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Snowy Mazes of Keith Lee Morris' Travelers Rest
Explore the ghost town of Good Night, Idaho. by Courtney Ferguson I'M A BIG FAN of Keith Lee Morris' stories, but I'll admit I've got a dog in the fight. He's my people. Morris grew up in my hometown...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lori Shenher's Descent into Chaos
In That Lonely Section of Hell, a former police detective recounts the bungled investigation of a serial killer. by Wm. Steven Humphrey TRUE CRIME BOOKS are based on facts and detail, usually of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poetry and Punk Nostalgia
Literary Arts joins forces with Write Bloody Publishing. by Rachel Sandstrom ANIS MOJGANI'S AESTHETIC may remind you of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but his words are clear—and moving. "Shake...
View ArticleClik here to view.
With a Title Like Petty: The Biography, You Know It's Going to Be Generic
Writer/musician Warren Zanes offers a workmanlike book about Tom Petty. by Ned Lannamann EVERYONE KNOWS who Tom Petty is, but what do we really know about him? The blond, Florida-born rock 'n' roller...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Portland Writer Dao Strom Gives the Past a Soundtrack
We Were Meant to Be a Gentle People goes above and beyond traditional memoir. by Joshua James Amberson THIS FALL, Portland writer Dao Strom followed up her two books of fiction with a memoir, We Were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charles Bukowski, Dirtbag Boyfriend
If someone buys you On Love this week, dump 'em! by Suzette Smith THE THIRD IN A SERIES of posthumous collections edited by Abel Debritto (On Writing, On Cats), Charles Bukowski's On Love is kind of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Glimpse into the City's Checkered Past in Murder and Scandal
Before it was an empire of coffee, Portland was an empire of corruption! by Joe Streckert DESPITE WHAT you might think, Portland did not emerge fully formed from the forehead of Zeus as a place filled...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Diane Williams' Rich Kid Lit
The author's latest is gloriously unconventional—but what's with all the product placement? by Joshua James Amberson FAMED ODDBALL of modern American literature Diane Williams has spent the past 25...
View Article
