Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1984)
f The Arts___________ _ English instructor now published author By DeAnn Dietrich Of The Print Craig Lesley, an English teacher at Clackamas Community College, is now a published author. His novel, “Winterkill,” is now in distribution and should be available at the College bookstore by May 10. Lesley is now receiving critics’ praise for his first work. Publisher’s Weekly wrote a highly complimentary review. “I was really pleased with it,” Lesley said of the review. The Orego nian ran a review in the April 22 edi tion of Northwest Magazine, that had nothing but positive remarks for the' new author. The reviews are not the only goal for an author, but they can be very im portant to both the sales of a book and to the author’s own feelings. “I think you can’t help but take it hard if you have a bad review,” Lesley said. Authors are often asked whether they feel it is more important for them to be successful or to write well. Lesley had no hesitation when he answered that he does not expect the book to be on the bestseller list, but that he is not concerned. “It’s more important that people like it and it receives good reviews,” Lesley said and added, “You just write the best you can.” “Winterkill” is a story that covers three relationships. The primary focus is on the reuniting of a father and son, as the father shares his knowledge of the family’s American Indian heritage. The underlying themes include man’s relationship with the earth and the con descension of American Indians by the U.S. government. Lesley said his book is not political in nature and a reason he qhose American Indians as a pro tagonist is because, “they have felt a relationship with the land that other people haven’t.” One of the most frustrating pro blems Lesley encountered as he worked on his book was the inconsistency of history records, he said. Although the book is fiction, there are certain facts that Lesley said he thought were im portant to the plot. He also researched the American Indian culture and spoke with members of the community in order to accurately account cultural ceremonies and myths. When discussing his book, Lesley stresses the help and support he receiv ed from his family, friends and people at the College. His wife, who is also a writer, contributed a great deal to the revising and polishing of the novel. He said he has no intention of quitting his teaching career, which he enjoys. “Writing is really lonely. You don’t get any feedback,” he said. There was no problem with hitting a low production point, Lesley said. He commented on Oregon’s weather, meaning a large number of gray days, as being helpful to his concentration. His schedule of deadlines with his editor didn’t allow much extra time. “I didn’t have the luxury of writer’s block,”- he said. A sequel to “Winterkill” is on Lesley’s schedule fpr future work, but before he returns to the novel, he plans to work on a few other stories. Lesley added that his editors are always wan ting to know what is coming next. “Winterkill” can be found in a few stores in Portland at this time. The cost is $14.95. Lesley said the story would appeal to a general audience and has no gimmicks in the way it is writ ten. “It’s a real story,” he said. College plays host for Tom McCall tourney The Clackamas Com munity College speech team will host the second annual Tom McCall Memorial Speech Tournament this weekend, May 4-5, in Paul ing 201. Competitors from 11 Northwest colleges will be represented. Frank Harlow, speech coach for the College, said the tournament was created two years ago to “round out the schedule for the forensics competitors.” This is the last competition of the year for the College, and the only one held on campus. Due to budget restrictions, the Cougar competitors will not par ticipate at nationals this year. Harlow has mixed emotion about the 1983-84 speech team. “As a group, they did not reach the levels I thought they would,” he said. “(Speech) is a learning process, and that was achieved, but we did not reach all the goals we set out for.” Harlow lays some of the blame on the lack of in centive. “The year would have been much better if we had been able to go to na tionals. I had people who CRAIG LESLEY, College English instructor and author of “Winterkill.” would have qualified had File Photo they had the opportunity.” Gladstone, Oregon “A FUN TAVERN” Shuffleboard - Videos - 3 Pool Tables Flippers - Ski Ball and Electronic Darts Open at 7 a.m. Kegs to go 464 Portland Ave. 657-3626 I Page 4 Theater people to tour Seattle By Shelley Ball Of The Print Clackamas Community College’s theater department has recently been plagued by a rumor concerning an upcom ing field trip to Seattle. The rumor is that funding for the trip is coming from an excess amount of money that is just “floating around” and is carelessly being spent on a trip, Jack Shields, College theater director, said. “That’s a dirty rumor,” Shields said. Although he doesn’t know how the rumor got started, it is very damag ing. “Our (theater depart ment) regular budget is real close to the vest,” he said. Shields explained the Col lege’s theater department has not increased its budget in 10 years, and the amount of mdney the department receives from Student Activities has not been able to adequately pay for expenses. “That fund has not been sufficient for the last five years to cover the costs,” he said. It is for this reason that the small-cast show of “Close Ties” was chosen to be per formed at the Coaster Theater in Cannon Beach, in order to help ease the cost of transpor tation, Shields said. As it turned out, the Can non Beach performance of “Close Ties” brought in the largest gate receipts this year at the Coaster Theater. Theater Secretary Barbara Bragg said there were approx imately 1,100 gate receipts for “Close Ties.” Last year’s Coaster Theater performance of “Androcles and the Lion” brought in 900 gate receipts in comparison. Bragg said the Seattle field trip would be paid for by most of the 1,100 gate receipts, and the remaining amount would be carried over into next year’s budget. The field trip will be limited to theater students who have been involved in any two of the three major productions put on this year, and as of press time the cost per person will be $42 (not counting costs for transportation). About 20 students have decided to go on the trip at this time. The Seattle trip will give students the opportunity to see three plays over a two-day period on May 25 and 26. Students will first attend the Empty Space Theater to see “Church, Kitchen and Kids,” then they will attend a Satur day matinee at the Seattle Children’s Theater to see “Tall Tales From Mark Twain.” Students will then have a picnic at Woodland Park, after which they will attend the Bathhouse Theater to see William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Such a field trip to Seattle was at one time a yearly event for theater students, as Shields said the department had a field trip budget. This budget was cut four years ago, and since that time theater students had not been able to go on a field trip. Clackamas Community College