Feature ______________ L
WEdNEsdAy, M ay 24, 2000
TI h E ClAckAMAS P rìnt
Instructor will read from his book on campus
Staff Writer
For people in New York or
L.A., it’s pretty commonplace
to read a book about the area
they live in. But readers have
to look a little harder to find
books set in the vicinity of
Portland. Craig Lesley, an En
glish instructor at Clackamas,
has not only written a book set
in Portland, but also one that
describes thei areas that sur
round this college.
On Wednesday, May 24 at
noon, and Wednesday June 7at
7pm, Craig Lesley will read from
his latest book Storm Riders in the Gre
gory Forum. Lesley has written four
books and recently sold the screen
play rights to his book Winterkill.
Storm Riders is die story of Clark
Woods and his son Wade. It starts
out at the University of Massachu
setts, where Woods is a college in
structor. In the opening scenes, Wade,
the hyperactive Tlinget Indian foster
son, is under suspicion in die acciden
tal drowning of a young girl. Thestory
then flashes back through Claik’s life
and his first marriage. As Lesley moves
the story past Claik’s time at UMass,
he traces the difficult relationship be
tween Clark and his son. Wade has
many problems besides hyperactivity,
including fetal alcohol syndrome and
other behavioral problems that Clark
feels are just labels made by psycholo
gists, doctors, and so-called experts
whocan’texplainwhat’sgoingon in
side his son. Clark struggles to
help Wade, but Wade seems to
have a talent for finding the
best ways to cause the most
trouble in any given situation.
Storm Riders is the story of
a troubled young man and a fa
ther who is trying desperately to help
him survive in the world. In the end,
Wade benefits most from living
among his own Tlinget tribesmen.
Storm Riders is filled with refer
ences to the Portland area. He talks
about ’’The Oregonian”, Sellwood,
die Willamette and Columbia Rivers,
Oregon City and a free elevator next
to the paper mill and Portland’s re
cently demolished Greyhound Bus
Station.
Lesley’s Actional Two Rivers
Community College bears more than
a passing resemblance to Clackamas.
The book’s main character, Woods,
even encounters a prison inmate
named Knorr, and talks about a
school
newspaper
that
misreports a series of book
readings on peace as readings
on peaches.
Craig Lesley grew up in The
Dalles and Madres and pres
ently lives with his wife and
two daughters in Portland.
Lesley teaches advanced fic
tion writing at Clackamas and
holds the Hallie Ford Chair (for
creative writing) at Willamette
University in Salem.
“Craig Lesley is a writer who
takes us to the edge of work
ing people’s lives with the dig
nity and compassion found
only in the best storytelling. In
his work, Lesley teaches us to
live our lives better, “ says col
league Jeff Knorr.
r
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