BY JA S O N SISSON
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NEWS EDITOR @NEWSMANJAY
O ^ h a t in the b e g in n in g n o th in g
was known of the beginning only
exp lain s so m u c h ,” so opens a
m L
poem titled “ G e n e sis,” by Joh n
Sibley Williams; a fitting opener for the 23rd volume
of the Clackamas Literary Review.
The Clackamas Literary Review is an anthology
of poetry and prose that is annually compiled from
the submissions of an array of authors. The review
is edited and designed by E nglish departm ent
students and facu lty at Clackam as Com m unity
College in Oregon City. This year, the opportunity
to review it has landed in my hands.
Ebbing and flowing naturally through topics such
as war, religion and love — the usual stuff that gets
people going — the collection sews sentim ents
much greater than the spindle of words it relies
on. In fact, this touches on its greatest strengths:
brevity and diversity. Each work offers a unique
m orsel, a b it o f som eth in g to chew on before
moving on to the next. This allows each piece to
stand on its own and to really give you a thought
— or better yet a feeling — to contemplate before
your mental palette is readily cleared and lined up
for a dive into another unique, pen-sculpted world.
In this lies my only complaint about the collection:
it is sometimes esoteric, and it is a bit hard to get a
hold on the motifs of a book with such a multiplicity
of authors. But esotericism is part of the nature
of poetry, and it is, of course, an anthology, so its
strengths by far outweigh any w eaknesses that
I first perceived. The charm of writing is rightly
shown in this collection and the reader has little
■
choice — or desire — but to read and reread to
fu lfill understanding — an understanding that is
well worth the time this book asks in return.
The collection features a good number of local
authors in cluding an aw ard-w inning poem by
Jesse Gardner, a language arts teacher at Madison
H igh School in Portland. The piece, titled “ The
Rhythms of W rite,” won Ooligan Press* 2019 “ Write
to Publish” award in poetry and is a meditation on
the author falling in love with writing as a child
before time wore his passion into drudgery — and
then back again. That feeling: first falling fast, then
passion losing luster, then once again finding that
passion and being more thankful because of it. It’ s
an utterly human story that is relatable rather you
love writing, fishing or skydiving.
“ Poetry and sex are
conceptual yearnings”
-M ark Rubin
Another local writer who is also a former CCC
student, Chelsea Thiel, authored a few pieces in the
book. She pens two works,“ Death Keeps a Garden”
and “ Unsavory,” both vividly descriptive poems
that are wont to leave a reader wanting more.
Among some of the others that stand out to me
are Suzy Harris’ “ Learning to Hear A g a in *” and
“ Even When We Are Not Ready,” a short story by
Will Donnelly. Both deal with hearing. Harris* poem
is a gut-punch of em otion, its essence being an
author looking forward to appreciating something
that is so normal for the average person that it is all
too easy to take for granted: just having the ability
to hear. Donnelly’ s story, on the other hand, is
about a young deaf man losing his religion — and
what that will cause his devout parents to think —
while finding hope in a woman, before once again
finding his spirituality in some context.
Rather you generally enjoy poetry and short
stories or not, the thread tying this collection
together is one worth tugging on. You can feel the
emotion woven into each piece; each word labored
over tirelessly, then reviewed and reviewed again
until fin ally ink was put to paper. Reaching an
audience with, a new —• or a new way of looking at —
an idea is one of the main purposes of writing and
the Clackamas Literary Review does exactly that.
“ Poetry and sex are conceptual yearnings,” to
steal a line from one of my favorite poems of the
book, the aptly named-“ Poetry and Sex” by Mark
Rubin. Indeed, it is a basic and essential need for
words to be arranged just right, to make us feel
som ething that we otherwise never would have
imagined we’d feel, to shift a paradigm we might
not have even considered. This is exactly why the
Clackamas Literary Review is a worthwhile/ead
— it’ s made up of more tha,n stories, it is made of
the human experience succinctly and beautifully
expressed.
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The CLR is a unique anthology receiving national and international acquisitions.
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The CLR won the Oregon Literary Fellowship for publishers in 2018.
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The CLR publishes first time writers alongside seasoned writers of poetry, prose and the mysterious category possibility.
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The CLR is an original publication created entirely by student editors, and fostered by English department staff at CCC.
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From acquisitions to editing and layout, an entire book is produced in the span of three months.
The Clackamas Literary Review is available at area bookstores and the CCC bookstore, or at
clackamasliteraryreview.wordpress.com and other online retailers.
Clackamas Print
theclackam asprint.com
Nay 15, 2019