The daily Astorian., June 02, 2016, Page 11, Image 21

JUNE 2, 2016 // 11
The Local Lie features an eight-page color insert of AHS student art, including this painting by
Rachel Simmons.
Jack McCarty /
PERSONAL FAULTS
SUBMITTED PHOTO
An excerpt from The Local Lie
SUBMITTED IMAGE
The cover illustration for The Local Lie is by
AHS sophomore Claire Albright.
The Local LIE
Astoria High School
students publish their
own literary review
By MATT LOVE
The idea of titling the 2015-16
Astoria High School literary review
originated from a standup brainstorm
session with the book’s ive editors
and their advisor, me.
We had spent the better part of
three weeks in both sections of my
high school Creative Writing class
trying to reach consensus on a name,
but nothing emerged — until one of
the editors threw out the phrase “the
local lie.” From there, sophomores
Angel Harrison, Trinity Hennessee,
Lidija Sovulj, Dylan Hauser-Schalk
and senior Tekla Daniel started rifing
on the theme. Within seconds, we had
our name, and the editors were off
and running. By the time the review
went to press, the editors put in a her-
culean task of reading and evaluating
over 700 submissions of writing and
art and narrowing down the inal
contents to 185.
“It was stressful but deinitely got
me ready for life after high school. It
taught me the importance of deadlines
and how to work with other people,”
said Daniel.
“If there’s one thing AHS students
want, it is to be heard,” said Hennessee.
“Everyone who is in the review not only
has a chance to show off their tremen-
dous talent, but also has a unique voice
of their own that gets to be heard.”
Every place has its local lies —
the received wisdoms and rehearsed
ictions that often dominate the
history and culture of that place.
These local lies can be silly, hilarious,
cryptic, moot, expedient or extremely
dangerous. They run the gamut of
human delusions and deceptions.
Some people are comfortable with
the lies or completely oblivious to
them, but others, typically the youth
of that place, recognize them and
often rebel. The questions are: Should
these lies be confronted, and if so,
by what means? Writers, artists and
musicians naturally gravitate toward
confronting them with their work.
Questioning some of the local lies
does take place in this literary review,
but that’s hardly the full story. There
are wonderful moments of pure bliss,
contemplation and sheer ictional
fantasy in the pages of The Local
Lie. To get the whole story of what’s
going on in the minds of the writers
and artists on campus, I suggest you
support the creative youth of Astoria
and read the entire book. The truth of
who they are just might emanate from
their words.
The review consists of memoirs,
LAUNCH PARTY
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 8
Cofee Girl
100 39th St., No. 2, Astoria
Free admission
Books cost $10
In terms of geology, I fashion myself to be
a fault line. Fault line is a speciic and strange
enough title, and one could argue that I
chose it for the sake of being unique, but
there is logic to it.
Fault lines are an overlooked piece of
Earth’s makeup. They lay dormant for periods,
up to thousands of years, and often begin
to fade from recent memory. Then, without
warning, a slight trip or heavy pressure build
up will cause it to become active, allowing it
to cause devastating amounts of damage to
much more than just the surrounding area.
It’s in this way that I relate. I myself have
always had trouble with work ethic. I’ll go
long periods avoiding, putting of, or oth-
erwise not completing my responsibilities.
Even as I write to compare myself to a fault,
I am reluctant to put work into it. However,
also like a fault line, my apparent level of ac-
tivity is not proportional to my capabilities at
all. In a short period of time, I can complete a
rather impressive amount of tasks of varying
diiculty. The stress of the situation pushes
me to suddenly put forth a high amount of
energy.
So as it’s been said, to compare myself to
a fault line isn’t completely unreasonable.
I may be generally inactive, but I’m always
present, always capable, and always a threat.
vignettes, essays, poems, short sto-
ries, rants, meditations and streams of
consciousnesses. Many of the pieces
were inspired by ield trips to local
places such as the Astoria-Megler
Bridge and Tapiola Park.
At 250 pages, The Local Lie is the
largest review of my teaching career
and certainly contains the most eclectic
range of writing and inest art of any
review I’ve published with students.
The book also features an eight-page
color art insert ably coordinated by
AHS art teacher Mickey Cereghino.
Sophomore Claire Albright provided
the arresting cover illustration.
A host of partners came forward to
fund the review with an astonishing
amount of generosity. We received
grants from CommuniCare, Clatsop
County Cultural Coalition and the
Astoria Schools Foundation. Over 30
local people and several businesses,
including my publishing company,
Nestucca Spit Press, donated monies
and in-kind support. One Astorian
who loves poetry and tirelessly volun-
teers to better her town, Doris Brenan,
contributed $700. The students them-
selves raised a couple hundred bucks
by illing several lower vases with
spare change and bills.
The Local Lie is available at
multiple retail outlets around Astoria,
including Godfather’s Books and
CoCommercial. The library has a
copy to check out as well. The review
is also available through the Nestucca
Spit Press website at nestuccaspit-
press.com (the support AHS literary
review tab). All proceeds from book
sales will go toward funding next
year’s review.
I invite everyone with an interest
in supporting Astoria High School’s
creative writers to attend the launch
for the book at Coffee Girl in Pier
39 in Astoria. The date is 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 8. The event will
feature readings from the book and
musical performances from members
of the creative writing classes. Books
cost $10. Admission is free but we’ll
readily accept donations at the launch
to keep the writing and publishing
going for next year.