SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 // 9
Author and journalist Lori Tobias is ready to ‘Wander’
By DAN HAAG
“Wander,” the debut
novel by Oregon Coast
Today columnist and former
Oregonian staff writer
Lori Tobias, opens with a
tantalizing hint of what is to
follow:
“In our little village of
Wrassell, in the middle of
nowhere, Alaska, we saw all
kinds of prizes beckoning on
the horizon, and we couldn’t
wait to get there… By the
time that winter was over,
three of us would be dead,
another forever lost, and all
of us changed.”
The novel is set against
the backdrop of an unfor-
giving Alaskan winter, and
the story deals with love and
heart-wrenching loss.
Though challenging, Tobias
says she enjoys the freedom
of iction as opposed to her
25 years of researching and
writing news stories. “With
journalism you have the facts
and data and you choose how
to tell it,” she says. “In iction,
there are no boundaries.”
The novel’s main char-
acter, Pete, is faced with
many harsh realities as the
story opens. An East Coast
transplant to the small Alas-
kan village, she’s a young
radio reporter struggling to
impress at work and it into
her new surroundings.
She’s also coming to
grips with ive months alone
in a very big, very cold place
while her husband — a bush
pilot — looks for a bigger
payday working on the
Alaskan oil ields, aka “the
slope.”
Onto this stage of
uncertainty comes Ren, a
stranger with an Ivy League
background. Ren’s presence
gives Pete cause to ponder
the direction of her life as
the two connect. As the story
unfolds, however, we ind
that Ren has come to Alaska
with his own agenda.
When it comes to
choosing the novel’s setting,
Alaska was the logical
choice for Tobias, who spent
eight years there beginning
at age 18.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Lori Tobias covered the Oregon
Coast for The Oregonian until
2013. She lives in Newport.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Though the town of
Wrassell is ictional, it is
indicative of Alaska’s rural
settings.
“Alaska is a vast, excit-
ing, interesting and complex
place,” Tobias says. “There
were a lot of things that
really impacted me during
that time.”
In many ways Pete’s
routines are a relection
of Tobias’ time in Alaska,
such as working at an oldies
radio station and living in a
“Wander” is the irst novel by
Lori Tobias.
remote, rural setting.
Likewise, much of the
action that happens to Pete
in “Wander” is taken from
Tobias’ actual experiences,
including driving across a
frozen lake alone and having
ice break under her car as
well as a brush with the
local wildlife: One morning
at Tobias’ Alaskan cabin, she
came downstairs to ind an
immense bull moose staring
at her through the window,
a moment she describes as
“unnerving.”
While the book is only
152 pages, the length is per-
fect for the story that needed
to be told. “I didn’t see any
point in padding it just to get
extra pages,” Tobias says.
In addition to real settings
and experiences, “Wan-
der” is full of razor-sharp
dialogue that makes the
compact book an addicting
page-turner.
Tobais says she learned
the art of creating memora-
ble dialogue from her writ-
ing instructor Tom Jenks,
former short story editor at
Esquire magazine.
“He taught me dialogue
is a sword ight; it should
be more than just relaying
information,” she says.
Now, Tobias is busy
lining up presentations
to promote the book; in
September, she will read
“Wander” at gigs in Green-
wich Village, New York and
Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Locally, a reading at the
Hoffman Center in Manzani-
ta is set for Oct. 21.
While Tobias admits
to initially being terriied
of speaking to audiences,
she now looks forward to
the give-and-take, where
she says people have been
receptive and encouraging.
Next for Tobias is a mem-
oir on her 10 years covering
the Oregon Coast for The Or-
egonian — which is currently
with an editor — and a rough
draft of her next novel.
For now, she hopes that
readers will enjoy “Wander”
and take away important
lessons about the human
condition.
“People can love each
other and still make mis-
takes; everything isn’t
perfect in life,” she says.
“We never know what some
people are going through, so
be kind, love and forgive.”
“Wander” is on shelves now.
To order a copy or ind out where
Lori Tobias will be appearing locally,
visit www.loritobias.com
Cannon Beach Gallery show tells stories through clay
CANNON BEACH — The Can-
non Beach Gallery’s newest
exhibit, “Narrative Ceramic
Sculpture,” will open with
a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3.
The exhibition features
works by ceramicists Wesley
Anderegg, Akio Takam-
ori, Michelle Gallagher,
Jacquline Hurlbert, Mar-
garet Keelan, Heidi Preuss
Grew, Babette Harvey, and
husband-and wife-team
Robin and John Gumea-
lius. Each of these artists
explore narrative, creating
sculptures that engage the
audience and invite per-
sonal interpretation. Each
piece has evident or implied
narrative, drawing on the
artists’ individual real-life
experiences or imagined
worlds. The viewer is more
than a voyeur; bringing their
own viewpoint inluenced by
their biases and experience
of the world, they become
an active participant. In this
way, each piece has a unique
meaning to each and every
viewer. This is the power of
a story. As it is retold and
is translated it becomes the
interpreter’s own.
However, viewers should
tread lightly as they appro-
priate the artist’s work to
speak of their own expe-
rience and remember that
these incarnations are con-
ided in trust. The commen-
tary or confession may have
a particular meaning to the
artist — one that may never
be fully expressed in words.
Grew admits that she
never fully reveals all the
themes and ideas she is
working with, preferring to
allow the viewer some scope
for personal interpretation
but also keeping a little
something for herself.
Both Grew and Takam-
ori’s work explores iden-
tity through the self and
community. Both artists
create works in groupings
that relate meaning through
their juxtaposition and in
which the constituent parts
are powerful when standing
in isolation. Takamori and
Grew are familiar with the
concept of mixed cultural
references— Takamori was
born in Japan, and Grew is
a irst-generation German
immigrant. Their works hint
at the dichotomy of homoge-
nization and otherness.
Gallagher, Hurlbert and
Keelan’s work speaks of a
preoccupation with change
and transformation through
aging. Each art piece indulges
our desire to return to a more
innocent time while acknowl-
edging the darker side of our
psyche as we transition from
childhood, though puberty,
and settle into adulthood. The
artworks are also a celebra-
tion of the human condition
with all its humor, mischief
and mayhem.
Anderegg constructs
caricatures derived from
observances of human
behavior and memories. His
imagination develops his
subjects. He accepts that the
personal nature of his work
means it has an emotional
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“The Guide” by Heidi Preuss Grew.
quality, but he shies away
from being blatant, using
humor as a buffer.
Harvey’s imagery draws
on the natural world, hu-
manity, and environmental
issues. Robin and John
Gumaelius start from a posi-
tion of sharing. The work is
created through an ongoing
dialogue between the two
artists, each taking the next
chapter in the narrative of
their combined creations.
More information can be
found at cannonbeacharts.
org or by emailing cannon-
beacharts@gmail.com