MARCH 23, 2017 // 19
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BOOKMONGER
Historic heroines provide
inspiration to women today
By BARBARA LLOYD
MCMICHAEL
We’re already halfway
through Women’s History
Month — and as a way of
marking the occasion you
could read inspiring books by
or about any number of wom-
en who have worked to break
down barriers.
But this column would
particularly like to direct
your attention to a book that,
published late last year, has
quickly become a bestseller
— and deservedly so. “Dead
Feminists” is an exhilarating
excursion up and down the
timeline of what, since the
1970s, is sometimes called
herstory.
The “Dead Feminists” proj-
ect began in 2008. When two
Tacoma-based artists discov-
ered that they lived “right up
the street” from one another —
Jessica Spring is a letterpress
printer and Chandler O’Leary
is an illustrator — synapses
started sparking and creative
juices started flowing.
The presidential election
that year was a first. The con-
test between Republican and
Democratic nominees ensured
that no matter which side won,
the winning team would, for
the first time ever, have one
member who was not a white
male.
To mark this pivotal mo-
ment, and with a subtle poke
at what they felt was an undue
amount of press attention paid
to vice presidential candidate
Sarah Palin’s appearance,
in particular her fashionista
eyewear, Spring and O’Leary
joined forces to create a
“Dead Feminists –
Chandler O’Leary and
Jessica Spring”
Sasquatch Books –
192 pp - $24.95
limited edition broadside. It
featured 19th century suffragist
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
one of her pithy exhortations:
“Come, come my conservative
friend, wipe the dew off your
spectacles and see the world is
moving.”
The project was so well
received that from that time to
this, the duo has continued in
this vein.
They have focused on
representing women from
different continents, different
eras, and different walks of
life. From sharp-shooter Annie
Oakley to scientist Marie
Curie, from lyric poet Sappho
of ancient Greece to nationalist
Indian poet Sarojini Naidu
in the 20th century, and from
former slave Harriet Tubman
to deposed queen Lili’uokala-
ni, these works explore themes
that were important to the
women in the time they lived,
and still have resonance now.
“Dead Feminists” shares
all 24 of these images to
date, which on its own
would be enough to warrant
an enthusiastic recommen-
dation.
But it also shares the
collaborators’ creative process
as they selected each subject,
researched her life, discussed
design elements and colors,
and picked the quotation
that not only reflected that
woman’s work but also serves
as a call to action to could-be
heroines today. Spring and
O’Leary even explain the sig-
nificance behind the number of
prints they decide to create of
each design.
Since 2010, they have
donated a portion of their pro-
ceeds from each broadside to
nonprofits that have values that
align with the subject of that
artwork. In this book, the art-
ists tell us which organizations
have received these donations,
and why.
“Dead Feminists” shines
a light on women, including
some interesting Northwest
gals, who have shaped the tra-
jectory of women’s progress.
It encourages everyone to take
part in making incremental
change for the good. Reading
this book is a great way to
celebrate Women’s History
Month!
The Bookmonger is Barbara
Lloyd McMichael, who writes
this weekly column focusing
on the books, authors and
publishers of the Pacific
Northwest. Contact her at
bkmonger@nwlink.com
Corvallis author pens book on Oregon liquor
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — Scott
Stursa came across some for-
gotten gems while research-
ing his book on the history
of liquor in the Beaver State,
such as the Umatilla County
jury who, during Prohibition,
drank the seized alcohol and
then acquitted the suspect for
lack of evidence.
Or the tale of the
ex-Confederate soldier in
southern Oregon who made
what was described as a
world-acclaimed tomato
brandy — though it might
have been one of few such
spirits ever crafted on the
planet.
“You can’t make this stuff
up,” Stursa said.
Stursa authored “Distilled
in Oregon: A History &
Guide with Cocktail Reci-
pes.”
The Corvallis resident
grew up in Tallahassee,
Florida. “I was raised on
Kentucky bourbon, and that’s
mostly what I still drink,” he
said.
After college, however, he
began broadening his tastes
to include Scottish malts,
cognac, fine wine, good beer
and other beverages.
Stursa found a career in
cyber security in the Sun-
shine State, moved from
Florida to the Willamette
Valley in 2007 and became
aware of the craft distilling
boom in Oregon.
He’s always wanted to be
a writer and thought of doing
a book, but the recession led
to closures of some distill-
eries, and he reconsidered.
But a few years later, he
began work on “Distilled in
Oregon,” which was pub-
lished last month.
“It was very slow prog-
ress. It took almost four years
from the time I started. Last
spring, I retired and I was
really able to devote attention
to it,” Stursa said.
Since Stursa was working
much of the time, he had to
use vacation to visit histori-
cal archives throughout the
Northwest.
“Distilled in Oregon”
traces the history of liquor
from the “blue ruin” made by
fur traders and sold to Native
Americans through the rise
of small farm distilleries
in the late 1800s and the
state’s early sunset on legal
liquor production in 1916,
four years before national
Prohibition.
George Baker, the mayor
of Portland during Prohibi-
tion, is one of the featured
characters. “This guy basi-
cally became rich by turning
the city government into a
bootlegging organization,”
Stursa said.
The book also chronicles
the post-Prohibition industry
in Oregon and Hood River
Distillers, which started mak-
ing brandy in 1934 because
farmers wanted to get profit
out of cosmetically inferior
fruit that couldn’t be sold in
stores.
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