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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2019)
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 // 19 BOOKMONGER Gleaning wisdom, advice from interviews Two Northwest writ- ers who have spent their careers engaged not only in their own literary pursuits but also in encouraging and sharing the work of others have come out recently with books drawn from inter- views they’ve conducted with writers and others over the years. Despite that common- ality, the books are signifi- cantly different from one another. “American Prophets” is a meaty paperback that contains transcripts of 16 lengthy interviews with poets, thought leaders and “technicians of the sacred.” Paul Nelson selected these from the scores of interviews he conducted over a quarter-century from his studio in Auburn, Wash., for a syndicated radio pub- lic affairs program that ran in 18 markets throughout the Pacific Northwest. As a poet and a biore- gionalist, Nelson has long been interested in explor- ing how people are respond- ing to these times of what he calls “ecological crisis and THIS WEEK’S BOOKS American Prophets By Paul Nelson Seattle Poetics Lab 306 pp $25 Writers Unblocked By E.C. Murray The Writers Connection 64 pp $6.99 end-stage empire.” Nelson puts his subjects at ease with affability, per- sonal candor and clear inter- est in their work, whether discussing censorship with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg or morphogenetics with Cam- bridge-trained biologist Rupert Sheldrake. He delves into the pain of 9/11 and the facilitation of energy with Wiccan high priestess Phyl- lis Curott, and he talks with Wanda Coleman about how she went from writing soap operas to creating jazz son- nets, and learned to channel her rage about racism and inequity. These interviews offer an interesting look back at our recent past. Nelson quotes one of his guests who describes the time as “after the death of the old gods and before the birth of the new.” The topics that Nelson and his guests tackle have not been solved in the years since those interviews were conducted; rather, many of the issues have become exacerbated since then, making the book title unfor- tunately apt. “American Prophets” provides tremen- dous grist for reflection. The other book we’re looking at this week draws from past interviews with authors that originally appeared in the free Writ- ers Connection e-newsletter, published by Puget Sound- based writer E.C. Murray. Murray describes “Writ- ers Unblocked” as a tiny book, but she packs its three-score pages with advice from 30 writers from around the Pacific Northwest. Last Week’s Crossword Answers P A S S A U T O S C A N T R Y L I T P O O G N U A S T O S P M I L E S H O N N E W B A L L C R Y A N S O C K P R A Y A D S S A I L M I N E S N O O R U S H M A T A N E R S U N P U T T A B T L E E K R D A A O N Y U S E R A A S S A S T S B O U T O N F A F T E D E B A T O N S A O A V K R E D I S F U O S P E S M L O E D D I S T E T B R A S T I L E N S E S N A R L S H A M L E T C A T C H O N S N O C O N E A T E O U T G E N R E S A R P W A Y E O L D E A E P M E R S C O N M P A R O K A S E Z H I O R T I S I L O S T A N A R G L E R W E E O R S I M B T A U E N G It’s uncanny how many of these authors feel com- pelled to deliver their advice via triple-wallop: “Read, read, read,” or “Write, write, write,” and “Persist, persist, persist.” Beyond that, the writers share additional anecdotes about what works for them individually. Maybe it’s an MFA program or a writ- er’s group, maybe it’s the inelegant but matter-of-fact directive to “Keep your butt in the chair,” or maybe it’s advice to adopt a dead men- tor (that one comes from Seattle poet Susan Rich). Montana-based author Jamie Ford reminds us to take joy in the creative act: “Learning to write is like being handed a box of a mil- lion crayons. Don’t be afraid to try new colors.” “Writers Unblocked” is a gift of encouragement. The Bookmonger is Bar- bara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly col- umn focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Con- tact her at bkmonger@ nwlink.com. This Week’s Crossword Answers Z E S T A A M Y A C E T S K E T O I P P O T H A N T O R Y T E X L O N E A N T S N E S A N S U R E L I E C T E D L A S S O N Y S E R O N E F R O S O S A W L C I L E E N E D R G E D G O T O P L E S S S K O S H S T A T E A D A P T E D T O S I T U A T I O N P E A S F A J I C A T A T A D E E A B T M L A P A C A N K S T I H I S A C H M O L A S S E S S P I T A T S T N A A N E D I N N Y U P O G O E X A C T A S D O E S T N A P B E N D I N E S W A D S I N C L E M E N T A Y D E D S S A S P P I I N N G D L A Y U N E T A S S T S A W S E I E A P D E N S M I I C H A I B U T N S M E A S O F S F U C S N U P K B I G A N N A D A D A R T I M Y O A I S Z E N E X C O A R N S M E E T I M O N E N K E N Y E S T E M O R A S S E S B E N I G N I A D A S E D A M C A B O S T A C Y N O I E V D E E O D T K P O I S S I B S R Y C A S C O I K M I A S H H A I N I T I A T E D G O T O P R E S S O N T O E S T U N S W A G O N S N O O D The Writers Connection Seattle Poetics Lab The cover of ‘Writers Unblocked’ by E.C. Murray. The cover of ‘American Prophets’ by Paul Nelson. Nekst Event 175 14th St., Suite 100 (Foot of 12th) Astoria, OR. 97103 Please use waterfront back-in parking Chef Chris Holen • 503-298-0838 chefholen@nekstevent.com Only onsite private event space