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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2021)
BOOKMONGER Poetry confronts realities of multiple sclerosis ‘Intention Tremor’ is the April Coast Weekend Book Club pick April is National Poetry Month — as if we could confi ne poetry to a single month of the year. I’ll take any opportunity to proclaim the relevance of poetry, so now that April is here, I’d like to tout a pro- lifi c Northwest poetry publisher, MoonPath Press, which moved with its managing edi- tor, Lana Hechtman Ayers, from Kingston, Washington, to Tillamook a couple of years back. One of the MoonPath’s new books is “Intention Tremor” — a hybrid collection of poetry and prose by Tamara Kaye Sellman. Sellman was a journalist who embarked on an exciting midlife career change to work with sleep technology — when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Even so, she gritted through her program, earn- ing two medical credentials and working at a sleep lab for a couple of years. Since then, she has shifted to a busy schedule as a health care columnist, science journalist and online advocate. The Illahee Apartments Sellman’s pieces refl ect on her diagnosis: “‘Here is the proof,’ Dr. K said, clicking magnetic / scans of my brain, the remark- able white holes, / the countless grains of salt that could grow larger.” Her work also details what disease pro- gression feels like, as her immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fi bers, disrupting the brain’s fl ow of information: “There were stars in my mind’s sky, and then, / one night, there weren’t.” The no-punches-pulled poems that con- tain these lines, and Sellman’s other writ- ings, are an affi rmation for those who are living with multiple sclerosis and an educa- tion for the rest of us. Readers will learn about the symptoms and syndromes that may arise in conjunc- tion with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, as well as the drugs that can help stave off the worst eff ects of the chronic disease. In “Pill Popper at the Blue Star Diner,” Sellman turns her daily regimen of ther- apeutic meds into poetry — even as they spill out of her pill box and onto the lunch counter, “escapees shaped as capsules, tablets, / gel caps in orange, white, pink, brown, / or teal …” and attract the judgment of fellow diners who “stare from behind club sandwich / bites, or forkfuls of fried This week’s book ‘Intention Tremor’ by Tamara Kaye Sellman MoonPath Press — $16 Coast Weekend Book Club Featuring Tamara Kaye Sellman, author of ‘Intention Tremor’ 6 p.m. Wednesday Tune in at facebook.com/coastweekend or on Zoom (Meeting ID: 968 9978 7527, password: 299207) eggs …” In another poem, speaking of herself in second person, Sellman talks about the boon a medication can off er: “You covet your capsule, your personal Hope Diamond.” Sellman also delves into additional strat- egies that people living with multiple scle- rosis use to cope. And she speaks to every single one of us in the poem titled “Quarantine.” As some- one who is immunocompromised, she prac- tices the necessity of self-quarantining through fl u season every year. This poem was written pre-pandemic but Sellman’s acerbic observations about people who eschew science, citing freedom of choice, will ring true for many more of us now. “Intention Tremor” is a wake-up call in more ways than one. The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publish- ers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com Brumfi eld Gallery debuts ‘Brave New World’ show Downtown Astoria’s Most Respected Apartment Complex Since 1969. 1046 Grand Avenue Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-2280 10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM ABOVE: ‘Just Ducky 3’ by Morgan Brig. LEFT: ‘Float Some’ by Brig. Brig, as she creates new art. ASTORIA — Brumfi eld Gallery’s new exhibit will be on displayed starting Saturday at 1033 Marine Drive. The exhibit, “Brave New World,” features new works by artist Morgan Brig, a 3D collage artist. The show will run until June 6. The show is viewable online at brumfi eldgallery.com. Brig’s fi gures bring “dis- parate materials to create a unifi ed being, imbued with emotive human expression.” Her art includes symbolic imagery and found objects.