4A • November 18, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
THE PROPHETIC VISION
OF URSULA K. LE GUIN
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Filmmaker Arwen Curry, producer and director of “Th e Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin,” with the author in Cannon Beach.
L
ast year The New Yorker zeroed in on the natural hazards
of our coast in Kathryn Schulz’s “The earthquake that
will devastate the Pacifi c Northwest.”
Maybe it is appropriate that the magazine, in their Oct. 17
issue, now focuses not on a force of nature but a voice for hu-
manity.
“The Fantastic Ursula K. Le Guin” by Lisa Phillips offers
an intimate portrayal of the only living author — with Philip
Roth — in the Library of America series.
Le Guin fi rst enchanted readers in the 1960s and never
stopped. Among the most honored of America’s authors, she
lives in Portland and Cannon Beach. “We believe she is one
of America’s fi nest authors and a bold and honest voice in the
entire fi eld of literature,” Cannon Beach Book Company’s
co-owner Maureen Dooley-Sroufe said this week.
At the Cannon Beach Book Company a request for Ursula
K. LeGuin’s writing results in a “walking
tour” of the store.
“We start in science-fi ction/fantasy, head
over to children’s books, on to poetry, then
to essays and fi nally Pacifi c Northwest Re-
gional books,” Dooley-Sroufe said. “Ursula
K. Le Guin is the only author whose books
we feature in this way — it refl ects the great
diversity and breadth of her work.
“She is a part-time resident of Cannon
Beach, and we delight in knowing that she
may be writing, relaxing or strolling to the
beach right now,” Dooley-Sroufe added.
Watt Childress, co-owner of Jupiter’s
Rare & Used Books, praised Le Guin in an
interview with the Gazette’s Erick Bengel.
Le Guin’s work, Childress said, “rises to
the level of epic myth that burrows deeply
into our consciousness.… She speaks from
a place and a position that commands re-
spect.”
Le Guin’s books are magical, not neces-
sarily cheerful hocus-pocus, but with cloudy
edges teased into being by a prankish wiz-
ard.
In “Unlocking the Air,” the author warns: “There is no ‘af-
ter’ in ‘happily ever after.’”
But “after” is what Le Guin pursues, our ability to re-invent,
re-create ourselves: “We can tell the story over, we can tell the
story till we get it right.”
Imagining the future
In The New Yorker’s profi le, Phillips draws a biographical
arc describing a young Le Guin as an outsider uncomfortable
with the cultural cliques of the 1950s and ’60s, “never at home
with establishments of any kind.”
As a young writer Le Guin acutely felt the closed society of
both literary and male-dominated elites, each to stymy her and
then shape her own genre-defi ning path.
A frustrating period of rejections gave way to a venture into
a new genre.
“I just didn’t know what to do with my stuff until I stumbled
into science fi ction and fantasy,” Le Guin tells Phillips. “And
then, of course, they knew what to do with it.”
The author’s success was immediate. Science fi ction opened
Le Guin up to writing not only about aliens, but from “alien”
points of view: “composing the political manifesto of an ant,
wondering what it would be like if humans had the seasonal
sexuality of birds, imagining love in a society in which a mar-
riage involves four people.”
The author, through her characters was questioning and re-
defi ning the modern gender experience.
At home in Oregon
Le Guin slings wicked puns, to wit, her short story title
“Ether, OR: For the Narrative Americans.”
The story, like a signifi cant part of her work, pays homage
to the state where her great-grandfather arrived from California
in 1873.
And who could be
more of an archetypal
Oregonian superhero CANNON SHOTS
than George Orr, the
man who can stop an R.J. MARX
earthquake, in “The
Lathe of Heaven”?
When on the Coast,
Le Guin tells The New Yorker, she “does the stupid, ordinary
stuff that has to be done that you can’t let go.” That also in-
cludes participation in local literary activities, including the
2013 program “Get Lit at the Beach.”
For a glimpse behind the front door, visit Le Guin’s blog,
where she provides rants, cat photos, poetry,
even rules of the game “Fibble,” where “the
only words allowed are words that (so far as
anybody there knows) do not exist.”
“Doing fi ne but not doing very much,”
Le Guin posted in September.
A late October health update (Le Guin
suffers from a congenital heart murmur that
landed her in the hospital): “Can’t hang
from branches yet, but am real good at mov-
ing slo o o w w l y …”
A passionate voice
We don’t often think of courage as a lit-
erary trait — Le Guin reminds us otherwise.
“The measure of a civilization may be
the individual’s ability to speak the truth,”
Le Guin proclaimed in the 1976 essay “Lan-
guage of the Night.”
Le Guin encourages us to be masters of
our own destiny, like George Orr, whose
dreams can alter reality.
Le Guin celebrates the power of imagi-
nation and the individual’s freedom to ex-
press it.
“Don’t worry about control! Freedom is what you’re work-
ing toward!” she writes.
The unconscious mind is “the wellspring of health, imagi-
nation, creativity,” to be expressed freely and without restraint.
The author’s voice resonated in a passionate speech at the
2014 National Book Awards: “Right now, I think we need writ-
ers who know the difference between production of a market
commodity and the practice of an art,” Le Guin said. “We’ll
need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries
— realists of a larger reality.”
In an age of self-censorship and media-bashing from right
and left, Le Guin provides inspiration for the creative voice in
all of us.
“We believe she is one of America’s fi nest authors and a
bold and honest voice in the entire fi eld of literature,” Dool-
ey-Sroufe said. “Her support of authors, readers and the art of
creative writing is legendary.”
Sometimes politics jump from abstraction to “larger reali-
ty” in a jolting manner. Le Guin, like her characters, seems to
possess the power to conjure a reality eerily similar to our own.
I wonder if I’m the only one refl ecting on this chilling open-
ing to Le Guin’s “Dispossessed”:
“There was a wall,” Le Guin writes. “It did not look import-
ant.… But the idea was real. It was important. For seven gener-
ations there had been nothing in the world more important than
that wall. Like all walls it was ambiguous, two-faced. What
was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which
side of it you were on.”
In the most highly charged political atmosphere in history,
Le Guin offers a steady vision into our world — internal and
external — as timely as when she fi rst put pen to page.
Holiday season
festivities on tap
mazingly, we’ve reached the 2016 November
and December holiday season. This is always
such a busy time, but also a celebratory time. We
at Cannon Beach Library are here to make it as peaceful
and joyful as possible for all of you.
First of all, the library will be a special part of
Mimosa Madness, which occurs on Black Friday, Nov.
25. From 8-11 a.m. residents and visitors alike will have
the opportunity to walk (or run) through the shops for
special deals
while they’re
offered mimosas
AT THE LIBRARY
and other treats.
CARLA O’REILLY
Best of all, the
library will be
providing free
gift-wrapping
of your purchases from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day! Not
everybody enjoys wrapping presents, myself included
— so it will be a great service. Any donations provided
will help support our Cannon Beach Library.
Mark your calendar! Saturday, Dec. 3, we will be
hosting our annual holiday tea at the library. A special
thank you to the community. Refreshments will be pro-
vided in the form of tea and coffee, cookies, and other
baked goods, and we will be holding our long-anticipat-
ed quilt drawing. The lucky winner need not be present
to win, we will contact him/her and make shipping
arrangements. Come sip tea and enjoy the warmth of our
fi replace with your friends! All are welcome.
For the fi rst time, the Cannon Beach Library will
be hosting Pictures with Santa. This event will be from
1-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 and will cost $5. Other than
Santa himself, there will be story time, crafts and treats
provided. Also, this will provide a great opportunity for
mommies and daddies to peruse our lovely handcrafted
items, which make great holiday gifts!
Due to the holiday festivities there will be no month-
ly membership meeting, nor will we have the Northwest
Author Series, which usually occurs on the second
Saturday of the month.
Later into the month of December, Neal Maine will
be speaking on “The Oregon Beach Bill — 50 Years”
for the Haystack Rock Awareness Program Lecture
Series. Having been an award-winning biology teacher
at Seaside High School for 30 years, Maine became the
executive director of the North Coast Land Conservan-
cy, which he co-founded in 1986. Since his retirement
from that position, he has dedicated himself to nature
photography. He is committed to raising awareness of
rivers, wildlife, and coastal ecology in general. He will
be speaking at the library 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Finally, Cannon Beach Reads will be held at 7 p.m.,
Wednesday, Dec. 21. The group will discuss “Dead
Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania,” by Erik
Larson. New members are always welcome.
Why not take a little time-out from the hustle and
bustle of the season and enjoy the special programs we
will be providing at the library!
A
Weave yourself into the season
The Creative Coast Project Space offers a bas-
ket-weaving workshop led by artist Donna Sakamoto
Crispin. Participants will have the opportunity to learn
how to use natural materials to make a raffi a basket or for
holding holiday treats.
Crispin is known for creating contemporary baskets
that incorporate Pacifi c Northwest indigenous tech-
niques, Japanese aesthetics, and materials and inspiration
from the natural world. All materials will be provided.
The workshop will take place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 26, with an hour lunch break. The Creative Coast
Project Space is located in Sandpiper Square.
Further information about this workshop and how to
book can be found on cannonbeacharts.org or by call-
ing 503-436-4426. Creative Coast hours are Wednesday
through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Raffi a basket by Donna Sakamoto Crispin.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Monday, Nov. 21
Ecola Creek Watershed Council
Meeting, 4:30 p.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
Tuesday, Nov. 22
Cannon Beach Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Tuesday, Dec. 6
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
Publisher
David F. Pero
Editor
R.J. Marx
Reporter
Lyra Fontaine
Sales/Advertising Manager
Betty Smith
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Thursday, Dec. 15
Tuesday, Jan. 3
Thursday, Jan. 19
Friday, Jan. 27
Monday, Dec. 12
Cannon Beach Parks and Commu-
nity Services Committee, 9 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Parks and Commu-
nity Services Committee, 9 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Emergency Prepared-
ness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall,
163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board,
6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30
p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review
Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Tuesday, Jan. 17
Thursday, Jan. 26
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Cannon Beach Public Works Commit-
tee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m.,
work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protec-
tion District, 6 p.m., Fire-Rescue
Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave.
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Tuesday, Dec. 20
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30
p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Cannon Beach Public Works
Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
Production Manager
John D. Bruijn
Circulation Manager
Heather Ramsdell
Classifi ed Sales
Jamie Ramsdell
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Brandy Stewart
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
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