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British Columbia’s strange, innovative photographer
Hannah Maynard was a early innovator in avant-garde photography. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Maynard, who lived in Victoria, BC, experimented with photo-collages and multiple exposures to create odd, weirdly humorous photos. Some of those images were an explicit attempt by Maynard to deal with her grief over the death of her daughter to typhoid at the age of 16.
Seattle-based poet Susan Rich was fascinated with Maynard, and her poem “Tricks a Girl Can Do” now online at Cascadia Magazine, is an ode to the photographer and her work:
“Look! I’ve learned to slice myself in three
to sit politely at the table
with ginger punch and teacake;”
Read the full poem here.
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BC First Nations leader returns to United Nations
The Tyee reports that Na’Moks, the hereditary chief of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, is meeting with UN officials in New York and giving speeches on his people’s conflict with the Canadian government over the Coastal GasLink pipeline across norther British Columbia. In related news, OPB has a detailed investigation showing a company proposing a natural gas-to-methanol plant in Kalama, Washington has been misleading the public about whether the methanol will be used to make plastics or burned as fuel. And protestors against increased export of oil through Portland planted a “Victory Garden” on rail tracks in honor of Earth Day.
WA legislator talked with right-wing groups about spying on activists
Jason Wilson at the Guardian has a blockbuster report that finds Washington state GOP legislator Matt Shea was in conversations with radical right-wing groups, discussing with them spying on and committing violence against progressive activists. Democrats have called on Shea — who has a long history of extreme religious and right-wing statements — to resign.
Portland unveils first electric bus, Seattle mayor dumps bike lanes
Portland Tribune reports on the Rose City’s first electric buses in service— and the regional Tri-Met transit authority has plans to convert its entire fleet by 2040. The Oregonian reports that a new poll that finds support for tolling on freeways in Portland is growing as a strategy for reducing congestion. In related news, Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan is refusing to release the results of a study the city commissioned on congestion tolling in downtown Seattle. This comes after the city’s department of transportation said it was dumping plans for 34 bike lanes in its short-term work plans. So much for a climate-friendly Jenny…
Learning lessons from Indonesia quake in Cascadia
KNKX reports on how a researcher at the University of Oregon is studying a deadly 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia to see what lessons can be applied to a potential 9.0 magnitude Cascadia megaquake — especially regarding catastrophic landslides. In related news, Real Change has a detailed feature on how few people of color in Seattle have earthquake insurance or proper home retrofitting– and how these communities may not be served well in recovery and rebuilding efforts after a major quake.
2019 Oregon Book Awards announced
At a gala event in Portland, Literary Arts announced its 2019 Oregon Book Awards. Among those honored was Leni Zumas for her novel Red Clocks (read a 2018 interview with Zumas at Cascadia Magazine), Shea Earnshaw for her young adult novel The Wicked Deep, Apricot Irving in the creative nonfiction category for The Gospel of Trees, Kenneth R. Coleman for Dangerous Subjects: James D. Saules and the Rise of Black Exclusion in Oregon in the general nonfiction category, and Matthew Minicucci for his collection of poetry, Small Gods. Congrats to the winners! Find the complete list here.
An interview with Seattle’s David Shields
Guernica talks with Seattle-based writer and literary provocateur David Shields, whose new book is The Trouble with Men: Reflections on Sex, Love, Marriage, Porn, and Power, a self-revealing, fractured love-letter to his wife; what he describes as “short intensive immersion into the perils, limits, and possibilities of human intimacy.” There are plenty of disturbing revelations and assertions within: “I’m animated by work that stretches me emotionally, ethically, etc. . . I want a cold shower, not a warm bath. I want a work that shocks me awake, not puts me to sleep. ”
That’s today’s assortment of news, arts, and ideas from across the Pacific Northwest. Have a great day and we’ll see you tomorrow. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: electric bus courtesy of TriMet