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“The Abyssopelagic”
Spokane-based poet Ellen Welcker ‘s new poem “The Abyssopelagic” is now online at Cascadia Magazine. It’s an unvarnished look into a deep sea of sadness, as well as the simple joys of parenting, and finding a connection with species other than our own. It’s paired with a fantastic photo by Jesse Burke, from his series Wild and Precious.
“when you’re blue at the ocean it swallows you
you enter each other you merge
you become something old
barnacled
soft”
Read the entire poem here.
Ellen is the author of Ram Hands (Scablands Books, 2016), The Botanical Garden (2009 Astrophil Poetry Prize, Astrophil Press, 2010) and several chapbooks, including The Pink Tablet (Fact-Simile Editions, 2018).
Canadian government’s flawed permit for BC pipeline
The National Observer has blockbuster investigative report on how the Canadian government’s permitting process for the proposed expansion of BC’s Trans Mountain pipeline was deeply flawed. Most damning was failure to adequately consult First Nations such as the Tsleil-Waututh, which is required in Canada’s constitution. Jerome Turner’s recent feature for Cascadia Magazine also noted this failure, which could doom the controversial project in the courts. Meanwhile, CBC notes that several companies guilty of oil spills in British Columbia waters have failed to pay penalties on time. Ricochet media notes that recent polls about the Trans Mountain pipeline conducted by the Liberal Party failed to take into account the moral need for action on climate change.
Jo Ann Hardesty’s historic run for Portland City Council
Willamette Week profiles Jo Ann Hardesty, a former state senator and police reform activist who’s campaigning to be the first female African American city commissioner in Portland’s history.
Yakima, WA has high rates of childhood asthma
Eilis O’Neil, writing for KUOW, reports on how agricultural workers and their families in Yakima, Washington, have some of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the state, thanks to pesticides, dust, and poor housing conditions.
The beauty of Garry oak ecosystems
Hakai magazine has a glorious photo essay about the park-like Garry oak ecosystems on southern Vancouver Island. These unique meadow landscapes offer a variety of species not found in typical Douglas-fir forest, but they’re threatened by fire suppression and climate change.
Dan Savage on sexual deprivation, “incels” and violence
Seattle-based sex columnist Dan Savage, writing for The Stranger, explores the phenomenon of “incels” (involuntary celibates) and their misogynist violence that led to the Toronto attack. Savage advocates for more openness about sexual deprivation, decreasing stigma for sex workers, and condemning all sexually deprived men who blame women or turn to violence.
Fernando Pérez’s poem “Meditations on an Open Field”
At Poetry Northwest, you can read “Meditations on an Open Field” by Fernando Pérez, who lives in Seattle and is an assistant professor of English at Bellevue College.
“All the objects in the world
once touched.”
Read the entire poem here.
That’s today’s dose of news and culture from the Cascadia bioregion. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: Garry oak by David Stanley CC BY-SA 2.0.