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Great Grinning Things:
Sharma Shields on living with MS
Multiple Sclerosis is a cruel monster of a disease.
Spokane-based novelist Sharma Shields knows this firsthand, having been diagnosed with MS five years ago. In a gorgeous and honest essay now online at Cascadia Magazine, Sharma writes about her daily struggles with the disease in the context of her review of Seattle writer Nicola Griffith’s novel So Lucky.
Both Shields, Griffith, and the novel’s narrator all have MS, and Sharma’s essay details the the book’s powerful depiction of the “great grinning thing” that must be confronted every day:
“When I read this book at Cama Beach, recovering from my biggest relapse in four years, I was very afraid, more afraid of MS than I’d been since my diagnosis. I wondered about my own incarnation of the disease: Not a dog or a monster, but maybe the black eels that sprouted from my legs in a dream I’d had right before I was diagnosed.”
We’re closing out 2018 at Cascadia Magazine by publishing this honest and important essay by one of the region’s most talented writers. Do yourself a favor and read it this weekend. You can find it online here.
And if you appreciate great writing like this, please consider becoming a supporting reader of Cascadia Magazine. We rely the generous financial support of readers like you to pay our writers and photographers a fair rate for their work. Make any size contribution you’re comfortable with at our donate page.
Examining the BC vote against prop-rep
After yesterday’s defeat of a plan for proportional representation in British Columbia, several media outlets analyzed the results: the Tyee offers an alternative for Greens and progressives to pitch: public funding of campaigns, while the Vernon Morningstar examined the relief many voters in central BC felt, and Vancouver is Awesome contends that the ballot initiative was a muddled mess tailor-made for failure.
Fixing the teacher diversity gap in southwest WA
Katie Gillespie, writing for the Columbian, reports on an innovative program that’s speeding the effort to hire more teachers of color in Vancouver, WA, where the student population is becoming increasingly diverse. Meanwhile, Willamette Week reports on the new Latinx legislators in southeast Portland who are reshaping Oregon state politics. The Malheur Enterprise notes that Latino politicians are finding new power in central Oregon, and Portland-based rapper Aminé paid for a billboard that reminds Portland that black people live there.
High winds destroy White Rock pier
The beloved pier at White Rock, BC was severely damaged in the recent windstorm, CBC reports. Meanwhile water systems in Nanaimo and on parts of Salt Spring Island were damaged in the storm and have advised residents to boil water until the system is fixed. And a rare tornado touched down in Port Orchard, WA earlier this week, damaging around 50 homes.
A campaign to end gold mining in the north Cascades
Gregory Scruggs, writing for ThisPlace, reports on a community-based effort to convince the US government to put an end to gold mining in the the north Cascades near Mazama, Washington. “”Wildlife, water, recreation, clean air, beautiful scenery, trees – that’s what makes this valley what it is,” said rancher and former forest firefighter John Doran.”
A master of mechanical art in Okanogan
Crosscut/KCTS has a very cool report on the amazing art of Loren Doner, who works out the central Washington town of Tonasket and welds together intricate kinetic sculptures that range from opening sunflowers to a giant octopus.
Ode to the Heart, poetry by James Arthur
Canadian-born poet James Arthur, who did graduate work at the University of Washington, has a poem online at Poetry Northwest: “Ode to the Heart.” It’s an unsentimental look at human love:
“At times, mid-conversation,
I feel you inside me, poised
for flight—a prehistoric
bird, hungry to prey
and ravage.”
Read the full poem here.
That’s your reading assignment for this weekend, hope you enjoy it. A very happy Solstice to all our loyal readers! ? Here’s hoping your holiday season is filled with friendship, warmth, and abundant love. Cascadia Daily will resume publication on Dec. 26. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: Methow River by Steve Voght via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0.