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Poet Judith Barrington at Cascadia Magazine
If you haven’t yet read Judith Barrington’s poem “In Praise of Not Knowing the Names of Birds,” now online at Cascadia Magazine, you should give it a read here. Judith is a longtime resident of Portland and the acclaimed author of five collections of verse, the most recent of which is Long Love: New & Selected Poems, published in June 2018.
The poem is a litany of observant, negative statements about various and sundry birds:
“I cannot name the one who hoots
the one who dives from treetops
the one who stands on chopstick legs
waiting for sushi.”
Read the full poem online here.
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Cascadia Magazine original:
We Hope You Enjoy Portland Spirit
It’s just another strange day in Portland in Terrence Petty’s essay “We Hope You Enjoy Portland Spirit” as protesters and counter-protesters clash, a colorful cast of characters pass by, and tourists seem oblivious to the whole kerfuffle. Read the full essay online at Cascadia Magazine.
A wide-open race for Vancouver city government
The Georgia Straight reports on how the two established parties in the Vancouver mayor’s race, the NPA and Vision Vancouver, are facing a lot of independent competition. The Tyee reports on the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) and contemplates the possibility of a socialist majority in BC’s largest city. The big issue is housing affordability, and former mayoral candidate Patrick Condon writes in the Tyee about what he sees as essential steps toward increasing housing supply and reducing costs.
Assisted injection may come to Vancouver harm reduction sites
Travis Lupick writes for the Georgia Straight that supervised injection sites in Vancouver may soon be allowed to assist drug users who don’t have the physical ability to inject themselves–brining these marginalized users off the streets. Read Travis’s story of the creation of Vancouver’s first supervised injection site at Cascadia Magazine, as well as Kelsey Hamlin’s report on Seattle’s current debate about harm reduction.
Oregon to vote on measure that would end sanctuary
An initiative that would repeal Oregon’s law that generally prevents the state from helping federal officials enforce immigration laws qualified for the November ballot. Meanwhile, Willamette Week reports that federal ICE officials have denied the Oregon congressional delegation’s requests to visit separated families at a detention center in Portland.
Fires spread in eastern Cascadia
Oregon governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency as wildfires near The Dalles caused one fatality. Meanwhile, fires in British Columbia’s Okanagan region continued to spread and close down major highways.
Prominent Seattle restaurant owner accused of assault
In fantastic reporting for KUOW, Sydney Brownstone writes about five women who claim prominent Seattle restaurant owner David Meinert engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct, including rape. Meanwhile, pressure is increasing for Bend, Oregon city councilor Nathan Boddie to drop out of a legislative race because of accusations of sexual misconduct.
Following ancient footsteps
At Hakai magazine, Andrew Curry writes a fantastic feature about archaeologists who specialize in finding fossilized footprints left by human ancestors millions of years ago — including recently discovered prints in Calvert Island, British Columbia.
Hard-hitting stand-up comedy from Howie Echo-Hawk
High Country News has a profile and audio of Howie Echo-Hawk, a stand-up comic of Pawnee heritage who lives and works in Seattle. His hard-hitting comedy is meant to make white people uncomfortable about Indigenous issues. “It’s fun for me to see them squirm,” he says. “Because in mainstream colonizer-America, I’m pretty much constantly squirming, so to put that back on them for a couple of minutes is just fine for me.”
“The Moraine,” short fiction by Leni Zumas
Portland Monthly has a work of short fiction online by Leni Zumas entitled “The Moraine,” a funny, sharp-edged story of an unlikely friendship between a young Portland woman and an Iraqi refugee and her family — who live in an apartment building scheduled for demolition. You can read an interview with Leni Zumas at Cascadia Magazine.
That’s all the news & culture from Cascadia today that’s fit to print. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: Comet Tavern by Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0