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When the moment requires grief: “Elegy for Tahlequah’s Calf”
Ever since the news came last week that an orca in the critically endangered Southern Resident pod had given birth to a still-born calf and then proceeded to keep the body afloat for days, many people across Cascadia (and the world) have been moved by this act of grief.
Seattle poet Paul E. Nelson, in response, has written an extraordinary poem, “Elegy for Tahlequah’s Calf,” and it is with great honor we published it today at Cascadia Magazine.
It’s a powerful expression of sorrow and rage at the situation human beings have created…
“She carried the dead calf 20 miles one day
in her teeth from time to time through the
full Ripe Thimbleberry Moon, through stage
one grief, denial. “We are going to be here
as long as necessary for her.””
Please take a moment to read the full poem online.
Carr Fire in northern California takes six lives
A 90,000-acre wildfire outside Redding, California has now taken six lives, including those of two children and their grandmother who tried in vain to protect them with wet blankets until the last moment, the Washington Post reports. NWPB has updates on wildfires in Washington & Oregon and CBC reports on fires in British Columbia here.
Supreme Court decision opens attacks on unions in Cascadia
Crosscut reports on a surging campaign by conservative groups to dissuade union members from paying dues in Washington, while OPB reports on the Freedom Foundation’s efforts to pull apart unions in Oregon, where union membership in the public sector is higher than the US average.
130 overdoses in one day in British Columbia
CBC reports on a record day of emergency services responding to drug overdoses in British Columbia–130 in just one day. Read more about how Cascadia is responding to the opioid crisis by considering supervised injection sites in a recent feature at Cascadia Magazine.
New immigration policies making it hard for WA farms to harvest
The Bellingham Herald reports that farms across Washington are having trouble finding workers to complete the harvest of cherries, apples, and other fruits because of strict immigration policies put in place by the Trump adminstration.
Remembering the vanishing animals of Cascadia
Dorothy Woodend, writing for the Tyee reviews a new exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver, “Wild Things,” that goes beyond a mere exhibit of natural history and taxidermy to provide a kind of ode to the disappearing fauna of Cascadia.
David Chariandy on Black Canadian writing
Vancouver-based novelist David Chariandy has an essay up at Literary Hub deflating myths about black writing in Canada, and talks about the importance of having a mentor as he wrote Brother, a novel about a new generation of black Canadians.
That’s today’s curated collection of news & culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. Stay cool in this heat wave… –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: image from Klondike fire in southern OR courtesy InciWeb