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New poetry at Cascadia Magazine: “Icicle Creek” by EJ Koh
Newly posted at Cascadia Magazine today is a poem from Seattle poet E.J. Koh’s collection A Lesser Love (2017 Pleiades Press). Head over to our website and read “Icicle Creek,” a dreamlike exploration of desire and mortality…
“I am the daughter of a demigod and a hunter. They lived
on Jeju Island. I visited once. Trash blown by the wind
through howling cave tunnels, tangerines floating in the bay,
volcanic rock walls shaped as if people were trapped inside.”
Read the entire poem online here.
Retrofitting for Cascadia quake could save lives
A new report details what might happen across Cascadia when a magnitude 9 quake hits. Contrary to the doom and gloom of that terrifying New Yorker article, the report stresses the importance of retrofits of older wooden homes and brick buildings. Meanwhile, a new community group, Parents4Preparedness is urging disaster preparedness officials in Oregon to stockpile emergency supplies at schools statewide.
Can orcas in the Salish Sea be saved?
KNKX reports on new executive orders from Washington state governor Jay Inslee intended to help recovery of orcas in Puget Sound, which have plumetted to a population of just 76. The most difficult measures–including salmon harvests, reducing farm runoff, and limiting vessel speeds– were saved for a future task force.
Portland considers tax breaks for affordable housing
The Oregonian reports that Portland mayor is reviving the idea of tax incentives to developers to build more below-market housing. In Vancouver, the Vancouver Courier reports that single-occupancy hotels in the Downtown Eastside, once an affordable option for low-income people, have seen steep increases in rent. And in Seattle, activists are pushing for a head tax on employers to fund low income housing. To read more about proposed solutions to Cascadia’s housing crisis, read Casey Jaywork’s feature at Cascadia Magazine.
Nexflix documentary on Cascadia’s most notorious cult
The Stranger has a review of the new 6-part Netflix documentary, Wild Wild Country, about the creation of a commune in central Oregon in the 1980s centered around the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It’s described as a “hair-raising tale–which includes voter fraud, a hotel bombing, illegal immigration, an enormous cache of automatic weapons, and a bioterrorist attack of salmonella poisoning in the Dalles.”
Vancouver actor Lillian Lim’s late-blooming career
The Vancouver Sun profiles actor Lillian Lim, who only came to acting after a 27-year career as a dentist. The Vancouver resident is getting high marks in the new film Meditation Park.
You need to be reading BC author Eden Robinson
In the wake of the harassment allegations around writer Sherman Alexie, there’s been a necessary spate of articles about why we should all be reading a broad range of Indigenous writers. One writer you should definitely add to that list is Eden Robinson, who lives in Kitamaat, a tiny town on the central BC coast, is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, and is the author of Son of a Trickster. You need to read the very funny “interview” Robinson did recently for Granta between herself, a muse named Marvin, and the Fictional Eden Robinson (FicER).
That’s all for today on this sunny Ides of March in the Northwest. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: Puget Sound orca by Erik Stockdale, CC BY-SA 1.0