Tag: Ursula K. Le Guin

Two New Posts on WritingtheNorthwest.com: The Pacific NW Through the Eyes of Rudyard Kipling and Ursula K. Le Guin

Over the past week I’ve put up two new posts on my recently launched WritingtheNorthwest.com website, one by me and one by a former student of mine, David Naimon, the host of the popular podcast Between the Covers.

My post is on a visit Rudyard Kipling made to Oregon in the 1890s, when he fished for salmon on the Clackamas River and visited a salmon cannery. You’ll find what he had to say about each of them by clicking here.

David Naimon’s post talks about the importance of Ursula K. Le Guin‘s connection to the Pacific Northwest (and especially Portland) to the writing of her science fiction classics. You can read that one here.

Looking for a New Read?

For some reason, a number of people I’ve worked with in the graduate program at Portland State University or my summer coaching at the Collegeville Institute have new books coming out right now.  Here’s a list for you to choose from.  All of these people are terrific writers or, in the case of David Naimon, a terrific interviewer AND writer:

*February 26: Crash Course by Julie Whipple, Yamhill Canyon Press–“The true story of a misunderstood airline tragedy that changed more about our daily lives than most people know.”

*March 6: The Gospel of Trees: A Memoir by Apricot Irving, Simon & Schuster–“Award-winning writer Apricot Irving recounts her childhood as a missionary’s daughter in Haiti during a time of upheaval—both in the country and in her home.”

*April 3: Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin and David Naimon, Tin House Books–“In a series of conversations with Between The Covers’s David Naimon, Ursula K. Le Guin discusses her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry―both her process and her philosophy.”

+April 10: Tree Dreams by Kristin Kaye, SparkPress–“An eco-literary, coming of age novel relevant for teenagers and adults alike.”

+April 10: The Shadow of Death: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery by Jane Willan, Crooked Lane Books–“A charming and clever traditional mystery debut set at a bucolic Welsh convent.”

May 8: God, Improv and the Art of Living by MaryAnn McKibben Dana, Eerdman’s–“The central principle of “yes, and . . .” in improvisational theater has produced a lot of great comedy. But it also offers an invigo­rating approach to life in general, and the spiritual life in particular.”

And here’s one more–not by someone I’ve worked with but by a marvelous naturalist/biologist and friend:

+January 29: Everyday Creatures: A Naturalist on the Surprising Beauty of Ordinary Life in Wild Places by George James Kenagy, Dockside Sailing Press–“A collection of thirteen simply and elegantly told nature stories, set in time over the course of a naturalist’s lifetime.”

 

*first book

+first book in this genre