Dear Friends and Readers:

I invite you to attend an upcoming event in support of my latest book, Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon’s Sesquicentennial Anthology. It’s a 500-page anthology packed full of original essays by some of Oregon’s finest writers and historical excerpts related to modern Oregon history.

The big Portland rollout is at Powell’s downtown on Friday, February 13 at 7 pm. I’m bringing 50 of my Newport High School students on a bus to join me so it should make for an interesting and unprecedented evening of literary presentation.

Powell’s Event, Feb 13:

Matt Love introduction

Bart King reads Powell’s essay

David Horowitz reads Oswald West

Katy Barber reads WPA Guide

Kass Alonso reads Law Dispensing Fuel

Oregon trivia contest for Oregon prizes

Gina Ochsner reads The Land Owns Us

Erin Ergenbright reads Prefontaine Resolution

Kaia Sand reads Earth First’s first tree sit

Brian Doyle reads William Stafford poem

Matt Love Conclusion

Introduce Contributors

Citadel 2009 Book Tour (Winter/Spring):

Feb 7: North Lincoln County Historical Museum, Lincoln City, 3 pm (With Thomas Edwards and Niki Price)

Feb 12: Third Street Books, McMinnville 6:30 pm (With Gina Ochsner and Michael Strelow)

Feb 13: Powell’s City of Books, Portland, 7 pm (With Bart King, Gina Ochsner, Brian Doyle, Erin Ergenbright, Kassten Alonso, David Horowitz, Kaia Sand and Katrine Barber)

Feb 14: Driftwood Library, Lincoln City, noon; Visual Arts Center, Newport, 7 pm (With Carla Perry, Andrew Rodman, Niki Price, Dennis Jones and Dorothy Blackcrow Mack)

Feb. 28: Tea Party Bookstore, Salem, 4 pm (With Michael Strelow and Peter Wong)

March 4: Blackbird Wine Shop, Portland, 7 pm (With Evelyn Sharenov and Joanna Rose)

March 12: University of Oregon, Eugene, 7 pm (With special guests)

March 13: Corvallis Public Library, Corvallis, 7 pm (With Kathleen Dean Moore and William Robbins)

March 21: Seaside Public Library, Seaside, 1 pm. (With special guests)

March 22: Breitenbush Hot Springs

March 24: Salishan Lodge, Gleneden Beach, 10 am.

March 24: Broadway Books, Portland, 7 pm (With Monica Drake and Cheryl Strayed)

March 27: Cloud and Leaf Bookstore, Manzanita, 6:30 pm (With Travis Champ and guests)

April 18: Mult. County Central Library, Portland, 1-2:30 Writers Talking Series

The Winter 2008 issue of Northwest Coast is due out on newsstands December 4th. Here are some of the featured stories that you can expect…

The Espy name is well-known around the Long Beach Peninsula, most famously Willard R. Espy, the noted philologist and wordsmith and author of “Oysterville: Roads to Grandpa’s Village.” But from the family that co-founded the historic town also came Harry A. Espy, a dairyman, justice of the peace, and one term Washington State Senator. His granddaughter, Syndey Stevens, writes of Senator Espy’s time in the state senate in “When Papa was a senator…was it a matter of fish or cows?” This enthralling piece details his time in the senate (1910-1914) and the issues-some familiar, some foreign-that were debated at the time.

To collectors, objects created from Myrtlewood are individual works of art without compare. But are industrial forestry techniques driving this famed Oregon hardwood to extinction? Suzanne Martinson explores this question and some of the artisans who produce these cherished relics in her article, “Myrtlewood, the coast’s vanishing treasure.”

It started out as a routine rescue operation for Coast Guardsmen stationed at the mouth of the Columbia River, but the night of January 12, 1961 would turn out to be anything but ordinary. Erika Weisensee describes the events of the horrific night when a commercial fishing boat and three Coast Guard motor lifeboats were lost in “Tragedy & Survival: the Triumph-Mermaid incident on the Columbia River Bar.”

During the Second World War, Waldport was home to Camp Angel, a Civilian Public Service (CPS) camp for conscientious objectors that was home to the only Fine Arts Program in the entire CPS system. In “A Million Moves Begin at the Beach,” Matt Love highlights some of the unique characters who inhabited Camp Angel and examines what these countercultural forerunners mean to Oregon and to us all.

Also in the next issue: another installment in the Our Mothers, Our Heritage series, poetry by Pat Thomas, Irene Martin’s essay “Reconciling with Salmon,” and much, much more.

Suppose you found a seal writhing in pain on an isolated strip of Pacific coastline. Is it your obligation to put it down? Or would you let nature take its course? Find out what acclaimed writer Matt Love did when this grim situation presented itself to him in “Mercy on Nestucca Spit.”

Join Travis Champ as he explores the North Oregon Coast during a two-day hike from Manzanita to Cannon Beach in “Landmarks and Legacies.“ This stirring narrative reveals what one native son of Oregon thinks of his state’s public beaches as he navigates the jagged coastline for the first time.

You may have heard Joanne Rideout’s voice delivering the “Columbia River Ship Report” weekday mornings on KMUN 91.9 FM, Astoria, but find out the story behind the Ship Report. Joanne also gives a number of great tips to help you better understand the sometimes confusing world of maritime commerce at our backdoor in her article, “The Columbia River Ship Report.”

“Carl Wirkkala would love to make a splash on the country music scene,” writes Jim LeMonds, “But if it happens, it will be on his terms.” Read Jim’s profile of this 33 year-old Castle Rock resident’s efforts to transition from his family’s logging business to the highly competitive world of music in “Carl Wirkkala: Making Music On His Own Terms.”

In Off The Shelf, noted historian Irene Martin delves into Thomas Nelson Strong’s classic 1906 book, Cathlamet on the Columbia. Few people can better appreciate this text than Irene and she points out some great reasons why you too should read this often overlooked history.

Astoria writer Donna Quinn delivers another insightful look into the roots of her community in “Granddaughter of the River,” a sketch of Lisa Tarabochia Clement, a fourth generation member of a legendary Columbia River fishing family.

You can find these articles plus selected poems from Brian Harrison and James Dott, and much, much more in the next issue of Northwest Coast, on newsstands September 2nd.