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Introducing Cascadia Magazine’s writing workshops!
Cascadia Magazine and Folio:The Seattle Athenaeum are teaming up to produce an exciting new series of writing workshops taught by authors firmly rooted in the Pacific Northwest. Our first installment features three talented writers published at Cascadia Magazine.
Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna will join us for “Writing Silence,” a workshop focused on incorporating active silence in writing as a counter to our fast-paced, tech-infused lifestyle. Corinne Manning leads “Autobiography and Autofiction,” which explores sharing personal stories and experiences in various genres while remaining emotionally intact. And poet and interviewer Paul Nelson will present “The Art of the Interview.” Drawing on his experience interviewing more than 600 people, he’ll help you learn to connect with a guest, quickly develop a rapport, and sharpen your skills in this under-appreciated art form.
The workshops take place Sunday, November 17, 2019 from 2-4 p.m. at Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, a gathering place for books and the people who love them, located in the heart of Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Each workshop is priced at $125 for members of Folio or Cascadia Magazine, and $150 for non-members. Class size is limited to 12, so reserve your spot soon, these will fill up quickly! You can find full course descriptions and register at Cascadia Magazine.
31 Days, 31 Cascadia Magazine writers: Sharma Shields
Sharma Shields loves weirdness in fiction. The Spokane-based author’s first novel, The Sasquatch Hunters’ Almanac, imagined a man’s obsessive search for Bigfoot, and her second, The Casandra, is about a rather unique woman who works for the Hanford nuclear research center during World War II and can see into the future.
In a essay and book review, “Great Grinning Things” at Cascadia Magazine, Sharma wrote about Nicola Griffith’s novel So Lucky, and honestly shared the difficulties of living with Multiple Sclerosis, which both Sharma, Griffith, and the novel’s main character have all been diagnosed with. You’ll find the full essay here.
If you appreciate this kind of intense, candid writing, please contribute to Cascadia Magazine’s Fall Fund Drive. You can make a one-time or recurring donation here.
Vancouver Mayor calls for action during Canada election
Vancouver Courier takes a detailed look at Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart’s meetings with the leaders of three parties competing in Canada’s federal election: the Greens, the NDP, and the Liberals. Whoever wins, he’s calling for national action on housing costs, homelessness, and the opioid crisis. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced a plan for more affordable housing at the federal level during his recent Vancouver visit, the Vancouver Sun reports.
Documentary brings Spokane domestic violence out of shadows
The Inlander reports on a new documentary, End the Violence, that aired on several local TV stations simultaneously. Using re-enactments and first person narratives, the program draws attention to the crisis in Spokane–the city has rates of domestic violence two times the average of the rest of Washington state. Find out more about the video and efforts to stop domestic violence in eastern WA and northern Idaho here.
Portland company wins award for affordable solar homes idea
OPB reports that Portland-based company Phase3 Photovoltaics has won an award from the US Department of Energy for its plan to add inexpensive solar panels to manufactured homes, making sustainable energy more affordable and accessible to lower and middle-income people.
Seattle’s Intiman Theatre still in financial trouble
Seattle’s storied Intiman Theatre production company is on the verge of closing down, Crosscut reports, despite heroic efforts to reduce debt, move out of its expensive Seattle Center theater space, and fill seats. It remains to be seen if a shift to theater that focuses on social justice will resonate with donors.
Melissa Mathewson’s memoir of essays on open marriage
The Bend Bulletin profiles southern Oregon writer Melissa Matthewson, whose memoir in the form of essays Tracing the Desire Line looks frankly at desire, marriage, non-monogamy, and the difficulties of writing honestly about relationships. “As a writer, I feel like the most compelling writing in literature that’s out there (are) the books, and the essays and the memoirs that take risks, that don’t hold back.” If Matthewson’s essay “On Coupling: An Inventory,” published several years ago at Guernica is any indication, it should be an incredible book. For more on consensual non-monogamy and polyamory, read Karin Jones’ recent feature at Cascadia Magazine.
That’s today’s salad bar of news, environmental reporting, arts, and culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. If you enjoy this newsletter and the original content at Cascadia Magazine, please show your support during our Fall Fund Drive. Thanks! –Andrew Engelson Photo credits: Sharma Shields by Rajah Bose, Kennedy Stewart by Mark Klotz CC BY-SA 2.0, Tracing the Desire Line courtesy of Split Lip Press.