Race relations, wizards, and the rest of "that" story

The Big Read is off and running in Wallowa County, with full house turnouts of 125 and 135 people at our first two live events. Monday night, at the beautiful Joseph Methodist Church, we showed the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 speech in Washington DC. It has become known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, but two other memorable phrases that King used repeatedly were and “We will not be satisfied” and “Now is the time.”

Rich Wandschneider, who was in DC five years later when King was assassinated, followed with an eloquent piece of his own, which was so good that we’ve posted it on our website. Go to www.fishtrap.org/mlkrich.shtml to read Rich’s short speech.

Rich was followed by a wonderful performance by Seattle singer and songwriter Reggie Garrett, who soon had the audience in the palm of his hand. If you get a chance to hear Reggie, take it.

Our next Monday Movie, on January 25, is Blood in the Face (1991, NR). It is “an expose of the beliefs, history, and personalities of American White Supremacist groups, including neo-Nazis, fascists, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Aryan Nation.” (as reviewed by Murray Chapman at IMDB.com) Shows are at Mutiny Brewing in Joseph, Fishtrap in Enterprise, and the Public Library in Wallowa, 7pm at all venues, admission by donation.

“Race relations have long marred the idyllic portrayal of American democracy and freedom, and raised questions about the nation’s commitment to justice and equality. To Kill a Mockingbird provides a unique and trenchant insight into the role of race in American society at two different points of change, the period of the Great Depression and New Deal that provides the setting for the novel, and the beginning of the 1960s when the book was published,” says Whitman College history professor David Schmitz.

On Wednesday, January 27, Schmitz will lecture on “The Structural Origins of Racial Change in Mid-Twentieth Century America,” examining the political and social structures of race relations during the 20th century, and the forces that brought forth the post-World War II Civil Rights Movement. Join us at Fishtrap’s Coffin House, 7pm. Admission by donation.

Along the same lines, if you are in or near Portland, check out Susan Banyas’s new performance work, “The Hillsboro Story, ” shows at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland on January 22, 23, and 24. It’s a story of a sleepy, segregated Ohio town (where Susan was in third grade), woken up when the “colored” elementary school went up in flames, sparking a fight which became a test case for the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The work is a mix of voice, images, and music. Go to www.susanbanyas.com or http://www.artistsrep.org/learn-about-us/new-work/hillsboro-story.aspx for details.

WRITING ON THE RIVER with ANNICK SMITH

Join Fishtrap, Winding Waters River Expeditions, and Annick Smith on a fully-catered five-day combination writing workshop and float trip on the Snake River of Hells Canyon. Annick is the author of Homestead, In This We Are Native, and Big Bluestem, and has written for Story, Outside, Orion, Audubon, Travel & Leisure, and the NY Times Traveler. She was also executive producer of the film Heartland and co-producer of A River Runs Through It.

The trip takes place August 26 - 31, and is limited to 12 participants. The cost is $1295 for adults. Go to www.fishtrap.org/rivertrip.shtml for details.

YEARLONG NOVEL WORKSHOP with JANE VANDENBURGH

“A book length work of fiction – be it a novel or a collection of linked stories – often fails to be completed for reasons of its own length,” says Jane Vandenburgh. “The narrative weight of all its novelistic material so easily defeats a story’s need to feel effortless. Structural problems are, in fact, almost always the reason these good books of ours are never given a chance – either never started or not completed.”

Jane is the author of two novels, a memoir, and a book on the craft of writing the longer narrative, Architecture of the Novel: A Writer’s Handbook (Plot, Story and the Mechanics of Narrative Time), which will appear in June 2010. “She’s a powerhouse, a wizard, the most generous teacher I’ve ever had,” said one of her recent yearlong students.

If you have a novel in you that deserves a chance, join Jane in Fishtrap’s yearlong low-residency novel workshop. The workshop starts at Summer Fishtrap 2010, concludes at Summer Fishtrap 2011, and includes a five day meeting in between. Go to www.fishtrap.org/yearlong.shtml for full details.

CROSS GENRE REVISION WORKSHOP with COLLIER NOGUES

Join Collier Nogues, our Writer-in-Residence for the next two months, in a workshop on Cross Genre Revision. “This workshop is designed to do two things,” says Collier. “First, help participants move a specific piece of writing from draft stage to near-final; and second, build a foundation of revision strategies useful across genres for other and future writing projects.” The 10-hour class will run every other Wednesday evening, 7-9 pm, starting January 20 and ending March 17. Cost is $50. Call us at Fishtrap at 541-426-3623 or just show up to register.

THANK YOU. When all was said and done, you responded like CHAMPIONS, donating over $13,000 to Fishtrap in response to our Fall Letter. While not as high as 2008, this exceeded our more modest goal of $12,000 for 2009. Many of you included friendly notes, and I hope that you all enjoyed your Fish Stickers.

OK, THE REST OF THE STORY

Valerie, from the Cannon Beach Book Company, reminded me of that “old saw” about theatre: “If you show a gun in the first act, fire it in the second.” So, about the chimney sweep and that garter belt: Years ago, when I was younger and more limber, a handful of us would get together to play hockey up at “Slinkers’ Pond.” We’d shovel the snow for an hour and skate for half that. Times have changed. These days Wallowa County, thanks to many volunteers, has what may be the only outdoor community ice rink in the entire Pacific Northwest, and we all wear full hockey regalia: helmets, pads, and long, thick leggings. Quite a contrast to the chimney sweep who, gallused and gravel-voiced, logger-booted and railroad-capped, came to clean my flue. I came home from work and saw his invoice sitting on my dining room table, right next to the brand new “hockey garter belt” I’d just ordered to hold up those pesky hockey leggings. Bang!

FISHTRAP FRIENDS

Elizabeth Quinn at High Desert Journal in Bend is looking for a Development and Outreach Director. The position can be based anywhere in the West. Contact Elizabeth at 541-419-9836 or at editor@highdesertjournal.com for more info.

That’s it for now, friends.

“All best,” as they say.

Rick Bombaci
Executive Director