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Redbat Books Pacific Northwest Writers Series First Edition (September 2016) ISBN-13: 978-0-9971549-4-8 Distributor: Ingram Trade Paper 7" x 10" 444 pages Published by redbat books La Grande, OR Cover Artwork by Stephani Stephensen Book Design by redbat design |
BEAVER'S FIRE:
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“For decades George Venn has been among the preeminent editors, scholars, and advocates of Pacific Northwest literature. Beaver’s Fire is, for me, a long-awaited distillate of Venn’s contributions in this field. Eclectic, at times strident, and deeply insightful, this is a carefully vetted collection of work gleaned from that span of decades, and an encapsulation of his life’s work. It will enrich, and likely alter, any reader’s understanding of the region and its literature.”
—ROB WHITBECK, Author, Writing Home Notes on the History and Literature of the Northern West
• • •
“George Venn’s collection Beaver’s Fire usefully covers a lot of important ground—not just his own long and indispensable career as a Northwest writer and editor, but also the whole subject of Northwest history, literature, and lore. These are wise markings to travel our region by, and it is a welcome gift to have them done up handsomely in a book.
—JAROLD RAMSEY, Author, Thinking Like a Canyon, Coyote Was Going There, and Reading the Fire
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire is an inside look at the tremendous, mind-boggling variety of Pacific Northwest literature. Venn is both practitioner (poet, essayist, teacher) and cool critic. He calls up a whole, mysteriously vibrant, growing region. His inner world, revealed in his own poems and little introductions to each writer, brings a sharp sense of place.”
—THOMAS J. LYON, Editor, The Literary West: An Anthology of Western American Literature (1998); Editor, “Western American Literature” (1974 –1997); Editor-in-Chief, Updating the Literary West (1997)
• • •
“George Venn’s Beaver’s Fire is much more than a valuable compendium of his life-long work to describe and promote the literature of our region. He understands the importance of place and has been its champion. He ranges over it, giving us context and honest assessment without sentimentalism. In his many roles—historian, writer, teacher, husband, friend, and colleague--George is a passionate champion of the power of stories to teach us and unite us, even in our differences. He has blazed trails, not of tears but of celebration, connecting our past to our future. It’s been a delight to follow them.
—DENNIS STOVALL, Publisher, Writer, Educator, and Literary Activist
—ROB WHITBECK, Author, Writing Home Notes on the History and Literature of the Northern West
• • •
“George Venn’s collection Beaver’s Fire usefully covers a lot of important ground—not just his own long and indispensable career as a Northwest writer and editor, but also the whole subject of Northwest history, literature, and lore. These are wise markings to travel our region by, and it is a welcome gift to have them done up handsomely in a book.
—JAROLD RAMSEY, Author, Thinking Like a Canyon, Coyote Was Going There, and Reading the Fire
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire is an inside look at the tremendous, mind-boggling variety of Pacific Northwest literature. Venn is both practitioner (poet, essayist, teacher) and cool critic. He calls up a whole, mysteriously vibrant, growing region. His inner world, revealed in his own poems and little introductions to each writer, brings a sharp sense of place.”
—THOMAS J. LYON, Editor, The Literary West: An Anthology of Western American Literature (1998); Editor, “Western American Literature” (1974 –1997); Editor-in-Chief, Updating the Literary West (1997)
• • •
“George Venn’s Beaver’s Fire is much more than a valuable compendium of his life-long work to describe and promote the literature of our region. He understands the importance of place and has been its champion. He ranges over it, giving us context and honest assessment without sentimentalism. In his many roles—historian, writer, teacher, husband, friend, and colleague--George is a passionate champion of the power of stories to teach us and unite us, even in our differences. He has blazed trails, not of tears but of celebration, connecting our past to our future. It’s been a delight to follow them.
—DENNIS STOVALL, Publisher, Writer, Educator, and Literary Activist
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
1. "Beaver and the Grande Ronde River" Farewell Address / Nez Perce Myth (2002) 2. Where the Crooked River Rises by Ellen Waterston Personal Essay Collection Review (2011) 3. "They Also Served: A Soldier's Pacific Theater Album, WW II" Editorial Introduction (2007) 4. Northwest Review "Symposium on Northwest Literature" Literary Symposium (2007) 5. "Soldier to Advocate: C. E. S. Wood's 1877 Legacy" Literary Biography (2005) 6. "Rider in the Wilderness: Minor White in La Grande" Artist Biography (2004) 7. Down in My Heart by William Stafford Autobiography Reprint Review (1999) 8. "Chief Joseph's 'Surrender Speech' as Literary Text" Critical/Textual Essay (1998) 9. "William Stafford in Northwest Literature" Critical/Historical Essay (1997) 10. "StoryLines Northwest" (NEH & ALA) Regional Radio Reading List (1996) 11. "Editing an Invisible Literature: The Oregon Literature Series" Keynote Address (1995) 12. "Remembering Wallace Stegner" Memorial Service Tribute (1993) 13. "Dialogue At Wallowa Lake" Writers Conference Reading (1991) 14. Yellow by Anne Pitkin & All That Comes to Light by Lisa Steinman Poetry Books Review (1990) |
15. "Ursula Le Guin with Eastern Oregon University Writers"
Group Interview Transcript (1988) 16. "Nard Jones, Weston, and Oregon Detour" Novel Reprint Introduction (1987) 17. Seal Rock by John Haislip Poetry Collection Review (1987) 18. "Marking the Magic Circle" Guest Lecture/Critical Essay (1987) 19. Northwest Variety: Personal Essays by 14 Regional Authors Anthology Review (1987) 20. "The Paradox of Ai Qing" Chinese Translation Essay (1984) 21. "Carolyn Kizer at Cannon Beach, 1981...with Tim Barnes" Interview Transcript (1984) 22. "Northwest Poetry and the Land:" Peter Balakian, William Stafford, Richard Hugo, Madeline DeFrees, Kim Stafford, George Venn, Ann Copeland, with Brian Attebery Symposium Transcript (1980) 23. "The Search for Sacred Space in Western American Literature" Critical Essay (1976) 24. "The Literature of Eastern Oregon" Critical/Historical Public Lecture (1973) 25. "Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Bringing Down Missoula" Historical Narrative as Fiction (1971) 26. "Richard Hugo with Ronald H. Bayes" Personal Interview Transcript (1965) Notes and Sources Credits and Permissions |
“Beaver’s Fire brings together in a single volume the gems of George Venn’s writings over thirty-plus years in academia. Teaching in a fairly small college in a small town in sparsely populated eastern Oregon, George lived what he taught and wrote about: the local, the regional. These varied essays/poems/interviews/reviews are held together by a core perception: region is seen as microcosm, not as province. ‘Place’ takes on philosophical import that yields meaning through the particular and speaks to an audience far beyond the bounds of subject matter. I enjoyed my journey through this book, especially learning about C. E. S. Wood’s transition from soldier to advocate through his role in the pursuit of Chief Joseph’s fated Nez Perce tribe. Other highlights were his interactions with writers whose works he discussed—William Stafford, Wallace Stegner, and many others. This volume is a multifaceted book that is at once personal, literary, and eclectic.”
—BARBARA HOWARD MELDRUM, Professor Emerita, University of Idaho; Past President, Western Literature Association; Editor, Old West-New West; Centennial Essays (1993)
• • •
“George Venn is iconic, a Lewis and Clark of northwest literature. Beaver’s Fire exemplifies his unflagging quest to explore, share, encourage and contribute to the region’s rich literature. Here we perceive Venn’s scholarly appreciation for the Northwest’s complex history and outstanding literary figures which, combined with his broad cultural vision and personal generosity, have created a lasting and productive regional fellowship of students, editors and fellow writers.”
—LOIS BARRY, Professor Emerita, Eastern Oregon University; Author, Always First Class: The Pleasure of Personal Letters (2009)
• • •
“George Venn uncovers many hidden histories of the Pacific Northwest, a region he cares about deeply. Between these covers, you will encounter stories you didn’t know and counter stories for the ones you thought you knew. You need to know these other histories.”
—NANCY COOK, Professor of English, University of Montana
• • •
“Like the myth of its title, Beaver’s Fire works its magic by carrying the warmth of wisdom to the seeker in us all. The breadth and depth of this collection/anthology/portfolio of literary biographies, interviews, reviews, lectures, poetry, translations, and essays (personal, textual, critical, historical) is stunning and illuminating—offering a penetrating coherence that marks it as a distinct and invaluable work. The selections in Beaver’s Fire span almost half a century in their publication dates and scan a great swath of Northwest literature in their contents. Poet, scholar, essayist, historian, and teacher, Venn has an original and essential grasp of Northwest literary history and a profound awareness of the play of place in its making. To read this wonderful miscellany is to feel Northwest culture and literature animate overlapping circles. The roads and rivers, fields and forests, neighborhoods and towns—where you live—might never be the same.”
—TIM BARNES, Author, Definitions for a Lost Language (2010) and Everyone Out Here Knows: A Big Foot Tale (2014)
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire is an amazing piece of work! George Venn is one of our best writers and observers.”
—SHANNON APPLEGATE, Author, Skookum: A Pioneer Family’s History and Lore and Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery; Co-editor, Talking on Paper: An Anthology of Oregon Letters and Diaries and Minus Tides, an unpublished novel
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire combines George Venn’s passion, scholarship, and artistry by collecting in one volume legacy material and contemporary work. Venn proves that stories are not metaphors, symbols, or documents, but entities entirely unto their own, providing sustenance, solace, and seed, enriching our individual and collective lives. In Marking the Magic Circle we share and experience a snowbound evening simultaneously looking out into the world and deeply into ourselves. This is but one example of Venn focusing intently on the world at hand, and placing it in a complex, unique, and illuminating context. His gift is proving this close attention to our immediate physical and cultural surroundings renders us less provincial and more human and humane as citizens and selves.
We encounter Stafford, Kizer, and Hugo considering and creating the work that has become so important and vital to the larger Northwest. History encountered in these pages is neither placid nor past. We learn from soldiers, writers, activists, and witness examples in how to speak and act out against inhumane wars, the exploitation of workers, to shatter the dullness and conformity that can encase and isolate. Beaver’s Fire demonstrates Venn’s value to our region as a teacher, scholar, activist, and artist. I place Beaver’s Fire upon my bookshelf knowing I will return to the pages again and again for knowledge, inspiration, and sheer pleasure.”
—ROBERT STUBBLEFIELD, Author, University of Montana
—BARBARA HOWARD MELDRUM, Professor Emerita, University of Idaho; Past President, Western Literature Association; Editor, Old West-New West; Centennial Essays (1993)
• • •
“George Venn is iconic, a Lewis and Clark of northwest literature. Beaver’s Fire exemplifies his unflagging quest to explore, share, encourage and contribute to the region’s rich literature. Here we perceive Venn’s scholarly appreciation for the Northwest’s complex history and outstanding literary figures which, combined with his broad cultural vision and personal generosity, have created a lasting and productive regional fellowship of students, editors and fellow writers.”
—LOIS BARRY, Professor Emerita, Eastern Oregon University; Author, Always First Class: The Pleasure of Personal Letters (2009)
• • •
“George Venn uncovers many hidden histories of the Pacific Northwest, a region he cares about deeply. Between these covers, you will encounter stories you didn’t know and counter stories for the ones you thought you knew. You need to know these other histories.”
—NANCY COOK, Professor of English, University of Montana
• • •
“Like the myth of its title, Beaver’s Fire works its magic by carrying the warmth of wisdom to the seeker in us all. The breadth and depth of this collection/anthology/portfolio of literary biographies, interviews, reviews, lectures, poetry, translations, and essays (personal, textual, critical, historical) is stunning and illuminating—offering a penetrating coherence that marks it as a distinct and invaluable work. The selections in Beaver’s Fire span almost half a century in their publication dates and scan a great swath of Northwest literature in their contents. Poet, scholar, essayist, historian, and teacher, Venn has an original and essential grasp of Northwest literary history and a profound awareness of the play of place in its making. To read this wonderful miscellany is to feel Northwest culture and literature animate overlapping circles. The roads and rivers, fields and forests, neighborhoods and towns—where you live—might never be the same.”
—TIM BARNES, Author, Definitions for a Lost Language (2010) and Everyone Out Here Knows: A Big Foot Tale (2014)
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire is an amazing piece of work! George Venn is one of our best writers and observers.”
—SHANNON APPLEGATE, Author, Skookum: A Pioneer Family’s History and Lore and Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery; Co-editor, Talking on Paper: An Anthology of Oregon Letters and Diaries and Minus Tides, an unpublished novel
• • •
“Beaver’s Fire combines George Venn’s passion, scholarship, and artistry by collecting in one volume legacy material and contemporary work. Venn proves that stories are not metaphors, symbols, or documents, but entities entirely unto their own, providing sustenance, solace, and seed, enriching our individual and collective lives. In Marking the Magic Circle we share and experience a snowbound evening simultaneously looking out into the world and deeply into ourselves. This is but one example of Venn focusing intently on the world at hand, and placing it in a complex, unique, and illuminating context. His gift is proving this close attention to our immediate physical and cultural surroundings renders us less provincial and more human and humane as citizens and selves.
We encounter Stafford, Kizer, and Hugo considering and creating the work that has become so important and vital to the larger Northwest. History encountered in these pages is neither placid nor past. We learn from soldiers, writers, activists, and witness examples in how to speak and act out against inhumane wars, the exploitation of workers, to shatter the dullness and conformity that can encase and isolate. Beaver’s Fire demonstrates Venn’s value to our region as a teacher, scholar, activist, and artist. I place Beaver’s Fire upon my bookshelf knowing I will return to the pages again and again for knowledge, inspiration, and sheer pleasure.”
—ROBERT STUBBLEFIELD, Author, University of Montana