There’s a great monthly reading series at Phinney Books called Dock Street Salon. It’s organized by Dane Bahr and Heather Jacobs of Dock Street Press, a boutique publishing house in Ballard. The press was founded by folks who believe that “a book is a piece of art.” Dock Street brings that same sensibility to the …
When I was in college I took a geology class. I learned about igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. I learned about formations and their layers of sand and stone. Whatever their scale – the immensity of a cliff or the insignificance of a pebble – I saw them as inert and objective, separate from or …
One evening the week before Thanksgiving, my husband and I were sprawled in our opposite corners of the couch, watching the evening news. “Next week isn’t Thanksgiving, is it?” he asked. “Nah,” I said. But it was. And we had no plans. He decided to try to book a table at a restaurant, but the …
Congratulations to Patty Enrado, winner of Week 3 of the #UnaFamiliaInPhotos Twitter contest! Her photo of her, her father, her sister, her aunties, uncles, and manongs is captioned “Family get-togethers always involve pig roasting.” It’s a photo that conveys family ties, tradition, and celebration. The runner-up is Michelle Peñaloza who submitted a photo of …
Congratulations to Jennifer Munro, the winner of Week 2 of the #UnaFamiliaInPhotos Twitter contest! Captioned with “I owe everything to my mom,” Jennifer’s entry is a lovely expression of family connection. It also happens to reflect the generational theme of Hola and Goodbye. Jennifer will receive an Hola and Goodbye keepsake and a chance to win a …
Hola and Goodbye is a collection of stories about three generations of a family. In anticipation of its November 1 release from Carolina Wren Press, I’m running a contest on Twitter and inviting Twitter users to post a family photo with a caption. The photo above is of some friends of my grandfather, who was also a …
I have a book coming out in this year. So do a number of my friends here in Seattle and little beyond. I’m excited about reading their books. Here are a few. Kathleen Alcala The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island is due out this fall from University of Washington …
Last December, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said he didn’t not know whether he would have supported or opposed the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. When pressed, he said he hated the concept of internment camps. Yet his flimsily veiled as well as his openly racist rhetoric encourage an atmosphere of hate and …
This February marks the thirtieth anniversary of the People Power Revolution that ended the Marcos regime in the Philippines in 1986. That year, from February 22-25, two million Filipino citizens, joined by political, military, and religious groups, occupied Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Metro Manila. It was a remarkable non-violent revolt …
It’s been decades since I’ve taken a weekly class with writing assignments. My days are spent at work in a cubicle downtown, my evenings as much as possible on my writing—right after doing the NYT crossword puzzle online. That little celebratory ditty that plays upon correct completion of the puzzle is a nice reward, but …
