Some say perspective changes everything. The 16 writers from throughout the Northwest, Canada and Texas selected to read their pieces on the theme, “From a Distance,” for the Cannon Beach Library’s Writers Read Celebration, twisted their perceptions to encompass time, space and technology.
They will read their poems, short stories and essays at the Celebration beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, March 6 in the library, 131 Hemlock St., Cannon Beach.
Admission is free. People can attend in person at the library or online; the link will be on the library’s website, cannonbeachlibrary.org.
From a conversation with the wind to backwards time travel in Galway, Ireland, the pieces offered a variety of views from a distance.
A boy looks at the planets while a Martian considers Earth. Friends try to plan a coastal trip via text messages. Life changes direction for a young man working in a mint field. A woman hopes to recapture her great-grandmother’s recipe for beans and pork.
This is the eighth year of the library’s Writers Read Celebration. Writers were asked to submit up to three entries – limited to 600 words per entry – on a chosen theme. This year’s theme was “From a Distance.”
The library received a record-breaking 122 entries. They were reviewed in a blind selection process by a panel of volunteers from the library’s NW Authors Series Committee.
Those selected to read were:
Aronne Barnes, Portland: Short Story, Charity Lamb
Rachel Blair, Portland: Essay, How to Write a Recipe
John Ciminello, Naselle, WA: Short Story, Digital Distances
Linda Gelbrich, Corvallis: Poem, Just Imagining,
Bill Graffius,Gearhart: Poem, Baby Left Alone
Dan Herford, Corvallis: Short Story, So Close So Far
Kristin Koptiuch, Rockaway: Poem, Like a Vagrant Bird
Phyllis Mannan, Beaverton: Poems, Leaving the Beach House and A Landscape No Longer Mine
Lily Marshall, Seaside: Short Story, Soulmates?
Colleen Medlock, Portland/Seaside: Short Story, Warrior of Galway
Grace Page, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada: Poem, Passing Through
Susan Pittman, Arlington, WA: Poem, Sitka Sound
Will Stone, Manzanita: Essay, Sasha
L Swartz, Wheeler: Poem, Gazebo: Shout From Afar to Afar
Brittany Sweet, Gearhart: Poem, If This is All There Is
Victor Vasquez, Mission, TX: Poem, Home Invasion and Short Story, The Mint Field