September 6, 2024
Contemplate these ten autumnal reads
Dare we say that autumn is the most demure and mindful season?
As the lush greenery of the University of Oregon campuses begins to make way for more vibrant foliage, we at the UO Alumni Association invite you to contemplate the end of summer—and the beginning of back-to-school and football season—with these ten autumnal reads.
Sit and stew—and maybe indulge in some stew—while reading some of Oregon’s greatest poets. Or, for those who think that fall means there’s something magic in the air, immerse yourself in three fantasy novels. Finally, for the adventurers, there are two fascinating accounts of Oregon’s wildlife and wilderness. Whatever genre you pick, feel good knowing you’ll be supporting your fellow alums.
Steep yourself in imagery: Poetry
By Brian Turner, MFA ’96 (creative writing)
Embrace the small things in Brian Turner’s The Goodbye World Poem. This collection delves into grief and loss, ponders mortality, and explores the peace found within solitude. Turner has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Harper’s, and more. He was featured in the documentary film Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, nominated for an Academy Award. Turner is a Guggenheim Fellow, and he’s received a USA Hillcrest Fellowship in Literature, an NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry, the Amy Lowell Traveling Fellowship, a US-Japan Friendship Commission Fellowship, the Poets’ Prize, and a Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation. You can learn more about his work on his website.
By Kim Stafford, BA ’71, MA ’73 (English)
Kim Stafford is Emeritus Professor at Lewis and Clark College and was Oregon’s ninth Poet Laureate. He has traveled around the world teaching writing in schools and community centers and, in 1986, founded the Northwest Writing Institute. As the Sky Begins to Change is his latest book of poems featuring a lyrical edge meant to bring people together in witness of humanity’s triumphs and tribulations—and to start conversations. Poems from the collection have been quotes in the New York Times, posted in the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series, gathered in a chapbook sold to benefit Ukrainian refugees, and more. You can read more of his work here.
Ray Clark Dickson, BS ’43 (journalism)
Ray Clark Dickson was a state track champion, an experienced drummer and jazz enthusiast, and a veteran of WWII. His experience working in Oregon sawmills and along the state’s coastline made its way into many of his poems, surpassed perhaps only by those inspired by his many other travels. Dickson was known best for his unique way of infusing his works with jazz synergy and for capturing the imagery of people and places from all around the world. He was chosen as the first Poet Laureate of San Luis Obispo, California, in 1999, and remained a pillar of the community until his death in 2016 at the age of ninety-seven. Wingbeats After Dark is one of his later collections, published in 2009.
Felecia Caton Garcia, MFA ’98 (creative writing)
Felicia Caton Garcia is an educator and the executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Central New Mexico Community College. Say That indulges in the dichotomy and contradiction within our lifetimes and uses various speakers to explore those ideas. Divided into two sections, the first presents the lived experience of the speakers, while the second underscores the memories that feed the perception of those experiences.
Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, JD ’07
Technically, this isn’t a book of poetry—but it is a book about a poet! If you’ve ever been curious about Nobel Prize-winning Ernest Hemingway’s life, Ernest’s Way is his great-granddaughter’s chronicles of her predecessor’s life and travels. Cristen Hemingway Jaynes travelled to the places Ernest wrote, fought, drank, fished, ran with the bulls, and crossed paths with T.S Elliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and many other intellectuals of interest. Ernest's Way is the first comprehensive guide to the legendary author’s adventures, showcasing for readers the places that shaped his life and writing. Hemingway-Jaynes is also the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways and her work can be found here.
Cast a spell or two: Fantasy
By Diane Rios, BA ’93 (French)
This young adult novel by Diane Rios is perfect for adults with whimsey or those who are looking for a great bedtime book to read to their children. In it, twelve-year-old Chloe spends her days exploring the forests of Oregon until a family tragedy results in her abduction and she’s taken deeper into the wilderness. Set at a time when technology is first being introduced in the west and during which ancient prophecies warn of a rising evil—Bridge of the Gods is a novel for all ages about the magical power of nature and of finding friendship in unlikely places. Much of the novel is inspired by Rios’s own experiences living in rural Oregon. Rios has been published as illustrator for Gayle Forman's 2006 travel diary You Can't Get There From Here and wrote and illustrated the picture book about a dog who wants to be a photographer in Dizzy's Dream.
By Roberta Trahan, BS ’85 (journalism)
The Well of Tears takes place more than five centuries after the fall of Camelot when a new king heralded by prophecy appears. Alwen is the last sorceress of a dying order sworn to protect the new ruler at any cost and must return home to fulfill her duty. When she arrives, she realizes traitors and demonic forces threaten to corrupt the newfound order—and must make the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that never occurs.
By Makiia Lucier, BA ’97 (public relations)
From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, comes a dazzling romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology. The story centers on Hanalei and Samahtitamahenele (Sam). Hanalei, the daughter of an old island family on Tamarind, becomes an outcast when her father steals a seadragon egg from the crown. Banished, Hanalei spends her life studying the seadragons until one day, an encounter with one allows her the chance to return home and right her family’s wrong. Meanwhile, Sam, the last remaining prince of Tamarind is left with two choices: marry or find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother. Childhood friends, the two could be each other’s salvation—but they’ll have to battle enemies near and far. This novel is for anyone who loves pirates, unique worldbuilding, and second chances. Find Lucier’s other works at her website.
Explore the great outdoors: Nature nonfiction
By Josephine Woolington, BA ’13 (journalism, political science)
Josephine Woolington is a journalist and musician based out of Portland. Her debut, Where We Call Home, blends science and prose to bring you the history of the Pacific Northwest and the diverse species native to the land. Through interviews with educators, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and artists, Woolington explores the events that have shaped the region and its creatures so that society can learn to live intentionally and sustainably. The result is Literary Arts’s 2024 Oregon Book Award winner for General Nonfiction. Learn more about Woolington on her website.
By William L. Sullivan, MA ’79 (German literature)
William L. Sullivan is a fifth-generation Oregonian and long-time advocate for environmental conservation and libraries who has written over a dozen Oregon hiking guides. His most prominent work, Listening for Coyote, is a memoir chronicling Sullivan’s 1,361-mile backpacking trip across Oregon in the eighties. Along the way, he’s held at gunpoint, eats poisonous wild mushrooms, and hikes through an October snowstorm. The book was chosen one of Oregon's "100 Books" by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission. In 2014, the UO presented Sullivan with its Outstanding Service to Oregon Award as recognition of Sullivan's contributions to Oregon’s quality of life.
Want more books? Join the UO Alumni Book Club!
The UO Alumni Book Club is entirely virtual and celebratory of life-long learning. Find your newest interest—or a new friend—by joining this exciting community. For the months of September and October, the book club will be reading Tom Lake, a “meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born” by famed author Ann Patchett.