Oregon
Click an author to read a biographical essay prepared by a local student.
Oregon: Diverse Climates, Diverse Thinkers When someone mentions the state of Oregon, most people think of two things:
trees, and pioneers in covered wagons. In truth, we do have an abundance of trees and historical markers commemorating the pioneers who seized their Manifest Destiny. Oregon and its authors are as varied as
the land itself. Where else can one visit the Pacific Ocean, lush rain forest, fertile river valley farmland, snow-covered mountains, and high desert, all in the same day? Not only do we hunt and fish and
farm here, we are also home to some progressive companies: Nike, Tektronix and Stash Teas. Where else do they legislate the returning of cans and bottles, make it illegal to own the beach, leave lumber families and businesses
broke because of a little spotted owl, or have no sales tax? Less Material Dreams Perhaps because Oregon's early days were not dominated by gold rushes, as were California and Alaska, those
who penned the early literature of our state were chasing less material dreams. The pioneers who made Oregon home sought a living from the land and felt a genuine affection for it rather than a desire to conquer it. The
settlers were strong, visionary, principled, pragmatic people who didn't have time for extensive cultural pursuits. Oregon, while not a cultural Mecca, had a great share of independent thinkers and fascinating characters. Oregon's literature began with accounts of the early explorers and fur traders in the region. True literary efforts began with the next wave of inhabitants, the missionaries. They founded the state's
original schools, including those of higher education. The beginning of works of genuine literary merit came along with the Oregon pioneers' passion for life as they strove to carve a living out of the land.
By Becky Mills
Oregonians were (and still are) connected to their land in ways most states do not inspire in their citizens. The pioneers drew their life force
from it, and that connection brought out a predominant romanticism in their writings about their beloved new home—its diverse landscapes, many shades of green, wild forest animals, wilder mountain men, and enigmatic Native American
inhabitants. Most of the better Oregon novelists of this period were women, and their work was published outside the state. "Sad" Sam Simpson (1846-1899) was Oregon's first official author and Poet
Laureate. Famous for his nature poem "Beautiful Willamette," he graduated from Willamette University with a law degree. Simpson, a shy man, worked as a journalist and an editor. Sadly, alcoholism
destroyed his relatively short life. Joaquin (a.k.a., Cincinnatus Hiner) Miller (1842-1913) was a well-known poet and author. Before he deserted his poetess wife, Minnie Myrtle Miller, and their children to live
in more exciting California, Miller was one of the first contributors to Oregon literature. He wrote sometimes in a romantic tone about pioneer life, with all its adventurousness and unpredictable changes. Described as
a bit of a mountebank, Miller tried many occupations and was a restless, sensational character, a worthy subject matter for biographers in his own right. Pioneering Women Writers Pioneer women
composed most of the poetry in the first published Northwest collections, and received very little recognition for their work. Their memoirs were valuable source material for historians, but were not of great literary value
on their own. Margaret Jewett Bailey is described as one of Oregon's first novelists and feminists. Her book, Ruth Rover
(1854), shows a distinct lack of reverence for marriage and a "woman's place." She wrote about her own life, and critics scorned her since she chronicled, with unsettling honesty, the ways alcoholic men often treated their wives. She was censured not only for her controversial approach to the novel, but also for being a less-than-grateful helpmeet. Even Ms. Bailey admitted that her book had no real literary value, but many thought it to be the most enlightening and entertaining reading to come from Oregon for a long time.
Frances Fuller Victor (1826-1902), an exceptional literary personality, was an early chronicler of Oregon history. She compiled the two volumes of Bancroft's History of the West, then went on to
publish other studies and works of her own. She interviewed the infamous mountain man Joe Meek, and in The River of the West she wrote of early Oregon history and the fur trade. Not only was she Oregon's best
known and most respected author at that time, she also gained a reputation as a feminist. A champion of women's rights, she holds a place with Margaret Jewett Bailey and another Oregon female author, Abigail Scott Duniway
(1835-1915), who later was Oregon's most tenacious fighter for women's suffrage. Duniway published "Captain Gray's Company," a fictionalized treatment of the journey of the first settlers, marked by realism rather
than the romanticism that usually ruled the tone of this period's writings.
Influence of Nature and History In fiction, Oregon authors emphasized nature and history in their works. A prime example of this is Frederick Homer Balch's (1861-1891)
The Bridge of the Gods. While most writers ignored the Indians in their works, Balch's story is based on a legend that a natural bridge once spanned the Columbia River and as well as the Indians who wanted
to drive the whites out of their homeland. Balch's life ended early, at 29, from tuberculosis. Bridge of the Gods was published in 1891, the year of his death, and has never been out of print since.
Eva Emery Dye (1856-1947) was an extraordinary historical novelist who lived in Oregon City—the actual end of the Oregon Trail. Her most noteworthy work was her portrayal of the true-life heroine Sacajawea in her book "The Conquest: The True Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (1902). Dye, like Balch, includes Native Americans in her story, and her Sacajawea is every bit as intelligent and witty as the men she travels with.
Nontraditional and Global Voices
As Oregon grew a little older, she cultivated a new crop of writers. One who captured the sometimes baffling nature of Oregonians was Charles Erskin
Scott (C.E.S.) Wood (1852-1944). He graduated from West Point, became a lawyer, and was active in the Democratic Party. Wood had his own ideas and an unusual group of friends—Mark Twain and Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé, to
name two. While socializing with the upper crust and political bigwigs, he also took on unpopular causes such as birth control and Native American rights. He is best known for his satirical style in Heavenly Discourse
(1927) and Earthly Discourse (1937). Wood, remembered as a charming radical, is credited with making Portland a more cultural city. He founded the library, art museum, and sponsored progressive legislation.
Oregon's most internationally known author, John Reed (1887-1920), wrote Ten Days that Shook the World
(1919), an account of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. He wrote from a romantic, adventuresome point of view, and the book made him the favorite of communists everywhere. Reed has the curious distinction of being the only American buried in the Kremlin. While he worked as a poet, journalist and novelist, Reed was also seen as a radical. In those days only a radical would go to Russia, or to Mexico to report about John Pershing's war against Pancho Villa (which culminated in an interview with Pancho Villa himself). Reed's popularity as an author and a journalist led to the formation of John Reed clubs all over the U.S. The movie "Reds" (1981) depicts the last years of John Reed as he lived in Russia and authored
Ten Days that Shook the World. Sadly, he died very young from typhus. What radical milestones he might have covered if he had lived longer is anyone's guess. Oregon's best (and often unrecognized)
woman poet was Hazel Hall (1886-1924). She turned to writing poetry at the age of twelve when her failing health and eyesight kept her from doing needlework for a living. Hall's sensitive, lyrical poetry has been
compared to Emily Dickinson's work. Along with her published books, her poetry appeared in many magazines of the day. Opal Whitely (1899-1991) was a fanciful Oregonian whom Walt Curtis (a contemporary
Oregon writer, poet and self-labeled renegade) describes as "the flower child of Oregon literature." This lovely, charismatic young woman grew up in a logging community around in the early 1900's. Logging
camps being what they were, Opal needed more mental stimulation. She began writing (at the age of six) a mystical and realistic diary. In 1920, the Atlantic Monthly
serialized "The Story of Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart." The book was a huge hit, and Ms. Whitely became an international star. H.L. Davis (1894-1960) is arguably Oregon's best
author. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1936 for Honey in the Horn, a novel about Oregon homesteading at the turn of the century. While Davis' treatment of the later pioneers and their lack of success in the high
desert (in comparison to the earlier settlers) was seen as harsh, it also pointed toward the coming transitions in society. He wrote several other books and often set them near The Dalles, a town on the east end of the
Columbia Gorge, showing that later Oregon authors also felt the union with the land their parents and grandparents had. Could there be a more Oregonian story than "Paul Bunyan"? Written by James Stevens
(1891-1972), who also wrote "Big Jim Turner " (1948), Alfred Knopf purchased "Bunyan" in 1925. While Stevens sometimes wrote in a satirical tone, Bunyan was a great American epic and showed the
abiding respect for the land that was often the subject of Oregon's authors and poets. Postwar Literature A change in the tone of Oregon literature took place during the Depression and buildup for
World War II. As a part of the Work Projects Administration (1935-1943) under the New Deal, building and improvement projects provided jobs to the unemployed. Another program of the WPA was the Federal Writers' Project,
whose purpose it was to compose guidebooks for each state in the union. Oregon's was published in 1940 by the Oregon Writers' Project of the WPA. The book was much more than a touring book—it conveyed the beauty,
heritage and strength of Oregon and her people. The writers worked without bylines and handled the project with great care and dignity. While not technically literature, the collective work of an unnamed group of
writers reported about Oregon with the same affection as the citizens felt for their beloved home state. Some of the writings of latter-day Oregon authors have also been depicted in movies and television, bringing
literature to the big and small screen. Oregonian Matt Groening, while not technically an author, works as a cartoonist ("Life in Hell") and is the creator of the primetime cartoon series The Simpsons. Ken Kesey, (arguably, along with H.L. Davis, Oregon's best author) whose works have been made into movies, continues to bring out the connection to the wilderness that the pioneers did in their writings. Kesey composed
Sometimes a Great Notion, which chronicles the ugly side of small-town life and its effects on a family of loggers. He shows not only the family's link to the land, but also the abiding independence of Oregon's
citizens. Kesey is also famous for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which describes the lives of some several mentally disturbed men inside an asylum in Oregon. The motion picture adaptation was actually filmed
at the mental hospital in Salem. Another first-rank author from Oregon is Don Berry. Trask, (1960) a historical novel, tells of the struggle between two cultures when pioneer Elbridge Trask and two Klatsop
Indians journey from Klatsop Plains to open up land on the shores of Tillamook Bay in 1848. Berry wrote Trask when he was only 27, and it is the first of Barry's three acclaimed Oregon novels. Many of the
state's most gifted contemporary writers live close to Portland. Ursula LeGuin, author of Searoad, Chronicles of Klatsand (1991) and The Lathe of Heaven
(1971) lives in Portland. William Stafford, a highly gifted writer and Oregon's current Poet Laureate, lives near Portland and teaches at Lewis and Clark. Walt Morey, author of Gentle Ben
and Jean Auel, writer of the Clan of the Cave Bear series both reside in Oregon. Their works show the same connection to the wilderness so apparent in the early works of the state. Portland is a
surprisingly bookish and educated town. Walt Curtis says, "…next to San Francisco, we're probably the most "literary" city on the West Coast." A famous landmark that conveys Oregon's love of books is
Powell's Books. Powell's is a city block-sized store in an old downtown building, crammed floor to ceiling with new and used books. Tourists and locals frequent the store to see the sheer variety of books available
there, many of which are out of print. Walt Curtis is a poet and another of those paradoxical Oregon writers. Walt says he is the "Unofficial Poet Laureate of Portland-or is that Lariat?" Curtis
started out as a street poet and published a small collection of poems called "The Roses of Portland" (1974) that he sold for fifty cents each. "Roses" started his official career. The irreverent,
unexpurgated Curtis (who has also written lyric poetry about Oregon's scenic beauties) is perhaps best known for Mala Noche
(1977), a raw story of street life, love, and disappointment in the midst of a small Hispanic community. Mala Noche
was made into the first movie ever directed by Gus Van Sant—another Oregonian. Ken Kesey and Walt Curtis are comrades from way back; they used to do poetry readings together in Portland. Katherine Dunn, another
contemporary Oregon novelist, is also a strong, inventive voice from our state. She published two novels, Attic and Truck, before her breakthrough novel Geek Love, which tells the story of a family
"freak show" and the relationships they have with each other. This work has been translated into many languages and is described as creative and imaginative. Oregon writers of today show the same
pioneering spirit felt by our ancestors. Instead of exploring the edge of the continent, however, they explore the edge of the writer's craft. They still feel that connection with the place in which they reside—just as
their forefathers did—but now they have more people to write for than in the old days and thankfully, more media by which to share literature and poetry. Who might have guessed 150 years ago, when books by Oregon writers were
published elsewhere for lack of a press, that we would publish in our own homes and via the Internet. What edges may the next generations of enigmatic Oregon authors be travelling towards? If the last century and a half
is any indication, the future will prove interesting. Becky Mills is a teacher from Salem, Oregon.