Pacific Northwest Message Board

Although not currently residing in the PNW, I grew up in Washington, and still consider it "home" because much of my immediate family is there. Hope that counts. :)

I live in Seattle, Washington and can't imagine anywhere better. I'm currently a student and love poetry.

Let's throw out some great PNW books Ken Kesey Sometimes a Great Notion and One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Annie Dillard The Living Stepping Westward by Sallie Tisdale The Egg and Iby Betty MacDonald and of course The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest

Haboo: Native American Stories from Puget Sound by Vi Hilbert, Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, Poets Against the War edited by Sam Hamill Sally Anderson.

Oh, another: First Fish, First People: Salmon Tales of the North Pacific Rim. This is an awesome book, and more folks whould know about it.

A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean, The Brothers K by David James Duncan and all his other books. All of them. In the Wilderness by Kim Barnes. As far as Alexie, I'd go with The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven but Reservation Blues is good too. Richard Hugo's poetry. I could go on.

I recently read To Kill a Common Loon by Mitch Luckett. A friend of mine got this book at the Salem Art Festival several years ago and loaned it to me. It was really good. Similar to Carl Hiaasen with the ecological stuff, and similar to Tom Robbins with the language and odd happenings.

I grew up in Rainier, Oregon then moved to Salem, Oregon. My family is all now in central California and the Mohave Desert. I currently live in Canberra Australia. But my heart is still in the PNW and still consider it home.

I wish I could borrow some of the PNW rain for canberra.

I look forward to reading some of the books listed here!

Winterkill: A Novel by Craig Lesley.

The Highest Tide : a novel by Jim Lynch - set around Olympia and Mud Bay, my old stomping grounds. I'm in Portland now and still miss the Sound.

Howdy, I'm wondering if your definition of "Pacific Northwest" = Cascadia? Because if so, I'm in (as a British Columbian) - otherwise, I'm out.

In the meantime, I'll join ... just to see what I can do to boost the Pacific Northwest-related book count :-)

Hello, all. I live and write in Tacoma and teach at the U. of Puget Sound. Suggestion Northwest authors include Shawn Wong (novel = Homebase), Laura Jensen (poetry, including Bad Boats), Richard Hugo (Making Certain It Goes On: Collected Poems; The Triggering Town, a book about writing poetry); Carolyn Kizer, Colleen McElroy, and Madeline DeFrees (fine poets), and Jack Olsen (maybe the best true crime writer ever; his book on Geronimo Pratt, falsely convicted and imprisoned Black Panther is superb). The late Octavia Butler lived in Seattle. Beth Kalikoff has a great mystery novel: Dying for the Blue Plate Special. I have a book of poems: The Coast Starlight: 1976-2006, available from the usual suspects; if you ask a librarian to order it for her/his library, I'll be eternally grateful. Okay, maybe not eternally but for a long time. Happy New Year. I like including Cascadia!

>11 chamekke: chamekke

I use my "PNW" tag for anything related to OR, WA, ID, BC, and Alaska panhandle.

What about Western Montana?

This group was listed as dormant so I thought I'd post and see if anyone still follows! I am from Nampa, ID and consider myself a part of the Pacific Northwest...but then I AM right outside of Boise! ;-)

Hope all are well!

I dunno. Once you get east of the Cascades, things are kinda different.

I've lived both in Boise, and Seattle. The cultures are hugely different.

>16 enoch_elijah:

I say you are in the Pacific Northwest (not that my opinion counts for anything). I use the tag "PNW" for books that cover anything in Alaska, Yukon, BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or Montana. In spite of the cultural and climatic differences on opposite sides of the mountains, these states and provinces also have a lot in common.

I see you are interested in history. You may want to take a look at The Big Burn by Timothy Egan; it describes the huge forest fires in Idaho and western Montana in 1910, and the founding of the US Forest Service.

Just read Deception Pass by Earl Emerson. There are quite a few mystery series set the Pacific Northwest.