This second collection of essays, stories and poems by writers from Oregon and Washington varies in outlook and philosophy, in form and style as widely as does the Pacific Northwest community. Diana Lubarsky leads off "Coping" with a hilarious crisis in the lives of her characters from Dante's Angels. Mark Thalman reminds of the fragility of the line between life and death. Ross Hall, Lois Akerson and Bunny Hansen grow from loss. In a letter to Dorothy, Fred Melden contemplates where we are after life's experiences. Joe Schrader follows poachers from Minnesota who are little better off hunting in Oregon. Mitch Metcalf engulfs us in a disaster in the North Sea. "Relating" brings Roger Ritchey, Rebecca Robinson, Hannah Kolehmainen and Matthew Hampton in touch with Nature. Beverly Walker and G.A. Meyerink rely on love of animals to bring out the best in people. Charles Pritchard, Joan Graves and Everett Goodwin define self in relationship with another. Joan Ritchey is reminded of generations of love by the family mantle clock. Bill Stafford's humor wrings joy from plays on words beginning with 'O.' In "Finding Self," Jessica Morrell's planned escape to Nature becomes a lesson in tolerance and the joy in giving. Nel Rand, near the end of life, returns to what has mattered most. Paula Adams' fearful tadpoles ponder one of their own who reaches beyond the known. Rosemary Lombard, Barbara Schultz and Susan Munger reach into foreign settings. Karen Hessen, Eva Foster, Sarah Hampton and Gerlinde Schrader grow from difficult childhood challenges. Julie Caulfield and her brother's inability to swallow at the dictate of their father brings challenges to their mother. Sandra Mason's heart is beside the Pacific, but her roots are deep in the Midwest in "Remembering." Susan Schmidlin wrestles with the hitches in farm maintenance. Susan Field and Muriel Marble remember life changing in a hurricane and a war. In "Reflecting," Marilyn Schmidlin leans on and learns from a strong tree of life. Phil Pochurek and Wafford Tornieri explore humanness in the cycles of season and the moon. Alisa Hampton and M.J. Nordgren ponder the interconnectedness of seen and unseen. These thirty-nine authors scatter wild and domestic seed abroad into the far-flung, fertile soil of imagination. But uniting them all is the love of the strength, beauty and challenge of Pacific Northwest area of the country.
About the Author: Mary Jane Nordgren's three children helped their single-parent mom through medical school. They have gone on to Kathi's Veterinary practice, Alisa's Master's degree in languages and International Business, and Ted's law practice. All have founded beloved families who support each other and that is MJ's most cherished dream. Ever the reader, MJ turned to writing when illness forced her to leave her family medicine practice. She has published EARLY: Logging Tales Too Human to be Fiction; IVAN: Biography of Ivan U. Marble: and QUIET COURAGE. MJ wrote an educational text for R. C. Pepper, O.D. She edited and produced a book of poetry, I LOVE YOU TODAY by John Dresen. Never believing she was poet, her weekly writing group, Writers in the Grove, convinced her to produce her first book of poetry, FRAIL the BRIDGE. Her small publishing company, TAWK Press, has sponsored an annual, juried public reading, Lend an Ear, Come and Hear each July for five years now. SEEDS OF... Volume II is MJ's gift back to the community of supportive Pacific Northwest writers centered in Forest Grove, Oregon.