The Birth of a Book

Almost two years ago, I sat down with poet Anne Jennings Paris to discuss her book. Today I opened my mailbox and found the finished book, bound and printed. I was introduced to some of these poems when they were only ideas. And now I have a tangible book to hold in my hands and read again and again. Words I looked at and scribbled over countless times are now beautifully printed on the page of a book. And one of those pages has a clean white space awaiting the author's signature at next week's book launch (Tuesday, October 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR).

Don't let the fact that this is a book of poetry scare you away. It's concrete poetry that tells a story--five stories, in fact. Part poetry, part historical fiction, Paris gives voice to voiceless historical figures from the well known (York, the slave of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) to the obscure but fascinating (Charity Lamb, Oregon's first convicted murderess). With a special emphasis on the Pacific Northwest, Killing George Washington opens windows into the history of America itself--frontiersmen, slaves, explorers, pioneers, immigrants, and architects.

I know these poems backward and forward, but I can't wait to read them again--to turn my editor's brain off and fully enjoy the beauty of the language and the power of the stories.

Killing George Washington: The American West in Five Voices
Anne Jennings Paris
Published by Ooligan Press
$13.95

Buy it at: Powell's Books or Amazon