Matt Love

Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon’s Sesquicentennial Anthology

Published by Nestucca Spit Press, edited by MATT LOVE, featuring DOROTHY BLACKCROW MACK, NIKI PRICE, CARLA PERRY, DENNIS E. JONES and ANDREW RODMAN.

February 14, 2009 marks the 150th birthday of the State of Oregon.

In celebration, several local writers included in "Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon's Sesquicentennial Anthology" will be the featured authors of the Nye Beach Writers' Series event held that night.

Matt Love chose the anthology's title from a quote by Oregon's celebrity author Ken Kesey: "Oregon is the citadel of the spirit." The book contains 63 original essays by writers who have called the State of Oregon home. In addition, 61 excerpts from primary documents related to Oregon history are included.

The whole idea was to commemorate Oregon's 150th birthday, said Matt Love, owner of Nestucca Spit Press, the book's publisher. Citadel merges past and present Oregon voices and stories. I wanted to produce an unconventional book that integrated the old stories and new perspectives and reflects Oregon's maverick nature.

a sampling of Citadel contents:

• "Lake Electric," written by Newport High School student Miri Goldade musing on the sometimes-eerie magic of Crater Lake
• "Its Great Vigor: A Letter on the Origin of the Himalayan Blackberry" by Luthor Burbank
• "Break Every Yoke: A Report on the Women's Suffrage Movement in Oregon" by legendary Oregon suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway
• "The KKK in Oregon" by Eckard Toy Jr.
• "That's When I Saw It: A Bigfoot Sighting" by Dr. Matthew Johnson
• "Mainstreaming Cannabis" by Alicia Williamson
• "I Voted to Stay as a Remaining Member: A Klamath Termination Oral History" by Delphine Jackson
• "An Ale Tale" by Brian Doyle
  
• and - believe it or not - "She is a Sexy Thing," a diary entry by the infamous, impeached U.S. Senator Bob Packwood
• Other topics include the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, physician-assisted suicide, the Grateful Dead, Oregon's rivers and the animals who live there, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the perennial University of Oregon vs. Oregon State University rivalry.

Matt Love made a point of having the anthology printed by an Oregon printing press. "I could have shipped my order to Asia and saved a lot of money. Thousands of dollars. But, a book celebrating Oregon's 150th birthday printed in China? Are you kidding me? I'm a real Oregonian - I know who my neighbors are and I don't rationalize my capitalism at their expense."

Nestucca Spit Press