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Northwest Passages: Diane Hammond
Author Diane Hammond had never been to the West Coast when her husband got a job with NOAA in Newport. As an East Coast transplant, she felt at first that she didn't fit in. To avoid isolation, she decided to not talk, but listen.
Everything from the words I used to the things I might find of interest didn't resonate. I didn't fit in professionally or socially, which in a small town are often the same thing. In order not to seem like a Martian, I decided that instead of being the me I had been all my life, I would change to fit in better.
Hammond got a job with the electric utility company and listened as the people she worked with shared those little bits of their lives that come up in the break room or over lunch. Slowly, their stories wove into her consciousness, and her writing. That was 25 years and four novels ago. Now she says: "Before Newport I didn't write anything worth a damn."
Hammond's first novel, Going to Bend, is set in a small Oregon coastal town. It's a story of two friends who have managed life's struggles despite bringing few resources to bear. Her next, Homesick Creek, searches deeper into Hammond's questions about people's needs, desires, and relationships. Hannah's Dream, a story about an old zookeeper and an elephant in an odd rural zoo, drew on Hammond's experiences as the "spokesperson" for Keiko the whale. That book's popularity surprised her! Hammond's new book this year, Seeing Stars, tells of a mother who moved from the Northwest to LA to help her daughter pursue an acting career. Hammond did that. But she says the book is not an autobiography.
I grab at the bits that stick as we're falling through the rabbit hole. I write about things that are real, that I can see. They become symbolic. So what I write about is real, but what I do with it is not.
Have you read any of Diane Hammond's books? What bits stick with you? Have you moved to – or from – a small town and struggled to fit in? Do you still wonder anything about Keiko and the people around him? Have you ever fed an elephant donuts?
Tagged as: animal welfare · books · coast · diane hammond · northwest passages
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I own an independent bookstore in Bend. Diane has been such a wonderful friend to indie bookstores. She's always open to meeting with book groups and mesmerizes the crowd every time. People are always amazed that a published author will sit down with their book club to discuss their thoughts as well as her own. In a time when indies are looking for new ways to attract and keep customers, Diane has been a shining star.
Tina Davis
Owner
Camalli Book Company (pronounced kuh-MALL-ee)
Bend, Oregon
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I spent my teenage years in Newport. When Keiko came to town, it was big news. Most young locals I hung with got a little sick of hearing about it, although secretly I think we liked the attention he brought.
I worked at the local McDonald's at the time, and more than once people came through the drive thru (sometimes without ordering food) to ask, "Where's the whale?" I remember the special release Keiko rootbeer made by (I believe) the Rogue Brewery, and to this day I still mention "Free Willy" right up there with "Goonies" "Animal House" and "Twilight" when talking about films made in Oregon.
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I gotta be honest -- I had never heard of Diane Hammond until this show.
But I DO remember Keiko, and all the controversy over the process to "Free Keiko." Even in Seattle, we heard all the news -- it didn't just make the local news on the Oregon Coast, it went regional!
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That's odd, my post about the change from Manhattan to Oregon just disappeared.
Dave, did it show up on your end?
Weird.
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Nope. Not sure what happened!
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The TOL web site is eating our papers, Tom. Last week two or three of my comments were bludgeoned by a "server glitch".
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trurl9
I wonder if other people are having problems too.
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Anyway, that was an an interesting show.
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I have always wondered why people thought a whale that watched TV and had bonded with people would be happy in the wild, I think it was telling when Keiko adopted a village and hung around the docks Keiko missed people.
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I've read all but Diane's last book, and especially love her characters and dialogue. Your interview helped suss out how she came to be able to do that. Most of us in the world don't stop to listen, and certainly don't listen without attaching their own judgments and prejudices. Diane lets us hear the "real people" that populate her books' worlds. Thanks to all!
Rebecca
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Comments are now closed.
I haven't read any of Mrs. Hammond's books but I'm intrigued. Does Mrs. Hammond enjoy living in Newport today? Has she overcome feeling isolated or lonely?
I want to live in Newport so what advice would Mrs. Hammond offer to someone who has lived many places and is somewhat broadminded?
Does Mrs. Hammond feel that Newport has "depression"? Metaphorically speaking, Newport denizens walk with their heads up, but their shoulders are slumped, and the young ones mumble shyly instead of enunciate confidently.
The locals work and live hard, but reductions in logging and fishing have made them resilient, pragmatic and a little cranky due to pervasive pessimism. Newporters don't complain to foreigners but I perceive a palpable ennui that socks Newport in emotional fog. Is my perception correct or does it need refinement?