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Northwest Passages: Jon Raymond
The Pacific Northwest is often praised for its "livability." This week writer Jon Raymond won the Oregon Book Award for fiction for his stories collected under that title. But his tales set the accolade on edge.
In "Train Choir," Verna left the Midwest close to broke with the hope of getting rich canning fish in Alaska. In a few grim days in Eastern Oregon she lost her car, dog, and her sense of purpose.
"The Suckling Pig" is the centerpiece dish at a dinner party where the wealthy host insists two day laborers stay. "Young Bodies," one of Raymond's favorites, explores what happens when two teenagers get locked in a mall (Portland's Lloyd Center) overnight.
These aren't the stories the concept of "livability" might bring to mind. No young hip creatives biking in organic raingear; no successful city planner families taking light rail to a festival in a park. One reviewer wrote these stories:
rival my own memories of inertia, isolation, and wild invention in the Pacific Northwest.
Raymond's work has been made into movies as well, in a process he finds "strangely natural." Old Joy was his first story to be filmed, changing the plot in ways he thought improved it. Wendy and Lucy was written as a short story, but intended as a film at the same time.
We'll talk books, movies, inertia, livability and more with Jon Raymond as part of our Northwest Passages series. Post your thoughts and questions to help shape the conversation here.
Tagged as: books · jon raymond · northwest passages · reading
Photo credit: Emilly Chenoweth
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You've had success in adapting your work to film. Is that a direction you intend to pursue more aggressively? Any chance we'll see a feature film of your novel The Half-Life one of these days?
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Hello! I need some help. This morning, I've been sitting in a handknit blanket, reading a National Geographic and looking out my window into the Pacific Northwest rain. My laptop is near me, my hair is cut in the pixie style common to both my age group and the area of PDX that I live. I am an aspiring writer-- eagerly ambitious, yet prone to bouts of wild procrastination. Lately, God help me, I've been contemplating whether I should learn to build myself a fixie bicycle.I'm aware that I'm a cartoon of the 'young creative', and I am familiar with self loathing. I look to those greater than I. Mr. Raymond, when you're writing, who are you writing to? Do you have an intended audience or reader or listener? I just heard you or someone slurp coffee, so I know you're real. Where do you want your voice to be heard? A neophyte wants to know.
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Jon, congratulations on your award. Regarding the creative class idea being oppressive, I have to disagree. I believe the distinction gives Portland an idea to rally behind. We are still independent thinkers here, it is part of our DNA yet the conept of creative class has given us a lense to magnify our particular uniqueness as a region.
This is worthy of a debate on Think Our Loud
Jerry Ketel
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Look up Mike Rowe's (from Dirty Jobs) lecture on Ted and see if you feel the same way. I'd like to think that what makes Portland unique came from its working class. Even Raymond's writing feels blue collar. I can't imagine him finding inspiration among the so called creative class.
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I loved Wendy and Lucy and look forward to reading your stories. I was speaking to Pete Dexter at Wordstock about finding a locale for ones fiction and it seems like you have it in spades. One of my favorite short story writers is Jhumpa Lahiri-- have you read her.
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Such a nice insight of the transformation of Portland over the years!! The image of "1978 that the city sticks to while the world might be a lap ahead although we lead on some things" is amazing!!! Being a foreigner (Canadian!!), I find Jon's description of the Portland's spirit and transformation so true to how I perceived the 'flock' of wanna be Portlanders; confident and creative people full of liveability!!!
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Cheers and congratulations.
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Amazing stuff,Thanks so much for this!
Aspartame
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'Old Joy' was one of my fav films! Jon Raymond is a great writer.
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Comments are now closed.
Thank you for your participation. I have lived in Oregon only a few years and really enjoy the conversations with the writers of the area. I wondered just how much your work is influenced by living in this region and if you believe living somewhere else would change what or how you write.
The reason I asked is because I really enjoy the work regional writers do to bring that culture to outsiders. For example, I honestly cannot imagine Dr. Ferrol Sams living, working or writing about any place except Georgia. And can anyone picture an Anne Rice book without bringing up a mental picture of New Orleans?
Thanks for your time! You are appreciated.