Arts

2017 Wonderland Book Award nominee Jennifer Robin is a treasure of the Portland underground. Her work captures a menagerie of 21st century American characters, many of whom seem archetypal. In this interview, we discuss her books Death Confetti and Earthquakes in Candyland, changing Portland, and Facebook as a platform for artists.

After patriarchy collapses / And capitalism crumbles / We’ll get lost in each other’s / Trickster minds and bodies / Free to touch and let go / Touch and let go, sliding in/ And out of kaleidoscopic embrace

An excerpt from Tony Vigorito’s third novel, “Love and Other Pranks”: “He had this earnest notion—and if you ever heard him tell it, you’d believe it just the same as if he was telling you that the sun is bright—he had this notion that LP9 was sent here direct from the godhead, that it was actually the prophet Elijah heralding the dawn of Christ consciousness.”

An excerpt from Tony Vigorito’s third novel, “Love and Other Pranks”: “Do you ever wonder if you are shadow puppets of some much larger theater of experience?” An unknown, unexpected, and terribly deep voice very suddenly resonated from the far corner of the screened patio.

An excerpt from Tony Vigorito’s third novel, “Love and Other Pranks”: “Merlin was certain he’d met the female version of himself, and he was in love, baby, in love like a fool in fretless free fall off a blackfoot daisy–bedazzled cliff, and my is that breeze refreshing! Sure, he was now an accessory to grand larceny, but that was nothing compared to this infraction.”

An excerpt from Tony Vigorito’s third novel, “Love and Other Pranks”: “So this stupid pretense of a civilization we’re supposed to identify with,” Lila went on, “is really just the darkest spell of all.”