The sun has set over the Wallowa Mountains by the time 11 women gather around a pan of frosted brownies to celebrate Odette Engan’s 45th birthday. In the glow of tiny pink and blue striped candles, we sing “Happy Birthday” and pass the pan around the campfire.
They were two women living in the 1950s, stuck in an outdated mold, writing to save their lives. In the end, neither succeeded, but they left us with some of the best poetry of the 20th century.
Hoopfest is nearly upon us again, bringing with it inspired team T-shirts, trash talking, group bonding and good-natured competition. Oh yeah, and the mockery of the athletically challenged.
In the bleak midsummer that we've been having – in terms of both weather and gas prices – a good book might well trump the Jet Skis. And if you've been waiting for just the right book to hook you into a reading program, look no further.
