Author Josephine Woolington calls Portland, Oregon home. But after taking a closer look at her surroundings, she has come to understand the nature that is her home.
Her book, “Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest,” is a natural and cultural history essay collection about Pacific Northwest plants and animals. It won a 2024 Oregon Book Award for nonfiction.
Woolington will be the guest speaker at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 in the Cannon Beach Library. She is hosted by the library’s NW Authors Series Committee. It is a free, hybrid presentation; attend in person at the library or watch it on the library’s website, cannonbeachlibrary.org.
“My writing is rooted in close observation of the world around me,” says Woolington. “I try to deepen my understanding of home and the Pacific Northwest region, more broadly.
“I strive for narratives that show how communities—both human and non-human—persist after decades of colonialism, habitat degradation, exploitation and broken treaties with tribal nations.”
The 10 essays concentrate on the natural and cultural history of Northwest plants and animals, their current survival trends and their likely future. She weaves in the relationships these species play in the lives of the Northwest’s tribes.
Among the elements she writes about are camas, sandhill cranes, western bumble bees, moss and the gray whale.
A musician, as well as a journalist, Woolington also will play a few tunes during her presentation.
“When I’m not writing or playing music, I’m most likely looking at birds, trees, rocks and clouds and wondering,” she adds.
Woolington writes stories about Pacific Northwest Indigenous affairs and the environment for High Country News and other publications. During her time at The Register-Guard in Eugene, she received an award for best education coverage from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.
She also teaches at a nonprofit music school in North Portland that makes music lessons affordable to kids and adults. She toured nationally and internationally with different local artists, and she writes, records and performs her own music as Josephine Antoinette.
The Northwest Authors Series Committee hosts authors from September through May. In March, the committee honors local writers during the Writers Read Celebration.
Authors scheduled for 2024-2025 are:
• Cliff Taylor, Saturday, Nov 9
• Erica Berry, Saturday, Jan.25
• Rachel King, Saturday, Feb. 22
• Writers Read, Friday, March 7; Theme: “Rising Tide”
• Daniela Molnar, Saturday, April 26
• Marcelle Heath, Saturday, May 17
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