Ashland became the center of the Cozy Mystery genre last weekend when it hosted the second annual Ashland Mystery Festival with 12 authors, 400 participants, up to 1,000 total visitors, and an abundance of mystery-related fun, according to Travel Ashland Director Katharine Cato.
On a crisp fall evening in Ashland, John Truby, the man behind the narrative secrets of Hollywood blockbusters, and his wife, Leslie Lehr, whose candid bestseller “A Boob’s Life” has made waves from bookshelves to HBO, will cozy up at Bloomsbury Books to dissect the art of storytelling.
After five years of display and many weeks of discussion, a decision was made to take down a pride banner at Ashland Public Library, the library’s management decided on a split vote at a meeting Aug. 21, a followup to an earlier meeting on July 29.
Review: In “Devils Island,” Midge Raymond and John Yunker bring together exotic locales, environmentalism, and murder in a whodunit with a sharp psychological edge. The devils on Devils Island ostensibly refer to the Tasmanian Devils, large carnivorous marsupials who are in danger of extinction due to a facial tumor disease. Could they kill a human? Would they?
Ashland newcomer Susan Gress was impressed with the city’s vibrant arts scene, but something seemed to be missing — a space for a community of writers to get to know one another. She got together with like-minded others, and now monthly meetings of Pacific Crest Writers are set to launch Tuesday, Aug. 20. The meet and greet is free for all writers — from beginners to pros, from scientists to poets.
Mitzi Loftus: “I consciously hold a positive outlook and attitude in my everyday living. If a little negative thing starts creeping in, something in me talks back to me, says, ‘wait a minute, watch out, you’re going down the wrong path.’”
Poetry Corner: Hot August days and nights and relief might be a ride in a fast car. Watch your speed and the upcoming curves!
Ashland Creatives: Describing permaculture in layperson’s terms, Vaarde said, “Ecological landscaping for human inhabitation, including biological elements which cooperate with each other. Soil fertility and resilience.”
Ashland photographer Christopher Briscoe plans to travel throughout Ukraine, personally distributing funds donated via GoFundMe to those on the ground who need it most. “Like a farmer that needs to repair his plow, or the seeds a farmer needs to plant. And I’m going to hand him the $100 bill and I’m going to ask them to look into the (iPhone) camera and I’m going to do a 60-second video of them thanking Ashland, Oregon, or whoever gave the $100.”
Poetry Corner: Both of today’s poems speak to the importance of community and identity. Louise M. Paré’s poem tells how the connection to her ancestral homeland of Ukraine continues to shape her persona. Seth Kaplan’s recent move from the Applegate to Talent describes how he has easily become attached to his new place and discovered the “us” in his community.
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Ask Strider: A worried older brother asks our advice columnist’s advice. And a dog’s guardian wants to know if there is any hope getting their hat-hating dog to calm down. As always, Strider tries to give words that help!
After a successful production of “The Vagina Monologues” and raising more than $2,000 for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, Ashland actor and director Lia Dugal intends for “The Climate Monologues” to premiere in Oregon in late 2025 or early 2026 at the Bellview Grange in Ashland.
It’s complicated.
Herbert Rothschild: Whether visualization and intention by themselves can effect broad social change is impossible to determine, but the question merits sustained consideration.
(It’s free)
