The Magazine of Humanities Washington SPRING/SUMMER 2016 The Night Belongs to Phoenix Jones: An original story by National Book Award-winner Charles Johnson. ALSO INSIDE Religion and Human Rights | Meet the New State Poet Laureate | A History of Washington Music PROFILE Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall by David Haldeman ........................... 4–9 FICTION “The Night Belongs to Phoenix Jones” by Charles Johnson ..................................10–15 INSIDE EDITORIAL “A History of Washington Music in 10 Songs” by Amanda Wilde .......................16–18 5 QUESTIONS with David E Smith by David Haldeman ............................................. 19–21 READING HABITS with Jamie Ford ....................................................................22–24 NEWS & NOTES .............................................................................................. 26 CALENDAR ..................................................................................................... 28 ABOUT HUMANITIES WASHINGTON .........................................................26–27 From the Executive Director OUR BRAINS ARE WIRED to see patterns, to generate a complete picture out of fragments of information. Every day we IT’S DIVISION encounter hundreds—and in larger cities thousands—of strangers; simply too many to stop and evaluate the risks and rewards of SEASON interacting with each. So we look for patterns—our survival instinct causes us to create mental shortcuts based on superficialities like appearance, geography, gender, and race. Sometimes we’re right, Politicians and the media love but often we’re wrong. to divide us, but we have a way During this election season in particular, I’ve watched with dismay the tendency for politicians to capitalize on this human tendency to fight back: our stories. and use it to manipulate voters. To stoke a fear of “the other”— whether it is someone with a different skin color, country of birth, religious background, or bathroom preference—to By Julie Ziegler win office. But there is an antidote to this fear and manipulation: story. The stories of communities, of cultures, of individuals. Broad generalizations inevitably result in suspicion, prejudice, and bias. A story helps us focus on the humanity of the speaker, not the false patterns we construct from the crowd. Storytelling and personal narratives serve to empower and inspire. Story helps us break from the easy categorizations in which we place other people—and Photo of Julie Ziegler by Devin Kearns Hamid ourselves. When I know your story, I understand what makes you afraid—the war or 2 SPARK { Humanities Washington Magazine SPRING/SUMMER 2016 Photo by Darron Birgenheier via Flickr/Creative Commons discrimination or poverty that has left a Practically speaking, we can’t know the advantage. Hearing each other’s stories permanent mark, or the desperation that life story of everyone we meet, so it’s can break those divisions, but also, simply led you to flee your home and put your sometimes important to remind ourselves acknowledging those stories exist in each family in a boat to cross the sea. And I that there is a story. That each of our lives of us is a good place to start. also understand your joy—how dancing is shaped by chains of cause and effect, With sincere appreciation, the Fandango pulls your community and we’ve all fought, strived, hoped, built, close, mothers to daughters. How your dreamed, and changed ourselves to our grandmother tends to your history like a ever-shifting circumstances. precious ember. How poetry makes your children’s eyes sparkle. Julie Ziegler, Executive Director Experiences in the humanities expose A story helps us focus on the Humanities Washington for us the space in between the labels and humanity of the speaker, not the categories that we find comfortable. The humanities personalize the experiences of false patterns we construct others, giving us nuance, dimension, and from the crowd. context. They connect us to others and foster a more accurate narrative of peoples’ true experiences. Humanities Washington This election season, we’ll continue creates spaces across the state for these to hear politicians preach national stories to be heard. unity while using our divisions to their SPRING/SUMMER 2016 SPARK { Humanities Washington Magazine 3 Profile Photo by Mike Hipple AN INTERVIEW WITH WASHINGTON STATE’S BUGLER: NEW POET LAUREATE TOD MARSHALL ON WHY POETRY MATTERS, THE INSIDIOUSNESS OF THE “HIDDEN DEEP MEANING,” AND WHY SPOKANE IS A WRITERS’ TOWN. By David Haldeman TOD MARSHALL looks out of place of its natural beauty yet fearful of was well into college that the diligence in a conference room. nature’s wrath—where the Cascades and of a nun at his Catholic college stirred an Columbia River coexist with earthquakes interest in the humanities. While doing an His dusty green flannel, brown boots, and and wildfires. independent study with one of the Sisters, scruffy face don’t quite fit with the clinical Marshall decided not to do the work and whiteboard behind him, which is covered Marshall’s passion for the outdoors and simply faked his way through a one-on- in scrawls from a planning meeting. It’s an his humble personality immediately one lesson. When he spotted her in the odd contrast to hear Marshall ask about dispel the image many still have of poets library, she was meticulously preparing for the WiFi password while wearing a fishing- as isolated academics or tortured loners. their discussion, surrounded by piles of themed baseball cap that says “Reel Life.” Sure, he’s a Gonzaga professor, winner of notes and stacks of books on philosophy. the Washington State Book Award, and “She was going the eleven yards for that Marshall is at Humanities Washington’s can quote Whitman by heart, but he’s meeting,” said Marshall. “Obviously guilt office after having been named the new also an avid fisherman, active community kicked in, but also a wonder about that Washington State Poet Laureate for 2016- volunteer, and frequent user of the term passion for learning.” 2018, and his earthy appearance seems “folks.” In short, Marshall contains to match his poetry. His latest collection, multitudes, and seems to embody both Bugle, is practically smeared with soil: Its Washington State’s strong intellectualism verses are filled with the meadows, trees, as well as its ruggedness. dirt, and waterways around his Spokane We’re taught not to be home. But while his poems sometimes Born in Buffalo, New York, Marshall comfortable with multiplicity, contain flowers, they’re anything but grew up uprooted. His father was a flowery—death, decay, and violence can struggling salesman and the family moved ambiguity, and mystery. fill his organic landscapes as naturally as constantly—sometimes at 1:00 a.m. lakes, rivers, and rocks. He estimates he lived 19 different places by the age of 16. “I always think about the brutality of Shortly after, a fiction teacher gave him nature as one in juxtaposition with human As a teenager, Marshall took on what Hart Crane’s poem, “The Bridge.” brutality,” he says. “The brutality of the he describes as some “ne’er-do-well” world of nature is usually connected to behaviors, yet “managed to graduate “I had no clue what the poem was about. necessity. There is no cruelty there.” from high school and stay out of jail.” I had no clue what sentences meant within it. But the sounds of the poetry stunned As the new face of poetry in Washington Though a good student in college, me and intoxicated me. I got great pleasure State, this juxtaposition could be Marshall was “a soccer player guy” and out of just saying some of the phrases in particularly resonant for a state proud generally directionless. It wasn’t until he the poem.” Marshall told the teacher this, SPRING/SUMMER 2016 SPARK { Humanities Washington Magazine 5 Photo by Amy Sinisterra and he encouraged Marshall to take a succeeding outgoing laureate Elizabeth important—listening is such a significant fiction writing class. It was there that he Austen. For a recent full-page feature part of living a full and rich life.” “got the bug.” spread on Marshall, the Spokane Spokesman- Review appropriately titled it, “Tod’s Time.” He also has a particular interest in Now 48, Marshall has lived in Spokane reaching rural audiences, who may not since 1999, where he has taught English As poet laureate, Marshall will spread have access to the cultural institutions at Gonzaga and written three poetry awareness and appreciation of poetry— of larger cities. collections: Dare Say (2002), The Tangled including the state’s legacy of poetry— His outdoorsy nature is a good start. Line (2009), and Bugle (2014), as well as through public readings, workshops, And hidden underneath his flannel two books of interviews: Range of the Possible: lectures, and presentations. He also is a t-shirt printed with a haiku: Conversations with Contemporary Poets (2002) and plans to publish a book, Washington Barn burned down. Now I can see the moon. its follow-up, Range of Voices (2005). 129, featuring poems he collects from Washington residents during his tenure. Humanities Washington: What is it that Last year was a particularly good one for poetry specifically can offer that other Marshall: In addition to winning the “I hope to share poems with people artistic mediums cannot? Washington State Book Award for Bugle, that can help bridge our experiences he received the Humanities Washington of living in the world. I also hope to Tod Marshall: The first thing that comes Award, and was appointed Washington instill the possibility of making them. to mind is the accessibility that language State Poet Laureate by Governor Jay Inslee, I think that hearing other voices is provides. Most everyone has some facility 6 SPARK { Humanities Washington Magazine SPRING/SUMMER 2016 using language. Maybe that’s why it’s comfortable with multiplicity, ambiguity, Marshall: I think that it depends who also one of the oldest forms of cultural and mystery. And the reason we’re taught you ask.