Marking the Magic Circle
1987. ISBN 978-0-87071-353-8. Paperback, $15.95.
1987. ISBN 978-0-87071-352-1. Hardcover, $24.95.
Award: Silver Medal and Special Award for Oregon Literature, Literary Arts, 1988
Award:
100 Best Oregon Books (1800-2000), Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission, 2005
George Venn, in this collection of poetry, fiction, Chinese translations, and essays both
personal and literary, challenges his readers to root themselves in the
strength of home, rather than looking for direction to far away
intellectual and political centers. His writing resonates with the
reality of life in the Northwest -- the spiritual richness of a life
lived in harmony with the requirements of place, and the problems of
unemployment and poverty faced by so many in the region. In his literary
essays Venn explores the rich variety of the Northwest’s literary
heritage, and undertakes to convince those who live in the region of the
value and authenticity of this heritage. Venn’s blend of creativity and
scholarship is unique in the Northwest, enriching both his scholarship
with a poet’s vision and his poetry and fiction with a deep
understanding of their context and roots in the region’s literature.
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