Erin Van Rheenen
Born in Portland, Oregon, Erin Van Rheenen spends most of her time in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the last year, however, she has lived in Costa Rica, where she is writing a book on how to relocate to that country.
The Weight Of Memory
At Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon, they hand out maps of the store, as if it were a forest you might get lost in. My mother is looking for a novel; I want something that will help me identify the birds and trees of the Northwest. Oregon is much more lush than I remember; its green makes California look brown. My mother grew up in Portland but doesn’t recall the names of things. I lived here until the age of seven.
November 2004Thirteen Ways Of Claiming A Literary Prize
At the other end of the bar stood a stocky man with thinning hair and black-rimmed glasses. His skin gave off an unhealthy sheen; his eyes swam, magnified and vague, behind thick lenses. So this was the Pulitzer Prize–winning author (let’s call him Moe) who’d chosen my unpublished book as best new novel.
November 2003Has something we published moved you? Fired you up? Did we miss the mark? We’d love to hear about it.
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