Old Pal Mike Yates mentioned in an e-mail note that he’s going to see his old pal George Amabile for the first time in 40 years. J. Michael Yates (pictured left) is one of Canada’s pre-eminent poets, radio dramatists and prison memoirists. We met in New Orleans in the 1960s and have stayed in touch. The story is too long to go into here, but without Mike my novel Poodie James (right column, scroll down) would still be in a digital desk drawer. The Winnipeg Review says that Amabile … [Read more...]

Last month, we reported on the smoke that filled the Columbia River town of Wenatchee in eastern Washington state. During a visit, it looked like this. Rain, wind and a few high pressure systems later, the fires that blackened foothills of the Cascade Mountains and menaced towns are no longer a threat. This photograph by Sandy Parkhill shows the skies above Wenatchee earlier this week. … [Read more...]