Although it’s still winter, we are looking ahead to Spring and all that the new season brings: blossoms, brightness and books. Yes, books! We’re excited about our forthcoming releases and our Spring catalog is available now. The catalog highlights The Eclipse I Call Father, an essay collection on absence, Same River Twice, an examination of the politics of dam removal and river restoration, Edge of Awe, an anthology of personal impressions of the Malheur-Steens country, and many more. Today on the blog, our Griffis Publishing Interns each highlight a Spring book that they are looking forward to reading.
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CAROLYN
This spring I’m looking forward to spending more time outside enjoying the beautiful Oregon outdoors, and the OSU Press Spring Catalog features a book perfect for my interest in the botanical culture of the Pacific Northwest. Gifted Earth: The Ethnobotany of the Quinault and Neighboring Tribes does more than help readers identify regional plants: it also promotes a sustainable relationship between readers and the environment.
This respectful and balanced attitude towards plant usage is a core value of the book. Collaboratively written by the Quinault Indian Nation and Douglas Deur, Gifted Earth captures the beauty of the plants it describes in over 80 color photos.
Each of the descriptions of the plants shared in Gifted Earth features a summary of the plant’s cultural significance and tips for gathering and using the plant. Throughout these entries you will find writing on ethical plant usage guided by Native American resource management principles, touching on issues from land access to Native American gathering rights.
Gifted Earth is as fascinating and comprehensive as it is user friendly, guiding readers through the foliage and into a new understanding of the living tradition of plant use in the Quinault Nation.
ZOË
This academic year I became slightly more involved in the Coalition of Graduate Students, a union at Oregon State University, and also read Beyond the Rebel Girl, a narrative that examines the role of women in the Industrial Workers of the World in the Pacific Northwest. Now I find myself interested in learning about the past and present state of unions and radicalism in the Pacific Northwest. This Spring, I am very much looking forward to the release of The Red Coast, a thorough and accessible history of activism in Southwest Washington from the late nineteenth century until World War II. While the book highlights radicalism, it also delves into anti-radical forces that fought against the work of organizers. I’d recommend The Red Coast to both academics and general readers who are interested in histories of activism and labor.