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The Portland Review – 2004

Volume 51

2004

Jeannine Hall Gailey

This journal, originating from Portland State University, includes poetry, fiction, photography and art from a variety of voices, not just those of the Northwest. Standout pieces for me included Dustin Nightingale’s poem, “Shoot Out the Lights,” and James McCachren’s story, “Driving,” which begins with the irresistible lines: “We had two reasons for going there: 1) because it was called “the supermarket of the stars,” and 2) because we had no chapstick. I saw we had no chapstick, though I think my wife may have hidden it.

This journal, originating from Portland State University, includes poetry, fiction, photography and art from a variety of voices, not just those of the Northwest. Standout pieces for me included Dustin Nightingale’s poem, “Shoot Out the Lights,” and James McCachren’s story, “Driving,” which begins with the irresistible lines: “We had two reasons for going there: 1) because it was called “the supermarket of the stars,” and 2) because we had no chapstick. I saw we had no chapstick, though I think my wife may have hidden it. She’d been wanting to go to that store for a long time; I could see her taking extreme measures.” Also riveting was John A Tisdale’s “Twenty-Eight Flavors of Stupid,” an unsentimental fiction piece about the wife of a recent suicide victim. The photographer featured throughout these pages, Niki Polyocan, has a knack at capturing warmth and humanity in urban landscapes – I particularly like her shot of a seated couple in white kissing while surrounded by pigeons that seem to be perched like accessories on the two lovers. [The Portland Review Literary Journal, Portland State University, P.O. Box 347, Portland, OR 97207-0347. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $9. www.ess.pdx.edu/portlandreview/PRhome.html] – JHG

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