The sun setting over the St. John's Bridge, a large, blue-green suspension bridge.

Book Genres and the Best Portland Parks To Read Them In

If there’s anything Portlanders can agree on, it’s that we love our green space. Take a stroll within any one of Portland’s whopping 154 Parks and you’re sure to notice all kinds of park-goers: the picnickers, the dog walkers, the bubble blowers, the spikeballers . . . but keep your senses tuned and you’ll notice the quiet force of another kind of park-goer: the readers. Usually tucked beneath the shadiest trees with a cozy blanket and perhaps a few snacks, these bookworms understand the importance of a beautiful environment when it comes to enjoying literature. But with so many parks to choose from—all with their own unique flair and personalities—how are Portlanders supposed to decide where to bring their newest literary conquest? Good news! I’ve compiled a list of popular book genres and the Portland parks they can be best enjoyed at. The next time you crave that fresh pacific air and a cozy reading session, you can easily decide where to head.

Romance: Laurelhurst Park

From the nervous first date by the pond to the couple pushing the boundaries on PDA, one lap around Laurelhurst Park is all you need to see that romance is simply in the air there. It’s not a far stretch to imagine your own beloved protagonists strolling through the park’s regal pathways or the historic winding streets of the surrounding Laurelhurst neighborhood–making this park the perfect fit for your newest romance read.

Classics: Washington Park

As one of the oldest and largest parks in Portland, Washington Park in northwest Portland provides the sense of history and drama requisite for enjoying a good classic. Dust off your favorite Brontë or Steinbeck and head to this Portland favorite to make those classic stories come alive in a new way.

Sci-Fi: Elizabeth Caruthers Park

If you’re looking for a futuristic vibe in Portland (though some may argue that’s an Oxymoron), look no further than Elizabeth Caruthers Park. Positioned beneath the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) sky tram and the tall, modern, glassy buildings of the Southwest Waterfront, this park calls to mind many popular sci-fi themes, such as technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and dystopia.

Children’s: Westmoreland Park

If there’s a little one in your life, packing up your favorite children’s books and heading to Westmoreland Park in Portland’s Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood is a must. Let the kiddos get some energy out playing on this park’s beautiful nature-based playground and then settle down with a cozy, educational read (bonus points for nature themes in the book itself).

Poetry: Peninsula Park

Peninsula Park in north Portland is home to a public rose garden, a gorgeous fountain, and a historical bandstand. The park’s stunning landscaping and historic architecture create a cerebral quality perfect for enjoying poetry both old and new.

Literary Fiction: Cathedral Park

The sophisticated, serene nature of Cathedral Park makes it a perfect place for literary fiction lovers to crack the code on their latest lyrical masterpiece. Situated in the St. Johns neighborhood directly under the majestic St. Johns Bridge, this park is also the perfect place to capture the obligatory #Bookstagram story featuring the gorgeous, artful covers associated with the genre.

Nonfiction: Mt. Tabor Park

We’ve gone a little broad here, but at 176 acres in size, Mt. Tabor Park in southeast Portland has enough room for a whole host of nonfiction titles. That being said, the best fit might be nonfiction titles about geology, geography, or geochemistry. Mt. Tabor is actually a volcanic cinder cone. The more you know!

While we can’t come close to hitting each book genre or each of Portland’s many parks, hopefully this guide can be a jumping off point next time you decide to take your reading to the great outdoors. The perfect book-park pairing is sure to enhance your reading experience and provide a wonderful way to explore our city’s vast array of unique parks and green spaces. Happy reading!

Four Books By Latinx Authors You Need To Read

Here at Ooligan, we love to celebrate diverse authors and stories. As a Latinx reader, I enjoy reading novels that speak about my culture and celebrate the rich history of the island I grew up on. However, I also love reading stories from other Latinx cultures whose stories and experiences resonate with me. In this list, you will find a little bit of everything. We have put together a short list of books written by Latinx authors that you will surely enjoy!

The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal

First on our list is Ann Dávila Cardinal. Cardinal is known for celebrating her heritage through her writing in her novels. Her newest title, The Storyteller’s Death, follows the story of Isla as she discovers family secrets. Forced to spend her summers in Puerto Rico, Isla develops a strong bond with her great-grandmother. After her death, Isla discovers she has a magical gift passed down through her family. This incredible story incorporates beautiful storytelling with a hint of magic. The Storyteller’s Death is Cardinal’s first adult novel. If you are looking for a young adult novel, you can check out her other books like Breakup From Hell and Five Midnights.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Next up, we have Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. This story, told in the form of a poem, follows the lives of two sisters, Camino and Yahaira Rios, after the sudden death of their father. However, Camino and Yahaira were unaware of each other’s existence. They must work through their grief while coming to terms with their father’s double life. Acevedo’s writing is truly captivating. Other well-known books by Acevedo are The Poet X and With the Fire on High.

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz

This fantasy novel follows the story of Lana Torres who loves dragons and longs to play for the Puerto Rican team in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and humans come together to compete. This is such a fun, innovative, and action-packed read. I had never read a fantasy novel incorporating Puerto Rican characters and found this book to be a treat! I highly recommend it, and if you want to read more books by Ortiz, you can check out Dragonblood Ring and Last Sunrise in Eterna.

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories

Last but not least, we have Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories, which is a collection of short stories written by many authors, two of whom, Amparo Ortiz and Ann Dávila Cardinal, have been featured on this list. This collection of Latinx horror stories is a great way to get insight into different cultures since many of these stories are inspired by specific lore. Some of my favorite stories include “The Boy From Hell” and “La Madrina.”

These are just a few fantastic Latinx authors I have recently enjoyed reading. I would have loved having more stories like Ortiz’s Blazewrath Games when I was growing up, but I am glad I have these stories now and that younger readers will have access to books like these.

Support diversity in publishing by reading Latinx authors. Feel free to let us know what authors you loved from this list and share other Latinx authors you love reading!

Two women on a picnic blanket, one reading, on a fall day

5 Books about Strong Women, by Women

On June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade—the legislation that allowed women’s access to abortion as a right in healthcare—was overturned. Since then, communities of women—with and without uteruses—have been scrambling for ways to support one another during these bleak times. For some, especially for those who feel the impact of the overturn in our personal lives, a good story with a strong woman protagonist to ignite the fire within and remind us of the strength that we possess is just what we need. Strength comes in many forms and this book list explores many of them.

For this list, I am presenting to you five books about women, by women, so that as we explore these forms of strength, we too are supporting fellow women.

    1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This beautiful creative nonfiction book is written by writer and scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer who is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In this breathtaking book, Kimmerer’s ethereal prose braids stories of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the science that surrounds us in our everyday lives, and the never ending offerings that plants have within their medicinal properties. A delicious treat.

    2. Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

This autobiography takes us back to the 1970s when political activist and Black Panther Assata Shakur—godmother of Tupac Shakur—finds herself in custody after a tantalizing battle with the FBI and local police. She was incarcerated for four years before flimsy evidence led to her conviction. Assata’s story is unlike anyone else’s and her personal account of the Black Liberation movement of the 1970s will teach you the strength of Black womanhood and motherhood and the reason to fight for police abolition.

    3. Heartbroke by Chelsea Bieker

Bieker is Portland State’s very own MFA graduate who debuted with her book Godshot last year. While her debut had a very strong female protagonist, I’m recommending her short story collection, Heartbroke, in this article. Why? Because this story collection hosts a variety of strong women who come in all shapes and sizes. From a houseless mother in a shelter to teen girls in an online game that plays on their fate, and even a sex phone operator who chases around a cowboy in the pursuit of a better life, this is an enthralling collection.

    4. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

In The Poet X, Dominican American poet and author Elizabeth Acevedo introduces Xiomara Batista into the world—and I must say, my life has been better ever since. In this novel written entirely in profound poetic prose, Xiomara finds refuge in her own poetry while navigating through a tough teenagehood where the church is law and her Mami’s word is God. Xiomara encompasses all the strength I strive for in life.

    5. The Dragons, the Giants, the Women: A Memoir by Wayétu Moore

Last but not least, Moore’s creative memoir The Dragons, the Giants, the Women shares the gripping details of when the First Liberian Civil War broke out and how she and her family escaped. This book leads up to the life she has built for herself here in the United States and shares intimate details of the strife that she overcame in between. If you are ever second-guessing the power to behold in a woman who faces crisis, this book will convince you that Moore, and women like her, can achieve anything that is possible in a show of true resilience.

Graffiti of the word "poetry" being painted by an adult hand

Social Profit in the Process of Publishing Poetry

Many avenues come to mind when we think of marketing a book. Social media, public-facing events, local outreach, and more—there are numerous ways that authors and their teams can work to get consumers interested in the upcoming release. However, the one genre that seems to be overlooked here (leaving the responsibility to therefore fall on the writer) is poetry. Such has been the case since the debut of poetry collections, but I would argue that, in order for the genre to reach its full potential of artistry and audience, the marketing style must become a collaborative process.

For an example of how things are currently run, you could turn to the writer-friendly website pw.org. There, folks who have hopes of getting their work out there can find different guides and tips on how to do so. What’s interesting is their webpage devoted to publishing advice for writers of poetry collections. Poets & Writers almost immediately states that poets should first look into small presses to have a great success rate at getting published, and also at finding people who will be more devoted to helping them develop their work: “We suggest you begin your search for a book publisher by looking at small presses and university presses [. . .] they do not have the resources of larger publishing houses and offer smaller advances, they are usually more willing to help you develop as an author even if your books aren’t immediately profitable.” This suggests a contention between large publishing houses and new poets in the sector of marketing. If larger publishers are unwilling to help new poets develop, then the responsibility lies with poets to first seek out smaller journals, magazines, and publishing houses to get their work out there and make a name for themselves. While this is a concept that is in practice with other genres, it does seem to occur most often with poetry.

And this goes back to the beginning. You could think of poets such as Ezra Pound or Edgar Allen Poe, who both have been remarked as having enough determination and entrepreneurial spirits to get their work published (because they had to). Or Walt Whitman, who first self-published in 1855 before he was taken seriously. The list goes on, of course, and still continues to be added to in the twenty-first century.

In today’s marketplace, self-promotion is a given. The hardship of success for writers, though, comes from the fact that just about all areas of art and creativity are (and I’m trying not to sound harsh) over-saturated. With growing technology and various social media platforms, artists of all kinds are competing for a spotlight. Knowing that, the evidence is clear that poets’ being left to their own devices (literally) for self-promotion of their work just won’t cut it. If the marketing teams at publishing houses would combine their industry knowledge of the booksellers market with the personality and intimacy of the artists’ identities, we’d find an equation for achievement. And while you could argue that using a business to market oneself could be construed as “selling out,” this is a position of privilege—and naivety. New-to-the-scene writers can’t deny promotion if they have no platform to begin with; and the refusal of established artists to collaborate only serves to maintain the divide that disadvantages those hoping to break into the domain, and the benefits of a better relationship would go both ways.

Of course, there is much to gain from simply being on the receiving end of poetry; but there can also be financial security for businesses. In working around poetic language, moguls with a tendency toward the practical can learn new ways to market for their own benefit. As one article puts it: “There’s no doubt that poetry is profitable for brand managers and marketing researchers both. Poetry improves our prose (Stern, 1998). Poetry stimulates our synapses (Sherry & Schouten, 2002). Poetry transports us to the secluded bower of creativity, imagination, management.” Studying verse and the imaginative minds who write them can teach a manifold of pathways for reinventing language. In my experience, that’s the best thing about poetry: reshaping speech for the purpose of distinct, unique expression. By observing this skill set, managerial teams can obtain a better understanding of how they could morph their outreach ideals to draw more people in.