Freshening up the Literary Scene

Tom Spanbauer has lived in Portland since 1990. In that time
he’s written two books set in Idaho (including The Man Who Fell in
Love with the Moon), and one set in New York City. He’s generous
with interviews and readings around town, but I’m hard-pressed to think
of much he’s written about Portland—that is, until the
first issue of the fledgling literary journal Poor Claudia,
which features a story by Spanbauer that takes place in the very city
in which the respected author has lived for nearly 20 years.

Not bad, for the first issue.

Poor Claudia, which has its official release party this
Sunday, April 12, is the work of Marshall Walker Lee and Drew
Swenhaugen, two friends who met at Powell’s, where they both work. The
two recent transplants had worked on literary journals in other states,
and were surprised that Portland seemed to lack a consistent local
outlet for new and established writers. So they decided to start one.
“We both wanted to see some sort of venue where people we know who are
creating good work, but who are relatively unknown, could print their
work alongside big names,” Lee explains.

If it seems starry-eyed to bank on publishing big names in an
unknown journal, consider that the collection also includes work by
Monica Drake, Walt Curtis, and local poet Michael Dickman (who was
profiled, along with his twin brother Matthew, in a recent issue of
The New Yorker). Poor Claudia is genuinely impressive:
the design is polished, the content varied and absorbing, and the
editing concise.

The journal is projected to come out twice a year, and the first
issue is dedicated to Joel Weinstein, publisher of the now-defunct
local journal Mississippi Mud, which introduced writers like
Katherine Dunn and Walt Curtis. A dedication like that is tantamount to
a statement of purpose—one that is tactfully, gracefully rooted
in local history. Plus, it’s named after that sports bar on SE
Hawthorne. If that doesn’t sell you, I just don’t know what else to
say.