Visit from Author Rick Borsten

Caleb Tremain was struggling through the forest, the dark heavy around him. His breath came harshly, too loud, and he tried to muffle it. He had to be silent; he had to hear the Thing that was coming up behind him. The Bear. The chase between the man and the bear was a crucial point in Rick Borsten's new novel, Insane for the Light, which he read from last Thursday in North Santiam Hall.   The reading was in NSH-207. The classroom was big enough for the thirty odd people that came to hear him. There were students from a short story class, a few teachers, people from around campus and older folks who knew Borsten and liked his work. Steve Scheetz used to be his boss. He came to support Borsten because they're still friends. They go out to breakfast on Friday morning. Borsten teaches him golf. Borsten started by introducing his new novel, Wobbly in the Buddha Fields, which includes a character, a certain Dolores Ludlow. He sketched her brilliantly with vivid pictures and short words. He seemed to enjoy the reading himself, laughing a little bit at the funny parts. Then he went on to a much larger selection from Insane for the Light. This piece was set back in the 1850's in the Sierra Mountains. It was a story about a logger called Caleb Tremain and his struggle with a giant tree. Borsten did his research well. With well chosen description and characters he brought back the old days. He used the right terms for the logging equipment, of course, and even wrote a song with logger slang from the 1850's. Tremain triumphed over the tree and the bear; Borsten stopped reading and hinted to the audience  what would happen in the end. Time was opened up for questions. People wanted to know where he found his ideas and characters, where he liked to write and how he managed to actually publish. Most of the audience seemed to love his work. Kate Carr, a student, said, "I don't buy hardbacks of anything I don't absolutely adore." She bought both of Borsten's books in hardback.  Borsten is a Corvallis author whose first novel, The Great Equalizer, was published in 1986 by Permanent Press in New York. It was rated 4.40 by goodreads. In 1987, the book was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. This is Borsten's fourth year reading at LBCC. Terrance Millet, a short story teacher who shared his class time with Borsten Thursday, said he is an excellent person for young writers to learn from. " He's an accessible writer with great stories about how to be a writer and how writers live." He loves what he does. It shows in his enthusiasm, in the way he became caught up in his own words as he was reading.  He works at a part time job so he has time to write. "You get a rush, " he said with a smile, "when things fall together."

At-a-glance: What: Valley Writers Series Next talk: Jed Wyman When: Noon, Wednesday, May 11

--for more information:

Jane White--- whitej@linnbenton.edu Lucette Wood---woodl@linnbenton.edu