South of Seattle: Notes on Life in the Northwest Woods

by James Lemonds

These fifteen essays invite readers in and make them feel at home in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. The straightforward and unpretentious writing carries the imagery and emotion of people and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087842363X
• ISBN13: 9780878423637
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Indigenous Transcendence

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "It matters not how far you travel, but how much you are alive," and Jim LeMonds, a former English teacher of mine in the small "mill-town" city of Longview, WA embodies this phrase in his tight, solid prose and compassionate understanding of the area and it's people. For anybody to understand the psyche of this area, the Pacific Northwest, I recommend not only living here and listening, but also a cold plunge into the severely deprived art scene and it's few vibrant sectors. Jim LeMonds, in South of Seattle, provides us with one of these. My favorite essay was Scripture For The Land, for it's sheer intensity and truths.

I would like to introduce you to the LeMonds family.

Jim has captured the life of small town America. More precisely small town Pacific Northwest where the largest employer is the lumber companies and the county fair still attracks the whole town. Jim brings to light some of the hardships and personal obstacles that impede the daily lives of even the most simple lives. The memories that Jim shares will most definitely make you laugh and may even bring you to tears. An intimate exploration of a great geographical area.

A Former Student's Opinion

I am a former English student of the author of "South of Seattle," and not only is this man an exceptional teacher, but he is the only writer of my acquaintance to so vibrantly capture the spirit of life in the ever-growing Pacific Northwest--roots, leaves, rain, et al. If you want to experience a small lumber town and are unfourtunate enough not to have been born and raised there, then take your next best option as an outsider and read this book. This journey through time and terrain is all the more meaningful due to the obvious love the author feels for his topic. Don't miss this one...