Portland Tribune talks to Jen Currin

On Friday, March 28, the Portland Tribune ran a story on the Portland launch of Jen Currin's Hagiography. <!--newline--><!--newline-->See the whole story at the Portland Tribune site, or read the interview below.<!--newline--><!--newline--><!--newline-->Music and film provide backup for B.C. poet<!--newline-->By ERIC BARTELS<!--newline--><!--newline-->The Portland Tribune, Mar 28, 2008<!--newline--><!--newline-->Poetry is what Jen Currin does, but she won't be out of her element surrounded by music and film this weekend.<!--newline--><!--newline-->At Sunday's Worksound indie art event, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Currin will read from Hagiography, the second collection of the vivid work that led one reviewer to call her a 'designated dreamer' for poetry aficionados.<!--newline--><!--newline-->But the evening promises more than quiet contemplation. There will be screenings of indie films and a generous helping of music, some of it provided by Currin's own siblings.<!--newline--><!--newline-->Her brother, Dan, and sister, Virginia, anchor the band Pelican Ossman, which will perform, and another sister, Margaret, makes an appearance as DJ NoShameBeat.<!--newline--><!--newline-->'It's a little bit of a family affair,' Currin says. The plan is for art followed by booty shaking. 'It's going to turn into a dance party,' she warns.<!--newline--><!--newline-->Currin will be at home with the cinematic portion of the proceedings. One of her day jobs is teaching creative writing at Vancouver Film School. She says the emotional shorthand of filmmaking is a form of poetry.<!--newline--><!--newline-->'There's a big commonality between the genres, in terms of distilled, concentrated language,' she says. 'We completely forget the plot, but we remember the car on fire. I do have a love for film.'<!--newline--><!--newline-->Currin, who turned 36 this week, grew up in Southeast Portland and attended Franklin High School. She considered studying marketing and public relations but decided before she ever started school that she would not limit her creativity.<!--newline--><!--newline-->'Poetry is my love,' she recalls. 'I always wrote poems from a really young age. I kind of knew at 18.'<!--newline--><!--newline-->Though her education took her to both the Northeast and the Southwest, she returned to a comfort zone in British Columbia, where she lives with her wife, writer and playwright Christine Leclerc, who also will read this weekend.<!--newline--><!--newline-->'Every landscape has its beauty and its mysteries,' Currin says. 'There really is a magical quality to the Northwest.'<!--newline--><!--newline-->After two published books of poetry, Currin says keeping the creative well deep is about staying engaged with the world around her. “'The writing is second tier to being alive and being connected,' she says, 'being connected to self and to other people and the world.'<!--newline--><!--newline-->– Eric Bartels<!--newline--><!--newline-->7 p.m. SUNDAY, March 30, Worksound Gallery, 820 S.E. Alder St., 503-249-9293, free