By Michael Shook In previous pieces about Communism, we saw how its foundational Marxist doctrine renders the individual null and void, and declares that humans are infinitely malleable. Such a doctrine readies the ground for a system that is free to ignore the sovereignty, both individual and collective, of the people living within it. Such…
Island Resilience, June 2026, Recipes
A Bread for Resilience
By Andy Valencia Westphalia has an important place in the history of Western Civilization. Currently a part of Germany, it was the site of the accords which ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. Setting aside politics, it is also the home of Westphalian pumpernickel. Germany is well-known for its dark breads, but this one…
June 2026, Recipes
Vashon Brewing, Cherrywood Smoked Porter
By Cliff Goodman Note from the editors:Years later, Cliff’s Beer will still come up in conversation. For many, it was the only beer some would buy, and we still remember sadly finishing our last growler of his IPA. It joined the long, sad list of lost Island institutions.Still having his number, on a whim we…
Health Matters, Island Resilience, June 2026
What’s Your Flavor?
By Anthony Latora One of the first doorways we walk through when getting to know an herb medicinally, alongside sight, smell, and even touch, is taste. What if I told you that through taste alone we can gather much about how an herb may act within the body? This is very much true. Not only…
June 2026, Poetry
Sonnets to Orpheus, Part I Sonnet 1
There stands a tree. What pure over-climbing!Oh Orpheus sings! A tall tree rings in my ear!Then all falls still but even in the silencingare new signs and portents that draw near. Creatures press in quietly from their clearly absolved dens, untussled bushes and nestsfree from predation, at their curious best.Not quiet from stifled fears, instead…
June 2026, Poetry
two ears two spirals
By Claudia Hollander-Lucas In summer, the forests are alive with aerial sounds that include the song-life of birds – and with poetry. Here is a poem I wrote last spring for a Poetry Festival in Port Angeles themed “The Music of Summer.” A beautiful placard of the poem was made by the Art Center and…
June 2026, Literary
The Lake
By S.E. Reid Editor’s note: For your summer reading pleasure, we have an island tale by local author S.E. Reid. Ferris Island is “located right at the elbow where Puget Sound meets the Salish Sea. The inhabitants are normal folk, just like you and me…except that the place where they live has some strange hidden…
Island Vehicles, June 2026
100 Smiles Per Gallon
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Imagine it’s 2006 and you’re looking to buy a subcompact car for parking in tight spaces and weaving through some of the heaviest urban traffic tangles in North America four times a day. A connoisseur of fine engineering, let’s say you’re also a bit large, at 6’ 8”, and tip the…
Entertainment, Island Voices, June 2026
Llaughing Llamas Chronicles – June
By Daniel Hooker Three From Debbie at Ace Hardware: Q: Why do the French eat only one egg for breakfast? A: In French, one egg is un oeuf. ~ Q: How many nihilists does it take to change a light bulb? A: It doesn’t take any, because why should they change the light bulb? It’s…