2GQ ~ 2 Gyrlz Quarterly ~ Portland, Oregon arts, literature, & madness

BETSY BOYLE'S "RESPITE"

There is a quiet pause in girlhood on the cusp of adolescence. -BB

Knives, beds, a suitcase, a door, Sears gold-rimmed furniture, personal histories, things lost in time. In Betsy Boyle's new collection, "Respite", these things seem to be in limbo, lying in wait to be of use once again. Longing and lonliness. The tones
are rich in color, deep hued greens and red populate a diminishing urban landscape. There are moments of wonder when there are people in the photographs, but it is in the absence of peoplewhich makes the humanity of her work that much stronger. There is a struggle between innocence and adolescence where choice has defined a need to keep from reaching out towards memory, and one's ability to move on into adulthood. Betsy's is a voice which has a deep sense of her own past and is looking for answers in some of the emptiness left in the cobwebs of her childhood memories. What she finds is magic in the inbetween spaces of life. At her best Boyle is an anthropologist of the self, looking within to see herself from the outside.
-John Longstocking

DOMESTIC TERROR: "The Picky House Club" by Kristy Athens

2GQ continues our exploration of home and family with original fiction by Kristy Athens, a writer and editor based in Husum, Washington, also known for her work with Literary Arts.

Our Freezone is named after the creative writing and arts section of Signum Press, the dear departed Internet magazine I edited throughout the late 1990s and early aughts. The Freezone is open for fiction, poetry, performance documentation, visual art galleries, and multimedia extravaganzas. If you'd like to submit materials to our "Domestic Terror" feature, please read the submission guidelines. --TLB

KRISTY ATHENS: Reading in Portland + Original Fiction on 2GQ

Coming up this week, 2GQ’s series “Domestic Terror” showcases short fiction by Kristy Athens. Not to be missed!

She will read in Portland with Shanna Germain and Lara Tribak at a Barnes & Noble reading hosted by Sage Cohen on February 20. Keep reading for details.

FOR THE LOVE OF NYE BEACH...

The literary, littoral, and alimentary delights of Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon, make it a necessary coastal stop for writers and fans thereof. From the author-themed rooms of the Sylvia Beach Hotel to the Nye Beach Writers' Series of readings and events, this calm little tourist hamlet has it going on. And oh, the food!

Keep reading for the upcoming schedule for Writers on the Edge. --Tiffany Lee Brown