Unnecessary Talking: The Montesano Stories

$16.00

Literary Nonfiction. In this warm and humorous memoir, the boy you meet is irrepressible, devilish, curious, rambunctious, imaginative, sports-minded, friendly, naive, and absolutely joyful—definitely the kind of boy who would get in trouble from his teacher for “unnecessary talking.” Mike O’Connor’s stories remind a reader of what it was like to grow up in small-town 1950’s America.

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Description

Literary Nonfiction. In this warm and humorous memoir, the boy you meet is irrepressible, devilish, curious, rambunctious, imaginative, sports-minded, friendly, naive, and absolutely joyful—definitely the kind of boy who would get in trouble from his teacher for “unnecessary talking.” Mike O’Connor’s stories remind a reader of what it was like to grow up in small-town 1950’s America.

“With UNNECESSARY TALKING, poet Mike O’Connor leads us through the streets and neighborhoods of Montesano, Washington–circa early 1950s. These stories and sketches make up a memoir of a young boy’s clean, clear understanding of a world where mystery is common sense and adult rules are slippery as a wet bar of soap. O’Connor’s writings, though rooted deeply in the rain-soaked soils of the Pacific Northwest, reach out to touch, in a tender and wise way, the very heart of an America lost but still loved.” —Finn Wilcox.

 

Mike O’Connor, born in Aberdeen, Washington, is a poet, writer, and translator of Chinese literature. For 12 years, he farmed and worked in the woods before pursuing Chinese studies and a journalism career in Asia for fifteen years. He is the author of nine books of poetry, translation, and memoir. His most recent publications include IMMORTALITY (2010) and UNNECESSARY TALKING: THE MONTESANO STORIES (2009), both from Pleasure Boat Studio. O’Connor is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2003-4); an International Writers’ Workshop Fellowship, Hong Kong, (2006); and a Washington State Artist Trust Fellowship (2009). He served as publisher of Empty Bowl Press in Port Townsend, a writers’ co-operative, and care takes forest land on the Big Quilcene River.

Additional information

Format

Paperback

Author

Mike O’Connor

ISBN

978-1-929355-41-9

Original Language

English

Publish Date

1/13/2000

Page/Word Count

175 pages

Praise

a place anyone who has had a youthful adventure will recognize and celebrate and long to visit again. –Adrianne Harun, and flawless storytelling, author of Here Among the Sacrificed, author of The King of Lambs With Unnecessary Talking, clear understanding of a world where mystery is common sense and adult rules and fears are slippery as a wet bar of soap. O'Connor's writings, in a tender and wise way, intrinsic good heartedness, poet Mike O'Connor leads us through the streets and neighborhoods of Montesano, reach out to touch, the very heart of an America lost but still loved. –Finn Wilcox, though rooted deeply in the rain-soaked soils of the Pacific Northwest, Washington–circa early 1950's. These stories and sketches make up a memoir of a young boy's clean, With its winding episodic structure

1 review for Unnecessary Talking: The Montesano Stories

  1. Adrianne Harun, author of The King of Lambs

    With its winding episodic structure, intrinsic good heartedness, and flawless storytelling, Unnecessary Talking feels like childhood–cocooned by family but plumbed with vast and thrilling occasions for interesting trouble. Mike O Connor’s tales and tall tales read like a travelogue from a distant land, a place anyone who has had a youthful adventure will recognize and celebrate and long to visit again.

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