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BACKWORDS blog explores the intersection between presence and history. The blog is a platform that honors the moment of encounter that any one person experiences—with art, literature, music, performance, or place. Often, reflections fit multiple categories—the opposite of a news program or style blog, BACKWORDS is not preoccupied with immediacy. An event does not need to be current to be relevant, nor does a memory need to be close to its origins to hold its potency.

Featured Posts

2020 and The One Where We All Try to Stay Sane

Tunnel Vision: Preparing to Hike the Pacific Crest Trail

Giverny, This Way

Happy Holidays!

My First Foray Into The Wonderful Wallowas

Spice and Rain

Traveling with Less

Antibiotics and Balinese Dance, A Winning Combination

Let's Confuse Each Other In German: How I Turned 30 in Paris

The Horror & Sublime

When my friend Hana Layson, new to the education department at the Portland Art Museum, invited me to participate in a 3-week program she was facilitating linking Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to the video installation The Enclave by provocateur Richard Mosse I: Hadn’t seen the exhibit (but wanted to) Had read Conrad in college – and found the text a bit predictable Was aware of the famous Chinua Achebe argument that Conrad is thoroughly racist for depicting Africa (and C