Elizabeth Enslin
I'm a literary nonfiction writer, part-time yurt dweller, fourth-generation Oregonian, kitchen gardener, mother, anthropologist, and naturalist. I love frogs, snakes, bats, and the sound of coyotes howling. Some of my writing has been published in The Gettysburg Review, Crab Orchard Review, Fringe Magazine, Opium Magazine and others. I'm currently completing an ethnographic memoir – Sacred Threads – on my experiences as anthropologist, mother, and daughter-in-law working with a politically active Brahman family in rural Nepal. I've taught college and high school and currently serve part-time as a graduate advisor for the Master of Arts Program in Environmental Studies at Prescott College in Arizona.
Writing With Two Eyes
One of the weights I carry from my academic days is a fear that in telling my story of living and working in Nepal, I’ll be appropriating The Other. As weights go, it could be a lot worse; I’m not complaining. But I’m always delighted and relieved to find others grappling with the same question in creative ways….
Shaking the Nut Bucket…
I’m trying to figure out why this story on the extreme sport of yak skiing appeals so much today. It’s certainly not the sport itself; I have no desire to be towed uphill by a yak racing downhill….
Life and Death for Nepali Migrant Workers
Such a sad and all too common story from Nepal. Breaks my heart.
The Road Less Traveled…
…and that was the problem. Not maintained, rutted, overgrown on either side, the mile long drive is the only way by vehicle in and out of this abandoned homestead we now spend half the year on….
Published in Connotation Press
My somewhat snarky essay on misadventures on a cruise ship has been published…
Sweet Spot Up the Hill
After several years, we’re still exploring our acreage in northeastern Oregon. We’ve vaguely named some places through habitual reference: The Rocky Knoll, The Frog Pond. But there are other special places we just call “sweet spots.” Somehow, from the context and with a gesture and description of the general location — “that sweet spot up [...]
Enraptured Piglet
On the day of the predicted rapture, I was too busy to follow the news of its not happening — busy taking care of all that was actually happening….
Arizona Trees
Funny to arrive in Arizona in early April for a much-anticipated break from tree-rich Oregon and take pictures of trees. But how could I resist these?
Truth and Lies: Where to Draw the Line?
I’m still sorting through my reactions to the controversy emerging around Three Cups of Tea (co-authored by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin). The book has inspired many and been a platform for raising millions of dollars for the Central Asia Institute ( I recommend reading Jon Krakauer’s full allegations (pdf) against the book and [...]
Between Wet and Dry
I love the Pacific Northwest, even west of the Cascades through our wet, gray winters. And this winter was grayer and wetter than usual. And though I still resist the call of snowbirding elders, I’ll confess I do crave at least one trip each year to a brighter, warmer place. This year, I flew to [...]
Honorably Mentioned
I began writing poetry several years ago and still think of myself as a literary fiction writer, not a poet. Not really. Poetry is something I dabble in and play with. Even after publishing a few poems, I still hesitate to call myself a poet. Yesterday, I learned that I received second honorable mention in [...]
Flapping with Crows
Yet another excerpt from Sacred Threads has been published, this one in the marvelous Raven Chronicles. This issue features writing and art on corvids. My essay isn’t about crows, ravens or jays (though I’m thinking I’d like to write about them some day); it’s in the Cultural Geography section – a recurring feature in every [...]
Gritty Cottonwoods
My love for cottonwoods has grown steadily over the last few years, especially in the spring when they smell so pungent and the fall when they splash yellow along the canyon bottoms. And now, I must confess, a movie — and a Western, at that — has inspired me to explore the beauty and poetry in winter cottonwoods….
Urban Homesteading in Portland and Beyond
Urban homesteading is not usually the term I use to refer to what I’ve been doing for the best twelve years or so. I tend towards kitchen gardening or urban farming. And these days, I’m transitioning towards rural food production at Amaranta Farm. But I see those who do call themselves urban homesteaders as allies in the same movement, and I’d like to see that movement grow….
Athletic Writing
Writing Inspiration comes this week from Arundhati Roy as interviewed by Amitava Kumar for Guernica Magazine. I admire so much of what she says about writing, politics, the relation between the two…
Hibernating Bear
Yes, I know my posting has been sparse. This winter, I’ve been a hibernating bear, slowing down and gathering my forces for the next season. I’m still working on my memoir, Sacred Threads. I’ve finished a rough draft of the entire book and am now polishing, pruning, making sure all the parts fit together. It [...]
Winter Gold
It’s so refreshing to find a bit of color in all the grays and browns of winter. I loved the gold moss on this old cottonwood (at least I’m assuming it’s a cottonwood) in the Sandy River Delta.
