Arbutus/Madrone Files: Reading the Pacific Northwest

Fall 2002

Paperback 256 pages

Non-Fiction

The first book-length commentary on twentieth-century Pacific Northwest writing, The Arbutus/Madrone Files explores the dynamics of the Pacific Northwest. Ricou’s varied meditations on the region are dropped into thirteen files—for example, the Island File, Salmon File, Woodswords File, Sasquatch File, and inevitably, the Rain File. Throughout, resonant quotations, poetry, song lyrics, and art from the region demonstrate and enhance Ricou’s own readings. A long-time student of literary regions, in this work Ricou moves from an academic perspective on the narratives of bioregion toward more personal and lyrical reflections on home and the local.