Graduation date: 2007Northwest of Normal is the first part of a novel that takes place along an imaginary Oregon river called the Ipsyniho. The story grows from valley’s fertile loam like a blackberry vine, entangling a group of locals—fly fishing guides and midwives, artists and dope growers—just as a posse of wealthy out-of-towners threaten the vary river on which they depend. The novel attempts to explore a specific western place in a time of drastic change (old resource extraction gives way to new eco-tourism; old John Wayne masculinity gives way to a new sensitive-manliness; old eat-whatever gives way to new organic-only; old weather-as-consistent gives way to new apocalyptic climate change) in an effort to unearth a more sustainable relationship to ourselves, our community, and our planet. The novel envisions a world where people grow to see their environment and their neighbors as more than a product for their use—an “It” in the words of Martin Buber.