Serendipity

Steve Smith

Putting togehter 8 Oregon Plays this morning has given me a small fit of sentimental nostalgia, reflecting on my good fortune in the 1980s. I was in the right place at the right time with the right stories. I'd already been publishing "Oregon stories" in my short fiction and now, as a playwright, I kept the same focus at a time when Portland theaters and audiences were ready to hear stories about themselves. Artistic directors Steve Smith, Gary O'Brien and Peter Fornara made it happen, and the Oregonian's drama critic, Bob Hicks, let audiences know the plays were worth checking out. It was a great decade for Portland theater in general and for me in particular.

In a strange way, coming out with this collection and the novel back-to-back reinforces my sense of a completion, an ending, a period at the end of a certain journey. Which, of course, leaves me to begin yet another and different kind of journey.

I hope I can get a second wind. I really am eager to get into the fine-tuning of the novel. But right now, man, I'm exhausted. I can't do this work for hours on end as I did when I was younger.