Hoffman Center Blog

You'll always meet interesting people at the Hoffman Center!

A colorful crowd gathered for the first movie in what we hope becomes an ongoing Film Series.  It was Halloween Night after all, and we screened the 1922 silent film classic Nosferatu.  Film afficionados, Craig Nern and Terri Desaro organized the event.  Craig introduced the film with interesting facts about the movie’s inception.  It was in effect an unauthorized interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  Only a few names were changed, but otherwise the story was basically the same.

An excellent example of the Expressionist movement in film, Nosferatu has a dark and moody atmosphere — perfect for Halloween — and Max Schreck (whose last name in German means ‘fright’), played his role to perfection.  A creepier vampire would be hard to find (even Klaus Kinski couldn’t do it better, in the 1979 remake Nosferatu, the Vampyre).

Who is that lady with the Fez?

Right now we’re looking for volunteers to further develop the Hoffman Center Film Series.  We’re lucky enough to have received start-up funds for the movie licensing fees for several more shows, as well as promotional activities.   If you love movies and maybe have even dreamed of running your own cinema or film festival, here’s a splendid opportunity to go for it.  If you’re interested, email us at hoffmancenter@nehalemtel.net.

Diana Abu-Jaber signs books at the intermission

At the last Manzanita Writers’ Series event, Diana Abu-Jaber read excerpts from her latest book, Origins.  ”I never planned to write a mystery,” she confessed.  ”I just couldn’t get this character out of my mind.”  In her previous works, Ms. Abu-Jaber primarily wrote on the theme of immigration and how the cultures of homeland and newly chosen home can clash.  Her protagonists had been of Middle Eastern descent and Origin’s main character, Lena, also struggles with where she came from (in entirely unexpected way–but we won’t spoil it for you.)

Locals agree with the reviews that Abu-Jaber successfully blends a gripping mystery with a style and language that will satisfy the literary fiction reader as well.

Between readings, Abu-Jaber charmed the audience with anecdotes of being a writer and a new parent.  ”I had this idea that I’d be holding my baby on my lap, while typing along on my next chapter.”  Parents and grandparents in the audience had a good laugh about that.  She also cited some of the benefits of living in two places–Miami and Portland.  ”I find the Northwest in winter is the perfect place to write.”  We couldn’t agree more.

Brian Doyle, essayist and editor of Portland, the University of Portland’s magazine, prefers not to read from his published books.  ”I like to read you things that you can’t find in books already,” he told the audience at the Hoffman Center on September 19.

And so he did.  Stories he’s picked up from his own experiences as husband, father, brother, and son, as well as from other people.  Like the story he captured from a nurse about naming babies who are stillborn or died shortly after birth.

After moments that brought tears to both audience and storyteller–from laughter as well as a heartbreaking tale– he closed his part of the evening with a story about his encounter with the Dalai Lama.  They argued about sports, of all things.  With an ending that’s too great to mention here, because that would just spoil it.   The next time he’s in town be sure to make a point of going.

On August 22, authors Lauren Kessler and Tom Hager (who also happen to be married), read from their work.  Both are non-fiction authors with some 16 books between them.

Author Tom Hager reads from his new book The Alchemy of Air

Tom Hager started the hour reading from his new book The Alchemy of Air, which tells the surprising story of how nitrogen came to be the widely used fertilizer today.  He read excerpts from the most thought-provoking sections of his book–illustrating that while without nitrogen, the world would have faced widespread starvation, it is now a major pollutant changing the earth’s ecosystem.

Author Lauren Kessler reads from her book Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's

Lauren Kessler’s book brought the conversation to a more personal level.  Her book, out in paperback as Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer’s, tells the story of when she took a job in an assisted living facility as a resident aide.  For 5 months, Lauren did the hard work of caring for her ‘neighborhood’ of residents.  It’s a fascinating book that will change how you look at Alzheimer’s and the people who live with it.

Thirty-one writers gathered on Saturday, August 22, for a day-long workshop on the publishing process, presented by Lauren Kessler and Tom Hager. Participants came from all along the North Oregon coast, as well as from Portland and as far away as Medford, Oregon and Rosburg, Washington.

Held at the Contemplative Arts Center (because there was a Cassie the Crab performance going on at the Hoffman Center at the same time), the workshop was the first full-day writing workshop sponsored by the Manzanita Writers’ Series and the Hoffman Center.

The veteran authors and husband/wife team spelled out some of the harsh realties of today’s publishing business. They also covered specifics on the steps to getting your book published, from book proposal to approaching an agent. read more »

A week or so after my friend Myrtle Hoffman died in 2004, I got a call from Walt Pendergrass. Walt, an attorney, told me that he was Myrtle and Lloyd’s trustee and they had left their home and assets to the community for “a center to support the arts, education and the library.”

He asked if I would like to get involved in making that happen.

It instantly occurred to me that this was a great idea. Manzanita could really use something like this. We were a community filled with artists and people who appreciate all kinds of arts, yet we had no central location to gather and show this support.

Not realizing the amount of work that would be involved, or anticipating the amount of passion it would engender in me, I told Walt to count me in. It’s been a labor, but a labor toward a vision.

With the Hoffmans’ gift to the community they loved, we can have an appropriate facility to nurture all kinds of artistic endeavors – creating, performing and appreciating.

The future is going to be rosy for the Hoffman Center, but we will all need to work toward that end. It’s not just the members of our board, or our already involved corps of volunteers, who are going to build the Hoffman Center. The community is going to build the Hoffman Center.

Cast members from “Cassie the Crab and Rosita the Island Girl” pose for a photo on stage at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita.

Students from the Hoffman Center Summer Drama and Performing Arts Camp topped off their three-week experience by putting on three performances of “Cassie the Crab and Rosita the Island Girl” to appreciative audiences. Center board member Annie Narañjo-Rivera led the camp and directed the play.

Throughout the camp, the kids, ages 4 to 26, learned acting techniques, auditioned for roles and rehearsed their parts.

“Cassie” tells the story of the birth of the Caribbean Islands, with mystical sea creatures, fantastic adventures, and Caribbean and Latin music.

It might have been cloudy outside, but things were very bright in the Hoffman Center during the week of August 3rd.

Local artist Nicole Poole teamed with Skye Archer, home on vacation from art school in Chicago, to teach a combined Painting Exploration and Art of the Book camp. At the same time, Lynn Thomas, local music teacher, led an Art and Music Exploration class.

The week ended with a Saturday evening show and concert by the combined students. Art works were displayed all over the walls, and the music student played three works they had rehearsed.

Their parents and friends showed a lot of pride in the kids’ accomplishments.

Phillip Margolin at the Hoffman Center

Over 75 people attended the Manzanita Writers’ Series event on Saturday, July 18.  

Phillip Margolin, legal thriller author from Portland, entertained the crowd with anecdotes about his writing life.  The story of how he connected with his agent made the aspiring authors among us groan.  As fate would have it, he re-connected with a buddy from law school–actually his next door neighbor in the dorms.  It turns out he worked as legal counsel for the largest literary agency in New York and connected Margolin with an apprentice agent at the firm.  He’s still with the same agent today.
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