Theme: Creative Writing
Tracy Daugherty Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
June 2, 2015
Tracy Daugherty (b. 1955) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Creative
Writing, having taught and written at OSU from 1986 to his retirement in 2013. The
author of four novels, four short story collections, a book of essays, and three biographies,
Daugherty also played a key role in the creation of a Masters of Fine Arts degree
in Creative Writing at Oregon State. Among many other accomplishments, Daugherty
has received the Oregon Book Award four times, most recently in 2010 for his biography
of the author Donald Barthelme, Daugherty's mentor. His interview focuses on his
development and methods as a writer, the evolution of the Creative Writing program
at OSU, and the important role to be played in academia by citizen-scholars.
John Henley Oral History Interviews
Two life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
December 22, 2014
John Henley (b. 1951) is a Portland native and appraiser of rare books and manuscripts
who was instrumental in building Powell's Books, serving as the store's first manager
and remaining on staff for more than a decade. He is also the son of Elizabeth Henley
(1912-1981), an accomplished poet and former member of the English faculty at Oregon
State. In the 1930s, during her tenure as an English professor at the University of
Washington, Elizabeth Henley was active in the American Communist Party. In 1956,
fearful of the potential repercussions that might arise from her past political activities,
Henley consented to being committed to the Oregon State Penitentiary for the Criminally
Insane. She remained there for more than two years before securing her release and
joining the staff at Oregon State College. She taught English at Oregon State from
1959 to her retirement in 1975. Over two interviews, John Henley tells his mother's
remarkable story; details the history of Powell's Books; and shares numerous other
tales of a life spent scouting rare books and working in the retail book trade.
Clemens Starck Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
July 30, 2015
Clemens Starck (b. 1937) is an accomplished poet whose first published collection,
Journeyman's Wages, received the Oregon Book Award for Poetry in 1996. Starck published the book at
the age of fifty-seven, after thirty-six years of writing in near anonymity. He was
also working as a carpenter for the OSU Physical Plant at the time, a job that he
held for eighteen years and from which he retired in 2005. Over the course of his
life, Starck traveled broadly and was employed, variously, as a journalist, ranch
hand, construction laborer, and merchant seaman. In addition to Journeyman's Wages, Starck has released three additional volumes of his verse and has recorded two CDs
of his poetry set to music. His interview focuses on his broad experience in a variety
of workplaces, his development as a writer, and his memories of OSU. At multiple
points throughout the session, Starck also reads selections of his work, both published
and unpublished.