Interviewer: Chris Petersen
Interview Date: December 28, 2017
Location: The Valley Library, Oregon State University
Duration: 1:51:28
In this, the first of two interviews, Harry MacCormack begins by describing his childhood in Chenango Bridge, a small town in upstate New York. He explains that food and fuel rationing during World War II and the Korean War led to his exposure to gardening, hunting, and fishing at an early age. He also discusses his parents’ jobs, backgrounds, and their experience with farming and how it affected his childhood. MacCormack then recalls his childhood business selling produce from his garden and items from catalogs to his neighbors. He also describes one of his first pieces of writing--a weekly paper he wrote with his sister about the goings on of people in Chenango Bridge. Then he discusses his involvement with his local church and with the Boy Scouts, which culminated in him becoming the fifth youngest Eagle Scout in history, and then an Explorer Scout at the age of 13.
Next, MacCormack recounts his family’s move to San Jose, California in 1957 when he was 13. He talks about how he witnessed the Silicon Valley boom, and how that experience influenced his later work against the displacement of farmland in Oregon. Then he discusses his decision to go to Lewis and Clark College and his involvement in the departments of Philosophy and English there. He also recounts his first exposure to Indigenous American cultures on the Makah reservation in northwestern Washington. Next, MacCormack recalls meeting Bill Stafford at Lewis and Clark and mentions how Stafford affected his poetry writing. He also describes his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). MacCormack likewise explains how he ended up attending Harvard Divinity School on a Rockefeller Fellowship. He also explains how several of his books were influenced by his experiences with people like Chuck “Hyemeyohsts” Storm.
From there, MacCormack describes his membership in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and his involvement with the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era. He discusses some of the poetry events he organized while he was at Oregon State University and describes his experiences at the Iowa Writers Workshop. MacCormack then recounts his two-year employment as a writing instructor at OSU, how he founded the River Run Live and Learn Community, and being rehired by OSU in the Theatre Department. He also describes his farm, and the Corvallis community and the OSU English Department in 1967, the OSU Theatre Department and his involvement in the Black Student Union Walkout and the Black Bag.
As the interview moves forward, MacCormack mentions his work on land use policy and eminent domain in Oregon. He talks about his writing process and the revisions he has done on his old manuscripts. He then describes the alternative culture of the mid-Willamette Valley. The interview concludes with MacCormack’s description of the facilities used by the OSU Theatre Department.
Born in 1942, Harry MacCormack is a past instructor of playwriting and screenwriting at OSU, the first executive director of Oregon Tilth, an author of multiple books, and the founding owner of Sunbow Organic Farm in Corvallis.
Dublin Core
Title
Description
Next, MacCormack recounts his family’s move to San Jose, California in 1957 when he was 13. He talks about how he witnessed the Silicon Valley boom, and how that experience influenced his later work against the displacement of farmland in Oregon. Then he discusses his decision to go to Lewis and Clark College and his involvement in the departments of Philosophy and English there. He also recounts his first exposure to Indigenous American cultures on the Makah reservation in northwestern Washington. Next, MacCormack recalls meeting Bill Stafford at Lewis and Clark and mentions how Stafford affected his poetry writing. He also describes his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). MacCormack likewise explains how he ended up attending Harvard Divinity School on a Rockefeller Fellowship. He also explains how several of his books were influenced by his experiences with people like Chuck “Hyemeyohsts” Storm.
From there, MacCormack describes his membership in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and his involvement with the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era. He discusses some of the poetry events he organized while he was at Oregon State University and describes his experiences at the Iowa Writers Workshop. MacCormack then recounts his two-year employment as a writing instructor at OSU, how he founded the River Run Live and Learn Community, and being rehired by OSU in the Theatre Department. He also describes his farm, and the Corvallis community and the OSU English Department in 1967, the OSU Theatre Department and his involvement in the Black Student Union Walkout and the Black Bag.
As the interview moves forward, MacCormack mentions his work on land use policy and eminent domain in Oregon. He talks about his writing process and the revisions he has done on his old manuscripts. He then describes the alternative culture of the mid-Willamette Valley. The interview concludes with MacCormack’s description of the facilities used by the OSU Theatre Department.
Born in 1942, Harry MacCormack is a past instructor of playwriting and screenwriting at OSU, the first executive director of Oregon Tilth, an author of multiple books, and the founding owner of Sunbow Organic Farm in Corvallis.