Author Archive
Stephanie Raffelock

Walking Gone Wild: A Talk with Ashland Author, Dami Roelse
Dami Roelse is an Ashland resident who is the author of an inviting new book, Walking Gone Wild, How to Lose Your Age On the Trail. I sat down with the avid hiker at her home, where she poured us cups of Chai and settled into the chair across from

Yuki! What Are You Up To?! An Update on the Messenger’s Favorite Cat
Tanya Reasor, creator of The Rogue Valley Messenger’s Yuki the Destroyer is no stranger to Comic-con. She and her crew have been attending the San Diego International Comic-Con for a number of years, but their home-Valley Medford Comic-Con will be a first for them. Yuki, the Destroyer has been

Telling a Story: Richard Blanco Shares the Art of Poetry
The last time that acclaimed poet and memoirist Richard Blanco read to a sold-out crowd in Ashland, Oregon, he’d recently been named Barak Obama’s Inaugural Poet. He returns to Ashland on Monday, April 16, where he will give a teachers’ workshop and read at Ashland High School’s Mountain Avenue Theatre.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Omar’s Is More Than Just a Restaurant
In some ways, a good place to start a story about Omar’s in Ashland is with the hard-boiled detective writer, Raymond Chandler. He didn’t necessarily visit the place ever; at least, not in person, but perhaps in spirit. The godfather of gritty lit noir was in the zeigest when Omar’s—the

Expanding Southern Oregon’s Visual Literacy: Local Filmmaker Gary Kout Tells Us What We are Looking At
It isn’t just where we watch films that has revolutionized over the past couple decades, but it is where those films are made. Time was when movie theaters were the only place to indulge in the adventures of the Lone Ranger and Flash Gordon. But then came the convenience

Meet the Messenger’s New Comic Kitty: Yuki, The Destroyer
At first glance, Yuki seems like a sweet, ordinary cat. But Yuki not only has a reputation for trouble, she is also the star of the Rogue Valley Messenger’s first, locally-created comic strip. As creator Tanya Reasor explained how the comic came to be, I realized that it’s really a

The True Sizzle of Burlesque: Local Performer Kat Wondergloom Knows How to Sparkle
Burlesque isn’t a just a tassel loving bump and grind where women shed their clothing. Burlesque today pushes the edges of physically rigorous dance and provocative performance. And it continues to reinvent itself against the American backdrop of taboo and puritanical values. It’s the expression of sexuality, an homage to