Jackie McManus resides in the unincorporated community of Dallesport, Washington formerly known as Rockland Flats and formerly the land of the Wishram Tribe. Two hundred and thirteen feet above sea level, her home is a country mile from the Columbia River Dam infamous for destroying the economic livelihood of Native Americans in the region.

 

Her book, Related to Loon looks back in time as well, taking its name from the Yup’ik word, Tul’yagmyut, the original name given to the village of Tuluksak, Alaska in 1861. Despite policy and climate change, both Oregon and Alaskan Native communities continue the traditional subsistence lifestyles they have lived for years. McManus echoes this struggle in Related to Loon.

 

Prior to this work, she published a book of poetry, The Earthmover’s Daughter. She has been published in Sky Island Journal, Thimble Literary Magazine, Cathexis Northwest Press, Rattle, Front Porch Review, VoiceCatcher, Barstow & Grand, MAW, Gorge Literary Journal, Q/A- a poetry journal, Volume One, The Stanley Republican, The Green Light Literary Journal, and received an honorable mention from The Oregon Poetry Association. You can also find her poetry on the Washington Poetic Route map, a digital endeavor of former poet laureate, Claudia Castro Luna. She is at work on a forthcoming poetry chapbook, Tell It To The Water, and a memoir co-written with her daughter, Bailey McManus. She facilitates a Writer’s Talk for local Northwest authors at The Dalles Art Center in Oregon. 

 

She is a former educator, having received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at Portland State University and her master’s degree in education from City University. She has taught at Columbia Gorge Community College, ITT, worked as the director of a public library and as an elementary schoolteacher, teaching kindergarten through second grade. Presently, she homeschools three grandchildren. Her dog, Maisey, goes everywhere she goes.