Dan Barnett
Mercury-Register
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Past articles by Dan:
Exploring the wisdom of hobbits
“What is needed in life is balance,” writes Chico author Matthew Distefano, “between an adventure and a home, between a quest to The Lonely Mountain or even Mordor, and a cozy hol… → Read More
Finding meaning
A chance encounter with an author in Chico led a reporter to pass along news of a book about finding one’s purpose. → Read More
Poet to read from work ‘Hermosa’
Yesika Salgado “is a Los Angeles based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, her culture, her city, and her fat body. Salgado is a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist and the recipi… → Read More
Author recaptures the magic of her 11-year-old self
Meghan Irene, co-host of the Writing On Air program on KZFR and a Camp Fire survivor living in Chico, posted on Facebook at poetmirene about a story she wrote in 7th grade. → Read More
Exploring how science and religion interact in culture
“I’m fascinated,” writes Greg Cootsona, “by the way in which cultural forces we call ‘scientific’ and others we name ‘religious’ interact (in) a stun… → Read More
Shadows of Vietnam stretch far into writer’s life
Drafted in 1966, 19-year-old Phillip I. Elkins (better known today as Señor Felipe, host of “LA Sounds with Sr. Felipe” on Chico’s KZFR.org) little knew what awaited him. Years la… → Read More
Optimistic life lessons learned through horsemanship
For Chico State grad Michelle Scully, taking her horse Wish for an outing in 2011 would end up changing her life forever. Not sensing (or ignoring) the horse’s hesitancy, Scully pushes Wish t… → Read More
‘Rescue people and don’t get killed’
William “Bill” Sager, former Butte County fire chief, now retired from Cal Fire and living in Redding with his wife, Karen, a volunteer at the information call center during the Camp Fi… → Read More
Phantasmagoric novel ‘The Oosik’ follows relic through history
Chicoan Scott Nitzel writes me that his true calling is as an “Earth Explorer who has now journeyed throughout 83 countries, including 17 new ones since Covid first arrived.” → Read More
‘Spending The Winter: A Poetry Collection’
Time to think about time. Joseph (“Jody”) Bottum, poet, essayist, and Director of Dakota State University’s Classics Institute out of Madison, South Dakota, points to time more than six dozen times in “Spending the Winter: A Poetry Collection” ($13 in paperback from St. Augustine’s Press; also for Amazon Kindle). Bottum’s book appears in a 2022 list of most memorable books of the year by former… → Read More
‘Long Story Short’ has a little (and a lot) of everything
Hiatt carefully notes that “to protect reputations and not have to explain myself before a judge, there may be certain scenes, characters, names, and locations that have been exaggerated, cha… → Read More
100 stories in 100 words
The Sacramento River drew Bob Madgic and his wife Diane to Shasta county after Madgic’s career in public education. He published “The Sacramento: A Transcendent River,” books on f… → Read More
100 stories in 100 words
The Sacramento River drew Bob Madgic and his wife Diane to Shasta county after Madgic’s career in public education. He published “The Sacramento: A Transcendent River,” books on f… → Read More
‘The Cruelty Of Swallows’
Former Butte County resident Nancy Weston, now living in Idaho, had a long career in professional management, including in the medical device field. Her new, meditative novel is set within the cont… → Read More
Exploring cultural history of hunting
“In California,” write Jan E. Dizard and Mary Zeiss Stange, “there were 700,000 hunting licenses sold in 1970. Forty-nine years later, after the population had roughly doubled, on… → Read More
Cliff-hangers and ancient secrets
Grass Valley novelist Avanti Centrae (avanticentrae.com) is back with a world-spanning tale, full of ancient secrets, only now revealed, with deadly consequences. What is unfolded is nothing less t… → Read More
Cliff-hangers and ancient secrets
Grass Valley novelist Avanti Centrae (avanticentrae.com) is back with a world-spanning tale, full of ancient secrets, only now revealed, with deadly consequences. What is unfolded is nothing less t… → Read More
Advice for companies to avoid acquisition pitfalls
Those rebuilding after wildfires need services, but how to choose providers? Homeowners may hire contractors based on word of mouth, friendship, the first name in a printed phone directory, simple … → Read More
Tales from an Airbnb host
When journalist (and certified massage therapist) Kathryn Reed moved to Chico in 2021, the former publisher of the Lake Tahoe News had a tale to tell. Actually, quite a few tales. “Needing to… → Read More
Camp Fire book reviews
Journalists, poets, photographers, artists and ordinary citizens have chronicled the profound and lasting impact of the Camp Fire. Here are the books we’ve covered in the Biblio File, with ex… → Read More