Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116PORTLAND’s Landmark BOOKSTORE Books, cards, journals, gifts, & the Largest Selection Of Magazines on the peninsula 207-772-4045 • MONUMENT SQUARE WWW.LONGFELLOWBOOKS.COM LobsterShirt.net Fine Cotton Polo Shirts with the Lobster Logo Hats Too! Editorial Colin W. Sargent, Editor & Publisher 8 p o r t l a n d monthly magazinE Bricolage ust because the late, great Barbara F. Lefcowitz (1935-2015) has gone to the Great Beyond doesn’t mean she doesn’t keep in touch with me. In fact, she’s started something today. I happened upon a list of some of our magazine’s friends on Facebook and felt a pang when I saw her name. I double-clicked on that bait. She’d described herself as “poet and bricoleur.” Now, that was something. Okay, Barbara. Let’s do this. Merriam-Webster defines a bricoleur as “one who engages in bricolage.” Very naughty. The old French usage of engaging “anything to hand” was refined by French philosopher Claude Levi-Strauss in The Savage Mind (University of Chi- cago Press, 1966) when he suggested that the work of the bricoleur [and, really, mon cher, are we not all bri- coleurs?] also takes place on “the plane of speculation. This is what is commonly called ‘bri- colage’ in French. In its old sense, the verb ‘bricoler’ applied to ball games and billiards, to hunting, shooting, and riding. It was however always used with reference to some extrane- ous movement: a ball rebounding, a dog straying, or a horse swerving from its direct course to avoid an obstacle.” A bricoleur is a master, or mistress, of extraneous movements, then. There’s a sense of the ad hoc, the willy-nilly, the graceful catching of random on the rebound, to the bricoleur. Not to mention, the word has Starbucks* appeal. [*Uncompensated product-placement alert.] ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,’ Levi-Strauss continues: “And in our own time the ‘bricoleur’ is still someone who works with his hands and uses devious means compared to those of a craftsman. The characteristic feature of mythical thought is that it expresses it- self by means of a heterogeneous repertoire which, even if extensive, is nevertheless limited. It has to use this repertoire, however, whatever the task in hand because it has nothing else at its disposal. Mythical thought is therefore a kind of intellectual ‘bricolage.’” Here at Portland Monthly, we champion the bricolage. Each of our stories is imagined in- dividually. But in their mystical collective, something wonderful happens to our stories. They take over entire issues and give them a life of their own. Stars can become constellations. As for you, Barbara–“that’s Barbara with three a’s”–one more question. More proper- ly, shouldn’t you lay claim to being a “bricoleuse.” Or is that sexist? Dear readers, please weigh in on this. I sure as heck know our Barbara from Brooklyn would have. We are honored to have featured Barbara’s fiction, including the very timely “The Pink Suit,” across four decades. She loved to walk the beaches of Maine, collecting sea shells and stories. Anything to hand. She loved her objects on one level but loved them even more for the shadows they cast into infinity. Barbara has just gotten started on her bricolage. Haven’t we all? To read some of her work, visit: portlandmonthly.com/portmag/category/barbara-f-lefcowitz/