EnglishSpanish
CCC Logo 1_4 Rainbow No1.png

Welcome, friends.

Columbia Community Connection was established in 2020 as a local, honest and digital news source providing meaningful stories and articles. CCC News’ primary goal is to inform and elevate all the residents and businesses of the Mid-Columbia Region. A rising tide lifts all boats, hop in!

Poetry Spotlight: Tangles of bull kelp by Judy Bankman

Poetry Spotlight: Tangles of bull kelp by Judy Bankman

April is National Poetry Month, which “reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.”

by Cole Goodwin and Judy Bankman

Welcome to Local Poetry Spotlight, a weekly poetry column dedicated to showcasing the poetry of local writers. At CCCNews we believe in the power of art and creative writing to heal, connect with one another, and build community, and that’s what the Poetry Spotlight is all about.


Meet This Week’s Poet: Judy Bankman

Pictured: Judy Bankman

Judy Bankman is a freelance writer and poet who lives in Portland, OR with her dog, Rosie.

 What inspires her to write poetry?
”I’m inspired by moments of sensation, both painful and beautiful, and by the places I inhabit and dream about,” said Judy.

Tangles of bull kelp, a poem by Judy Bankman

Tangles of bull kelp

 lie in frothy piles & overhead, a v of black gulls.
My voice cracks as I call my dog’s name,
& she, a blur bounding past driftwood, dead crabs,

mussel shells. In December, the damp makes it feel
colder than it is. The sky, a milky hood pulled over 
the ocean & jagged coastline. At 2:30, two more hours of daylight.

I feel my body from the inside and it hums. My chest, 
its own expanse of sand & salt & water, 
something to crawl into. Last night I felt the clatter 

of rain on the roof & wind churning 
through pine and fern and salal, through tree stumps 
flecked with lichen. 

If I listen, there is always a sound.

Stay tuned for more poems from local poets! 

If you’d like to submit a poem to the Poetry Spotlight, please fill out this form.




You Can Gouge Away: Print making provides artistic relief

You Can Gouge Away: Print making provides artistic relief

TD Council holds Epic session - housing, boosting business, contracts, houseless, parks

TD Council holds Epic session - housing, boosting business, contracts, houseless, parks

\ EnglishSpanish