Portland storyteller Andrew Dickson’s new book focuses on family

Andrew Dickson has been a fixture in Portland’s arts and storytelling community for over 20 years. He is a frequent storyteller with shows like “Back Fence PDX” and “The Moth”. He has also produced and starred in short films and presented one-man shows.

His latest project is a book titled “Me and My Family and Me”. It’s part memoir, part family history and part essays on topics ranging from sports to ice cream to eBay.

OPB’s Jason Sauls talked with Dickson about the stories in his book and what inspired him to share them.

Jason Sauls: Andrew, for those who don’t know, for over 10 years, you have been a regular host for monthly Story Slams that are presented in Portland by the producers of “The Moth.” For those who’ve never been to one of these events, can you summarize what they are and what your role in it is?

Andrew Dickson: I’m called the host, which is I think Moth-speak for the MC. And the way it works is there is a theme and anyone can come and put their name in the hat to tell like a five-minute story on that theme.

Sauls: Like the stories that one hears on “The Moth,” the stories that you’re sharing in your book are very personal. What inspired you to want to share these stories with a broader audience?

Dickson: They’re all these stories that I love to tell my kids and some are about me and some are about, you know, my family, some about them when they were younger. These stories of kids when they’re so young that they don’t even remember them. And I just thought I should write these down. And I really tried a lot of different formats. I mean, I tried kind of writing a biography of the family and that proved to have too many dates and facts and I tried to do something akin to “The Moth.”

I think this book also ended up answering kind of a question I’ve had for a long time, which is how does someone write a memoir of sorts, if they haven’t lived a remarkable life? [Laughs] They don’t have this amazing story to tell. And so, I think the format I arrived at kind of allowed me to cherry-pick just the really good stuff. And it’s not comprehensive. It’s not everything, but hopefully it’s the stuff that’s engaging and is relatable to other people.

Sauls: You’ve mentioned your kids a couple of times already and the subtitle of the book is “Stories for Pearl and Everett.” So, can you tell us a little bit more about who Pearl and Everett are?

Dickson: So Pearl and Everett are my kids and the reason I wanted to get this down is for them and for all my family and for friends. And I kind of wrote the book first person to a general audience. And then I just said, what if I try to write it to them? So I took a couple of chapters and tried that and it’s not oppressive, it’s not like addressing them the whole time. It’s a little bit at the beginning and I mentioned them in the middle, but I think what’s cool is that I kind of end most of the chapters with some advice for them or some reflections on the experience. And that might seem really ham-fisted, but because it’s to them, it sort of makes sense, you know? And it allows me to maybe share some things that I wouldn’t if it was just written to everyone.

Sauls: One of the parts where you turn the narrative to your kids directly that really stuck with me was some observations and experiences that you had during the pandemic, particularly with distance learning. And it sounded like there were some wonderful moments. I was wondering if you could share some of those observations in the book.

Dickson: Yeah, this, this excerpt is from a chapter called ‘The Navy’ where I start talking about my grandfather on my mom’s side who served in the Navy and then my dad, his service in the Navy. And then when Bush senior invaded Iraq around that time, we had a kind of a surprise assembly at school that was basically a pro-war rally. And I just remember seething... like this is a public school in the liberal part of the country. I grew up in suburban Maryland outside of DC. Like what are we doing here? I wanted to sort of stand and scream and say something and walk out and I didn’t.

So, I’m now addressing my kids: I wonder what kind of person I would have become if I’d stood up during that assembly, more political, even less conflict-averse had I been punished in some way more willing to stand up and act when what’s wrong is right in front of me. Pearl, I know you wouldn’t have hesitated to stand up all by yourself for what you believe. One silver lining of distance learning during the pandemic was hearing you engage with your teachers and take the lead on so many of your classroom discussions about anti-racism, why Black Lives Matter and advocating for the rights of trans people.

Everett, you’re not quite as stand up in front of a classroom full of people and say something as your sister. But I know your heart and beliefs are in the right place. Some of my favorite memories of the pandemic are of taking long walks with you and for the first time, really talking about politics, history and the systematic racism of our country and the horrific violence against black people at the hands of police. You eagerly took me up on the invitation to go on walks day after day. It’s hard for me to imagine either of you wanting to join the Navy or any branch of the armed service. You’re both much more likely to join the anti-war movement. And I hope that never changes.

Sauls: On the book jacket... where we’ll often have a quote... on the back of the book, it says, “Wait, you wrote a book for me and Pearl?” And it’s attributed to Everett, which leads me to the question: Have they read the book?

Dickson: They know of the book; I think Pearl started it. But they also, they know the stories, I think they know most of the stories. And they read some, I gave them a couple chapters to, you know, get they’re okay with. But, again, I love the idea that they will probably read it when they go off to college and they will probably read it again in their twenties or who knows? But I just love that, that they’re here now. And it’s been great for family members and family, friends.

I think one of the cool things that will happen is someone says, “I didn’t really remember that time but I read the story and then I called my daughter and then all of a sudden we’re talking for an hour.” And I think that’s one of the great powers of storytelling is that I might say, ”Hey, what was your sophomore year of high school like?” And at first you can’t remember, but then you maybe remember that one teacher and then you remember kids who are in that class and then you remember things you did and all of a sudden you can remember all these stories you maybe hadn’t thought about since you were 16.