Author Archives: jpkenna

Unknown's avatar

About jpkenna

Born in industrial northeast New Jersey, BA in history U. of Maine 1967, have since lived in Alaska and Washington State. Variety of jobs, including railroad and maritime industries. Currently retired from railroad. Also retired from"retirement job" with Bellingham WA School District as bus driver. Managing Shamrock and Spike Maul Books. Have completed novel Joel Emanuel, now available at Seaport Books, La Conner, WA. Also revising earlier written works/

Joe Hill–Not Forgotten

Posted on March 4, 2014 by jpkenna

Originally posted on J.P. Kenna:
Last Friday, in our local, mainstream daily rag, there appeared in the “Today in History” feature a posting, announcing that on January 10th, 1914, A Salt Lake City grocer (a former policeman) named John…

Posted in writing | Leave a comment

Trains (large and small) and Christmas

Posted on March 4, 2014 by jpkenna

Originally posted on J.P. Kenna:
Our regional shopping mall here in Bellingham, Washington, dating from the late 1980s, recently had a grand re-opening showing off its multi-hundred thousand dollar face lift. I didn’t attend. I’ve got nothing against shopping…

Posted in writing | Leave a comment

Blizzard of Books, Queries, Reviews, Blogs

Posted on March 3, 2014 by jpkenna

OK, the accompanying sketch–from a photograph of the Pennsylvania Railroad depot in Rahway, New Jersey, following a late-19th Century snow storm (likely the legendary Blizzard of 1888)–might strain the metaphor a bit. Certainly it’s undeniable that in our early 21st … Continue reading →

Posted in history, self-publishing, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Where Have You Gone, Maxwell Perkins?

Posted on February 19, 2014 by jpkenna

Was it easier to get a book published before the recent onset of mass-digital (mostly self) publishing? It may depend on the type of book. Media celebrities, no matter how vacuous, seem to have no trouble getting book deals with … Continue reading →

Posted in history, self-publishing, social criticism, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Joe Hill–Not Forgotten

Posted on January 15, 2014 by jpkenna

On January 10th, 1914, A Salt Lake City grocer (a former policeman) named John G. Morrison and his son were murdered. A Swedish-born itinerant laborer went on trial for the crime, and was convicted and sentenced to death. The young … Continue reading →

Posted in history, labor, social protest | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trains (large and small) and Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2013 by jpkenna

Our regional shopping mall here in Bellingham, Washington, dating from the late 1980s, recently had a grand re-opening showing off its multi-hundred thousand dollar face lift. I didn’t attend. I’ve got nothing against shopping malls. It’s just that I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in history, nostalgia, railroading, social criticism, writing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

A View from the Track Up

Posted on December 5, 2013 by jpkenna

A major physical challenge in maintaining railroad track is that just about everything being worked on is less than a foot off the ground. A little like farm labor in that respect. After much of a lifetime of blue-collar jobs, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, railroading, self-publishing, writing | 5 Comments