ASP 23, Bruce Rettig, "Refraction, An Arctic Memoir"

Alaska Story Project

Bruce Rettig recently published Refraction, An Arctic Memoir. Refraction is a Pushcart prize nominee, and has received recognition and multiple awards including an award for non-fiction with the San Francisco Writing Contest, an International Chanticleer Book Award and a Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Award. Bruce also writes literary short stories, creative non-fiction, essays and flash fiction/nonfiction. He continues to be at the helm of his advertising and graphic design agency with the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association as an important client.

Refraction recounts his experiences as a young man working in Prudhoe Bay. His writing includes both the human intensity of heavy industry as well as the vastness of the non-human world.

• Bruce defines "Refraction" and why he chose it as the title for his memoir
• Early experiences as a new hire on the North Slope
• The complexities of a major industrial push in a harsh, demanding environment
• Remembering a couple of notable characters as co-workers, Lee and Swan
• Reads an excerpt from Refraction, "The Dynamics of Steel and Ice"
• Relates some of the properties of arctic ice, reading an excerpt from the chapter "The Properties of Ice"
• Barter Island and the Iñupiat village of Kaktovik: Helping recover the Crowley Prudhoe Bay fleet and getting to know some of the Kaktovik villagers
• Complexity and paradox: decisions, choices and divergent paths: thoughts on the fossil fuel era
• The importance of conversation and listening: "We all share the same home"

Show notes at https://alaskastoryproject.com
Bruce Rettig: https://brucerettig.com/
Special thanks to Christian Arthur for his music: https://christianarthur.com