Joyce Cherry Cresswell

A Great Length of Time, winner of the 2017 OREGON BOOK AWARD/KEN KESEY AWARD, explores the difficult question, “Why is there war?” War and conflict have held deep fascination for Cherry Cresswell ever since she listened to her parents’ stories from WWII and later watched friends ship out to Vietnam, some of whom did not return. She has long been a Civil War buff and a fan of its rich literature. Cherry Cresswell is also a poet and essayist whose prior works have been published in Oregon Humanities Magazine and the Portland Oregonian. This is her first novel.

The author says: “A Great Length of Time is based loosely on the life of a woman I have come to call my great-grandmother. I never met her, but her impact on my family was immense. That’s my next book!”