About the Authors of Enduring Spirit

John Laursen is the managing editor of the Northwest Photography Series. A writer, editor, book designer, and public-art typographer, Laursen has produced high-quality books for more than five decades as the proprietor of Press-22. He and Terry Toedtemeier, the late curator of photography at the Portland Art Museum, together founded the Northwest Photography Archive in 2002, and the two co-authored the Archive’s inaugural volume, Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867–1957. In 2011 Laursen was the recipient of the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award, presented by Literary Arts “in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary community”; in 2020 he received the Oregon Governor’s Arts Award.

M. J. Cody, a member of the Northwest Photography Archive board, is a writer and editor whose column “Sleeping Around the Northwest” appeared in the Sunday Oregonian travel section for more than a decade.  She has contributed to many publications and is the author of several books, including serving as co-editor, with Mike Houck, of the acclaimed Wild in the City series; and is a former award-winning magazine art director and award-winning television writer.