Books
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Behind the Badge in River City: A Portland Police Bureau is a book that details the gritty history of the Portland Police Bureau from the perspective of a young rookie, Don DuPay, from 1961, and until he resigned in 1978 after 17 years with the force.
From the Book..."Pimps, prostitutes, safe crackers, murderers, drug addicts, thieves and thugs—and of course, the Portland Police Bureau—Don DuPay introduces them all in this candid, entertaining and brutal look at the stark realities of police work. DuPay, a 17 year veteran of the force, has written an intimate memoir that will take the reader on an unforgettable journey, pulling back the curtain to reveal the true and shocking machinations that fueled police culture, during his time. It’s a world of danger and contradictions, where officers are torn between their duties and the demands of survival. Police officers get dressed, strap on a gun and go to war. It’s a different war every day but it’s still a war. In this unforgettable story, the reader is never left to choose between the good guys or the bad guys. DuPay keeps it real as he wrestles with a vocation that nearly destroyed him. DuPay provides, startling revelations about the corruption, burn-out and heartache that he experienced during his time on the force—dynamics which remain a common pattern in long-term law enforcement careers." Published February, 2015
If you would like to order Don DuPay's book, please click on this active link...
Theresa Griffin Kennedy's second book is a book of poetry, entitled Blue Reverie in Smoke: Collected Poems 2001-2016, and can be purchased here at this active link, Blue Reverie in Smoke: Collected Poems 2001-2016
This book is a book of confessional poetry, with an introduction by renowned Portland poet, Dan Raphael and provides excellent examples of poetry that is confessional but also formalist in nature with insights into what it means to be human.
Theresa Griffin Kennedy is a writer, poet, social activist and painter of abstract mixed media art. In 2013, she completed a masters degree at Portland State University in adult education, leadership and policy, with a masters certificate in teaching adult learners. She is the author of two books, including a volume of poetry, Blue Reverie in Smoke, published by Oregon Greystone Press. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, retired police detective and longtime writer Don DuPay. To be published in February of 2016.
Reviews for Blue Reverie in Smoke
In these personal and deeply felt poems, Theresa Griffin Kennedy explores love, family, aging and childhood through the lens of loss. Blue Reverie in Smoke lays bare Kennedy's own examination of her life as she wades through memory and history in her struggle to reconcile where we come from, who we are and what is gained and lost along the way.
~ Margaret Malone, author of People Like You
Theresa Griffin Kennedy is a poet of powerful vision and unique voice. Her poems are often about the emotions and sentiments that grip and whirl us during moments of profound loss. Her voice remembers those times and describes them almost playfully. Blue Reverie in Smoke is a notable achievement and worth reading
~ JD Chandler, author of four books on Portland crime history
Blue Reverie in Smoke is a memorial crafted from memories; memories of loved people. Some lost and others celebrated. Each poem lights a beacon and leads the reader deeper into a comfortable nostalgia. Theresa Griffin Kennedy is fearless with her vulnerability and that honesty, along with her dangerous yet complementary word choice makes this work stand out from the crowd. The way she speaks directly to the subject of the poem makes this feel less like a book and more like a relationship with a long trusted friend.
~ Sean Davis, author of The Wax Bullet War
Blurbs:
Compassion and empathy are words that are thrown around a lot these days, especially in the book world, as guiding lights that authors should all aspire to follow. While those qualities are certainly important, on their own they’re just empty signals that show us very little about humanity and ourselves. There’s another quality that I personally feel is more important; honesty. It’s precisely this quality that shines the brightest in Theresa Griffin Kennedy’s story collection Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories. These stories contain very real characters with very real damage and yet Kennedy doesn’t flinch or look away from the uncomfortable, or the unpretty. Kennedy doesn’t look for easy answers or to lay blame. She doesn’t focus on the elements that will solely elicit sympathy from readers. She looks unashamedly, unapologetically, almost clinically on their vices as well as bitter resentments and conflicted self-destructive desires. Thankfully, this gives readers the freedom to decide for themselves how they feel about these characters. The cumulative effect is a level of pathos and verisimilitude that is touching and beautifully human. With these stories Theresa Griffin Kennedy has shown herself to be a writer of exceptional talent, clarity and literary maturity.
—Tom Hansen, author of American Junkie
Theresa Griffin Kennedy’s gothic tone is matched by her slow suspense in telling these sad, humorous and honest tales.
—Amy Temple Harper, author of Cramped Uptown
Theresa Griffin Kennedy’s small collection, Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories, explores the seamy and sordid underbelly of Portland’s dark side. Kennedy’s Portland is wet, dreary, and its inhabitants are broken; these characters are poor, struggling, addicted, angry, defenseless and sometimes mentally ill. Yet, there is a ribbon of the thinnest hope that threads through these stories and sometimes redemption is just hidden on the horizon. Deftly done, Kennedy flexes her storytelling muscle here and lucky for us!
—Dianah Hughley, Powell’s Books
Order Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories, from this active link to Amazon, released October 2, 2018!
This is Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories, which can be ordered from Barnes and Noble right here at the active link above! The beautiful cover was designed by renowned Portland book designer and artist Gigi Little.
To order Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories from Powell's Books, click on the active link above!
BLURBS!
Released June 30th, 2019.
Order from Amazon and Powell's Books at this link here
Don DuPay, former Portland Police homicide detective, is a crime fighter turned crime writer. Read along as he brings private eye Frank McAllister to life as he scours the back alleys and dead-end streets of Portland’s dangerous Albina ghetto in search of a killer. Be his backup as he works to solve the murders the police don’t care about. But why? And what about the council of old gangsters who lured him into the case using a pretty woman as bait? What do they really want? Things get messy as Black Bart returns from eight years in prison vowing to once again be the kingpin of the St. Johns drug business and take his old territory back, but now the ghetto dealers wear badges and, oh yeah, he wants his old girlfriend back, too. Then there’s Indian Charlie, tenderloin denizen, with his secrets of death and destruction. And just where is the “Blind Pig” anyway? Written in the style of Boston Blackie and Mike Hammer…sorta! Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The Portland landmarks in this mystery are real. Hella Real!
Set in Portland in 1975, "Frank's Revenge: Albina After Dark” is a short novel about an ex-cop working a freelance case for cash amid the corruption and racism of his former brothers. Down on his luck, Frank has been working as a private investigator repossessing cars from big shots in Portland's West Hills and Lake Oswego. He begins most days in the Lotus Hotel, where he has a Bloody Mary served by Midge, the longtime barmaid and friend to regulars. As Frank sorts bills at the bar, he's approached by a beautiful young black woman named Theda, whose brother was shot to death in the Albina neighborhood by a killer the neighborhood has dubbed Batman. Don DuPay ("Behind the Badge in River City: A Portland Police Memoir") sloshes around in Portland's gritty history and recalls well his days spent in its bars and after-hours joints. DuPay's novel serves its purpose well: acting as a hook where the author can hang his memories of working as a police officer and police detective from 1961-1978.
~ THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER
"Ex-homicide cop Don DuPay is the real deal. Why, if you didn't know better, you might find a resemblance or two between him and the fictional tough-guy private eye in his new novel Frank's Revenge: Albina After Dark."
~PHIL STANFORD, author of Rose City Vice: Portland in the 1970s.
“Frank’s Revenge: Albina After Dark is a great read. Don DuPay brings 1970s Portland to life and populates it with characters as unique and idiosyncratic as the city itself. A natural storyteller, DuPay not only makes the long-gone decades of Portland live again, he weaves a gripping detective story that will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end!”
~J. D. CHANDLER, author of Murder & Scandal in Prohibition Portland.
“DuPay’s bare-knuckle prose sends readers reeling into gritty 1970s Portland and the payback is solid!
~J. B. FISHER, author of Echo of Distant Water and Portland on the Take.
Don DuPay’s all-too-real street prose captures the hard truths of 1970s Portland, a city teeming with corruption, fear, and, if you look hard enough, courage. His memorable debut novel puts the Rose City on the noir map.
~DOUG PERRY, author of Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an American Hero
DuPay writes a vintage noir crime story that sheds light on the ugly racism and crookedness of the Portland Police Bureau in the mid-1970s. Long ago fired from the PPB, Frank is now working private investigations when he's hired to find a serial killer who's stalking the black community in North Portland. Raw and dark, with lots of politically incorrect language, DuPay's story is engaging with interesting characters and the tiniest hope of a happy ending.
~DIANAH HUGHLEY, Powell's Books
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