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22-427: Heavenly Discourse is a collection of satirical essays by Charles Erskine Scott Wood , published in 1927. Wood primarily wrote poetry and serious prose. However, Max Eastman and John Reed , co-editors of the radical magazine The Masses , asked him to write something humorous for their periodical. The result was a short satirical attack on World War I named The Heavenly Dialogue , published in 1914. This became

44-625: A collection of forty-one of them under the title Heavenly Discourse . The work is primarily a dialogue between Satan and God about contemporary issues. They are presented as friendly adversaries who are often in general agreement. God represents Wood's own perspective. A variety of other characters also join the conversation, including angels , Jesus , Buddha , the Czar of Russia , Billy Sunday , Socrates , John Pierpont Morgan , Teddy Roosevelt , Carrie Nation , Sappho , François Rabelais , Margaret Sanger , and Mark Twain . Politically radical,

66-536: A culvert to the Willamette River . The bridge has four pedestrian balconies, or "refuge bays" (extensions outward from the sidewalk), holding concrete benches, two on each side. The 248-foot-long (76 m) structure was designed by architect Fred T. Fowler. It is of a rib-reinforced concrete deck arch design. Completed in 1926, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places , as

88-599: A frequent contributor to The Pacific Monthly magazine, and was a leader of Portland's literary community. In 1896, Wood was Oregon's sole representative on the national committee of the National Democratic Party , known as the Gold Democrats. The party, which had the blessing of Grover Cleveland , championed defense of the gold standard and free trade . Like many Cleveland Democrats, including his long-time friend Mark Twain , Wood joined

110-703: A house named "The Cats" or the "Cats Estate" located on the hill on southbound Highway 17 . The house was built in 1925 on a 34-acre property, with an entry way featuring a wrought iron gate flanked by two large white cat sculptures, named Leo and Leona. The sculptures were made by sculptor Robert Paine , and an image of them is featured on the seal of the town of Los Gatos . Many famous people visited this home, including Charlie Chaplin , Eleanor Roosevelt , and John Steinbeck . His friends included Ansel Adams , Albert M. Bender , Clarence Darrow , Eugene Debs , Emma Goldman , Chief Joseph , Childe Hassam , Robinson Jeffers , Margaret Sanger , and John Steinbeck . At

132-638: A house on King's Hill near the northeast corner of today's Vista Bridge . The site is now occupied by the Portland Garden Club in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. John Reed grew up a few blocks away and was greatly influenced by Wood. Following his service he became a prominent attorney in Portland, Oregon , where he often defended labor unions and "radicals" including birth control activist Margaret Sanger . He began to write, became

154-598: A lieutenant with the 21st Infantry Regiment and fought in the Nez Perce War in 1877. He was present at the surrender of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce. It was Wood who transcribed, and perhaps embellished, Chief Joseph's famous speech, which ended with: "My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." The two men became close friends. He raised his family in Portland at

176-421: A passion to 'let Uncle Sam do it.' The federal courts are police courts. An entire system with an army of officials has risen on the income tax; another on prohibition. The freedom of the common man, more vital to progress than income or alcohol, has vanished." Wood advocated for the native peoples, but he also painted them. His love of painting generated numerous studies of landscapes and points of interest along

198-409: Is an arch bridge for vehicles and pedestrians located in Portland, Oregon , United States . It connects the areas of King's Hill and Vista Ridge (the entire southern hillside is also referred to as Portland Heights ) which are both in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. The MAX Light Rail line and Jefferson Street/Canyon Road travel under the bridge, and Vista Avenue crosses the bridge. The ravine

220-671: The American Anti-Imperialist League . The League called for the United States to grant immediate independence to the Philippines and other territories conquered in the Spanish–American War . As a lawyer during the early twentieth century, Wood represented dissidents such as Emma Goldman . He wrote articles for radical journals such as Liberty , The Masses , and Mother Earth . He

242-498: The Vista Avenue Viaduct , on April 26, 1984. The Ford Street Bridge, a previous bridge on this site, was built in 1903 as part of a streetcar route to Council Crest , the highest point in Portland at 1,070 feet. Council Crest was the site of the "Big Tree Observatory" (built for the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition) and a popular amusement park and dance hall that operated from 1907 to 1929. Streetcars crossed

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264-489: The bourgeois radicalism of Greenwich Village of which he was a part. In one of the essays, Billy Sunday meets God, Wood pokes at bourgeois morality by imagining Billy Sunday in Heaven , surprised and disappointed to find people he condemned there. Jesus responds to his complaints, and points out that he associated with drinkers and prostitutes. Heavenly discourse is one of very few Western texts from this era to mention

286-567: The Oregon and California coastline. He also memorialized some of his favorite places in watercolor including Keats' grave and vistas from his home in Los Gatos, California . His primary medium was watercolor and graphite. The Huntington Library has a good sampling of his artwork online. From 1925 until his death in 1944, Wood lived with his second wife, Sara Bard Field , in Los Gatos in

308-811: The Portland Transportation Bureau to erect temporary suicide barriers. Because of its status on the National Register of Historic Places the bridge's barrier had to be approved by the Preservation Society under the National Historic Preservation Act and by the State Historic Preservation Office and any federal and state agencies that provide funding. Following the erection of a suicide barrier in

330-666: The Vista Bridge and the Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St (MAX station) . In 2010, the title shot for Portlandia was photographed from the Vista Bridge. The bridge has been a popular place for jumpers , with the first incident possibly occurring five years after its 1926 opening, earning it the nickname "Suicide Bridge". From 2004 through 2011, 13 people died by suicide by jumping. In July 2013, following three fatal jumps in six months, Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick approved an emergency request by

352-494: The Vista Bridge passes over was carved out by Tanner Creek and is referred to as the Tanner Creek Canyon (the source of the name for Canyon Road ), which was called "The Great Plank Road". Tanner Creek was diverted underground beginning in the 1870s with work completed in the early 1900s. The creek still runs underground beneath the Vista Bridge, although it now drains the surrounding hillside via storm drains and

374-618: The angel Israfil of Arab folklore . Although Wood wrote extensively, this was his only work to reach a wide audience. The book had a substantial impact on Robert Paul Wolff and Todd Gitlin . Some American publications have called it a "classic". Kevin Starr wrote in 2002 that Heavenly Discourse now seems "pedestrian and heavy-handed" but affirms that it was daring in its time. Charles Erskine Scott Wood Born in Erie, Pennsylvania , Wood graduated from West Point in 1874. He served as

396-605: The current bridge until 1950, when service on the Council Crest line (and the only other two then-remaining urban streetcar lines) was abandoned, but the disused tracks remained in place on the bridge for another four decades, until a renovation of the bridge deck. In 1991, several bungee jumps were filmed here for an Oregon Lottery advertisement. Opening scenes for the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!? were filmed in Goose Hollow and included views of

418-453: The essays ridicule war, prudishness , patriotism , bigotry and Christian theology . Instead, they promoted bohemianism , free love , pacifism , socialism , birth control , and women's rights . The satire of these essays mocks mainstream society and views it with skepticism. Titles of some of the discourses include Is God a Jew?, The United States Must Be Pure, and The Stupid Cannot Enter Heaven. Wood wrote Heavenly Discourse from

440-606: The first of a series of similar dialogues. Ten of these were published in The Masses . Following passage of the Espionage Act of 1917 , The Masses was suppressed by the U. S. government on the grounds that it was detrimental to the war effort. Wood continued to write more discourses. After World War I , Max Eastman and others urged publication of the discourses in book form. In 1927, the Vanguard Press published

462-452: The time of his death, Wood was West Point's oldest living graduate. He was the father of Nan Wood Honeyman , Oregon's first U. S. congresswoman . Wood was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the TV movie I Will Fight No More Forever . In the film, he is a United States captain who fights in the Nez Perce War . Vista Bridge The Vista Bridge (officially, Vista Avenue Viaduct )

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484-578: Was a philosophical anarchist and declared himself as such before an Industrial Workers of the World audience. Wood was unflagging in his opposition to state power. He advocated such causes as civil liberties for anti-war protesters, birth control, and anti-imperialism. In 1927, he wrote in Heavenly Discourse that the "city of George Washington is blossoming into quite a nice little seat of empire and centralized bureaucracy. The people have

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