Margaret Seiler helps keep Portland Monthly clear, readable, and grammatically correct. She also writes about local politics, history, sports (from the Thorns to Tonya Harding), and her hobby of extreme transit. The native Kentuckian landed in Oregon after youth-hostelling her way around the continent (before cell phones!) and worked at Willamette Week and the Portland Tribune before joining Portland Monthly in 2010. She lives in North Portland with her brewer husband and their two children.

Editor’s Note

From the Editor: What’s Your Favorite Part of Oregon Summer?

All hail suds and sundaes. And the free water show.

06/02/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Summer Fun

An Incomplete Guide to Portland’s Biggest Summer 2023 Concerts and Events

Feeling hungry like a wolf for live entertainment? Here’s your guide to the full monty of local shows.

06/01/2023 By Margaret Seiler and Sam Stites

Road Trips

Concerts and Events Worth a Trip Out of Town This Summer

Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift, rodeos, big-time fairs, and more can be found in places around Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

05/24/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Going Yard

Portland Baseball by the Numbers: Hops, Pickles, and More

The stats on the new Hillsboro stadium, the wackiest Pickles promos, and the MLB dream that will never die.

05/24/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Thrills

Oaks Park vs. Enchanted Forest: Oregon Amusement Park Showdown

Which classic theme park is for you?

05/19/2023 By Margaret Seiler

La Grande to the Filipinas

Another Oregon Connection at the Women’s World Cup 2023

The Thorns aren’t the only links to home to keep track of this summer.

05/19/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Real Estate

Portland Neighborhoods by the Numbers 2023

Home sales prices, rent costs, crime numbers, and commute times for every neighborhood, from Linnton to Laurelhurst, Multnomah to Montavilla

05/18/2023 Edited by Margaret Seiler

Real Estate

Portland Suburbs by the Numbers 2023

The burbs are booming! Home sales prices, rent costs, demographics, and commute times for Ridgefield, Sandy, Hillsboro, and other Portland-area suburbs.

05/18/2023 Edited by Margaret Seiler

Adult Contemporary

Portland Has a Branding Problem: John Mellencamp’s Portland Video Not Portland

A video for the rocker’s terrible song about the homelessness crisis in Portland shows South Central LA, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.

05/17/2023 By Margaret Seiler

PDX Food History

A Look Back on a Century of Portland Burger Joints

From Yaw’s and TikTok to Little Big Burger and Mike’s Drive-In, homegrown fast-food restaurants hold their own with the likes of Shake Shack and In-N-Out.

05/16/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Portland in the Movies

A Nike Historian Weighs In on What Air Got Right—and Wrong

“People have told me a million times, ‘Scott, it’s not a documentary.’”

04/28/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Trails

Hike of the Month: Mosier Plateau by Transit

Thanks to the CAT bus, you don’t need a car to get to this wildflower standby in the Columbia River Gorge. Bring a bike along and hit the Mosier Twin Tunnels or a winery while you’re there.

04/27/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Books

A Margaret Talks to Margarets about Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret

We check in with legislator Margaret Carter, writer Margaret Malone, and others, in anticipation of the movie version of the Judy Blume classic.

04/19/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Kitchen Gear

2 Pandemic-Born Portland Businesses Bring Some Style to Food Storage

Add some color to your counter with cool, mod cookie jars from Astro the Studio and washable food covers from Hanuk Design.

03/27/2023 By Margaret Seiler

In Memoriam

Darcelle Has Died. Long Live Darcelle.

Also known as Walter Cole, the legendary and beloved nightclub owner and drag queen Darcelle was a Portland institution.

03/24/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Shoe Review

We Try Dansko's New Translucent Clogs

Choose your socks carefully for these clear clogs—a Scandinavian-inspired cross between ’80s jellies and ’90s iMacs.

03/17/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Events

Some of Portland’s Biggest Spring 2023 Concerts and Events

An incomplete guide to Portland’s best cultural offerings this spring, including onetime locals Ari Shapiro and Yeat

03/15/2023 By Dalila Brent, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz

Markets

Yes, Walmart and Green Zebra Are Closing. No, the World Isn’t Ending.

Portland is full of former grocery stores, from Kienow’s to Piggly Wiggly to lots of extraneous Safeways. Greg Abbott can chill.

03/15/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Movers & Shakers

Perfect Party: Spring 2023

From the Hops’ new manager—one of the highest-ranking women in baseball—to the ghost of the Fort Stevens whale, here’s who we want to sit down with for a meal this season.

03/13/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Film

Guillermo del Toro's Portland-Made 'Pinocchio' Wins Oscar for Best Animated Film

The filmmaker's take on the fairy tale was made with ShadowMachine in Northwest Portland; Goonies alum Ke Huy Quan's Oscar had an Oregon connection.

03/12/2023 By Margaret Seiler