The Rogue, Portrait of a River

Roger Dorband’s life is much like the river he loves so much–through all kinds of conditions, each keeps flowing forward. In 2006, Roger self-published a remarkable book entitled “The Rogue, Portrait of a River.” This talented artist/author filled his book with beautifully written text, local lore and history, and incredible photos of southern Oregon’s Rogue River.

“While serving in the South Seas between the World Wars, my father read of the fabulous sport fishing on the Rogue in the writings of Zane Grey. Nurturing dreams engendered by Grey, he decided to retire to southern Oregon in 1939. A city boy from Chicago, world weary from 20 years in the Navy, he moved to the Rogue Valley for three things: the mild climate, the simple life, and the fishing.

“When I think river, I am thinking Rogue. It is the first and the last, the one that flows through my dreams and imagination. I spent my early, most impressionable years growing up in the Rogue Valley.

“Getting to know a river can be a lifelong journey. Like the ever-changing background of an epic story, in my life the Rogue has been a place to gather with others, a fortress of solitude, an aid to memory, a song, a quality of light, a cradle of dreams, a resting place, a source of energy, a giver of joy, and a receptacle of sorrow,” writes Dorband in his book.

Little did Roger know how true those words would ring. On Thanksgiving Day 2008, Roger’s commercial studio–filled with 1,000 copies of his book and countless photographic images–was caught in an epic fire that raged through several buildings and finally licked at his. “I thought I could save the books that I had stored in my studio but the smoke and water damage was pervasive. It was devastating…something that still haunts me. Through the grief, I slowly began working my way forward.”
Roger has reprinted 2,500 copies of his incredible book. You can order The Rogue, Portrait of a River from his website at: www.rogueriverimages.com or visit him in his new Astoria, Oregon studio in the Copeland Building on Commercial Street. Borders or Barnes & Noble bookstores also carry the book. Several small, independent bookstores in southern Oregon stock the book as well.

Roger wrote this beautiful line about the Rogue in his book and we think it parallels his own persistent life journey: “Like the Rogue, a river may change its course many times, hide itself underground during a series of drought years, be dammed, dynamited, bulldozed, channeled, and piped miles from its natural bed. Still it persists, expressing a power that is the very essence of life.”

All photos and graphics copyrighted by Roger Dorband.