Trachodon 4 features writing by engaging contemporary authors. In A Very Minor Prophet, an excerpt from the novel by the same name, author James Bernard Frost takes us into the strange, heart-rending world of a zine-making prophet in Portland, Oregon. Ellen Prentiss Campbell explores the grief of a mother who's lost her child--and blames herself--in "A Long Time To Be Gone." "In Love With Louise," a short story by David Hicks, introduces us to Trent, a character warped by love and loneliness. Nicol Stavlas takes a clear-eyed look at public art in Bloomington, Indiana, and asks the hard questions about ownership, provincialism, and artistic values in "What Art Means When It's Gone." Visual artist Kreh Mellick contributes a trio of gouache paintings created during her time as visiting artist at the Oregon College of Art and Craft.