Regional Literary Events: May 8 to May 23, 2005

May


Sunday, 8th

Paulann Petersen and Maxine Scates. Bird & Hat Inn, 717 N. 3rd Ave., 3-5 p.m., Sunday, May 8.

Monday, 9th

Poetry—I Love Mondays Readings, with genius Dan Raphael hosting three guest poets. Borders Downtown, Portland, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, 10th

Science Fiction Book Group. Tuesday the 10th, 7:00PM, Powell's Books in Beaverton. This month we meet to discuss Triplanetary by E. E. "Doc" Smith.

Dan Chaon. Tuesday the 10th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. New in paperback — National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon's eagerly awaited first novel "pulses with the emotional intensity [Chaon's] fans have come to expect" (Christian Science Monitor). Why do we become who we become? Through the intertwined threads of the characters' lives, this is the question explored in You Remind Me of Me, using language that is unflinching and exquisite.

Robin Cody presents Ricochet River, Tuesday, May 10, 2005, 7:30 PM, Annie Bloom's Books. Set in a fictional Oregon town in the late 1960s, this superlative coming-of-age novel is the story of Wade, Lorna and Jesse--teenagers preparing to break out of their small-town lives. Wade is the local sports hero. Jesse is his friend, a mythical athlete and the Indian kid who applies his own rules to sports and life. And Lorna is Wade's sweetheart who knows there's no hope in Calamus for a bright, independent girl. The river rushes past the town, linking the three friends with their pasts, their plans and the world beyond. This new edition from the author addresses issues of graphic language and sex that thwarted the book's use in high schools. Set in a fictional Oregon town in the late 1960s, Cody's superlative coming-of-age novel is the story of Wade, Lorna and Jesse--teenagers preparing to break out of their small-town lives. Wade is the local sports hero. Jesse is his friend, a mythical athlete and the Indian kid who applies his own rules to sports and life. And Lorna is Wade's sweetheart who knows there's no hope in Calamus for a bright, independent girl. The river rushes past the town, linking the three friends with their pasts, their plans and the world beyond. This new edition from the author addresses issues of graphic language and sex that thwarted the book's use in high schools.

Wednesday, 11th

Write Time Writing Group. Wednesday the 11th, 7:00PM, Powell's Books in Beaverton. This writing critique group meets every other Wednesday to exchange and discuss their work. New members to the group are always welcome.

Anosh Irani Reading. May 11, 2005, 7:30 PM, Twenty-Third Avenue Books. A funny, absurd, violent and tender journey through Bombay--and the 21st century.

Elinor Langer Reading, May 11, 2005, 7:00 PM, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Sponsored by PSU and Mountain Writers, Inc., this reading features award-winning journalist Langer, writer for publications such as The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, Mother Jones, and The Nation. Langer’s recent work of nonfiction, A Hundred Little Hitlers, was chosen as one of five finalists for the Book of the Month Club’s Best Non-Fiction Book of 2003.

Dan Millman. Wednesday the 11th, 7:30PM Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Internationally bestselling author Dan Millman returns with The Journeys of Socrates, a page-turning odyssey of the origins of the peaceful warrior Sergei Ivanov. From the heights of love to the depths of despair, from the threat of a mortal enemy to the search for a child he has never met, his odyssey unlocks hidden wisdom at the heart of life.

Jon Turk presents In the Wake of the Jomon, Wednesday, May 11, 2005 7:30 PM, Annie Bloom's Books. In a story that echoes the classic expedition of Thor Heyerdahl, In the Wake of the Jomon: Stone Age Mariners and a Voyage across the Pacific is an anthropological adventure that addresses Stone Age migration, skeletal remains, archaeological mysteries, the eternal battle of man versus nature, and our most profound questions about humanity and the wellspring of the spirit. Launching from the shores of Hokkaido Island, Turk and his partners retrace the perilous journey of these ancient people, a singular quest for insight into the exodus of primitive man from Africa to every corner of the globe.

Thursday, 12th

Lynnell Edwards poetry reading, Thursday, May 12th, noon-1:00, Clackamas Community College, Rook 220 (Literary Arts Center). Edwards will read from her excellent book The Farmer's Daughter: poems (Red Hen Press: Los Angeles, 2003). Free.

C. J. Box. Thursday the 12th, 7:00PM, Powell's Books in Beaverton. C. J. Box's new novel, Out of Range, brings back game warden Joe Pickett, in a twisting, action-packed tale of greed, power, and murder. Cast against the harshly beautiful Teton mountains, Out of Range is an exceptional thriller that once again proves C. J. Box is one of the most original and entertaining voices in mystery fiction today.

Garth Stein presents How Evan Broke His Head, Thursday, May 12, 2005 7:30 PM, Annie Bloom's Books. 31 year old Evan had a hit single a decade ago. He now plays in a band and teaches guys to coax music from electric guitars. Evan has kept his epilepsy secret, as well as the news that he is a father. Now 14 years on, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he undertakes to raise the son he's never known.

Deadly Diversions Book Group. Thursday the 12th, 7:00PM, Powell's Books in Beaverton. This month we our mystery book group meets to discuss Open Season by C. J. Box. Box will be present reading from his new novel Out of Range.

Jim Fergus. Thursday the 12th, 7:30PM, Powell's Books on Hawthorne. Jim Fergus's first novel, One Thousand White Women, was a bestseller worldwide. His new novel, The Wild Girl: The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932, combines all the elements that made One Thousand White Women so beloved: it utilizes good, old-fashioned storytelling full of drama, peril, and romance, and displays incredible knowledge of Apache culture. With prose so vivid that the road dust practically rises off the page, this epic adventure transports readers back in time.

Paul VanDevelder--Coyote Warrior. VanDevelder and Raymond Cross discuss Coyote Warrior, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Portland State University, Native American Students and Community Center, 710 S.W. Jackson Ave. $10.

Laura O. Foster - Portland Hill Walks. Thursday the 12th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Portland Hill Walks is no ordinary guidebook: no restaurant ratings, no rehashed explanations of how the city got its name. Instead, in twenty meandering, view-studded strolls from forested canyons to cityscape peaks, this lively travelogue answers questions you may never have thought to ask about Portland, Oregon. Join Laura O. Foster as she explores the city's streets, stairs, trails, and hidden passageways to discover the stories and spirit of a town rated among the country's most livable places.

Friday, 13th

Gina Ochsner. Friday the 13th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. In her eagerly anticipated second collection, Flannery O'Connor Award-winner Gina Ochsner deftly examines the harrowing moments after a life or a love slips away and discovers that the human heart can be large enough for anything. Emotionally resonant and witty, the stories in People I Wanted to Be are rendered with depth and a strong understanding of human forgiveness, as well as an unerring belief in small, daily miracles.

Kuhaku & Other Accounts from Japan. Editor Bruce Rutledge reads selections from his book, 7 p.m., Friday, Reading Frenzy, 921 S.W. Oak St.

Saturday, 14th

Stephanie Barron. The author discusses her books, noon Saturday, Jane Austen Society event, Mallory Hotel, 729 S.W. 15th Ave. Send $17. for reservation to Schwartz, 1511 S.W. Park Ave., Suite 1130, Portland, OR 97201.

Sell Your Books to Powell's -- Warehouse Event. Saturday the 14th, 09:00AM, Powell's Warehouse in Industrial NW. Sell your used books to Powell's at our special warehouse event! For two days only, Powell's is opening our warehouse to buy your books. We buy books every day at our area stores, but we're making it easy for you to unload your boxes, and bookcases, at our convenient warehouse location: 2720 NW 29th (down from Montgomery Park) in the NW Industrial area from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free parking and easy access.

Sunday, 15th

Sell Your Books to Powell's -- Warehouse Event. Sunday the 15th, 09:00AM, Powell's Warehouse in Industrial NW. Sell your used books to Powell's at our special warehouse event! For two days only, Powell's is opening our warehouse to buy your books. We buy books every day at our area stores, but we're making it easy for you to unload your boxes, and bookcases, at our convenient warehouse location: 2720 NW 29th (down from Montgomery Park) in the NW Industrial area from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free parking and easy access.

Barry Yourgrau. Sunday the 15th, 3:00PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Writer/performer Barry Yourgrau has been making young people laugh their heads off — or gasp in astonishment — with such books as Wearing Dad's Head. With NASTYbook, Yourgrau sets out to prove that nice is overrated, in forty-three stories that feature such characters as guardian angels who run away from their charges, witches who use the Internet to stalk their victims, and pandas who work as assassins. "The perfect book for the budding Count Olaf or Sauron in your family...or for you," proclaims Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline.

Monday, 16th

Poets Respond to Shakespeare. Monday the 16th, 7:30PM, Powell's Books on Hawthorne. Showcasing poems by more than ninety contemporary American poets, In a Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespeare reveals what Shakespeare's poetic children have made of their inheritance. Editors David Starkey and Paul Willis set out to corroborate Ben Jonson's assertion that Shakespeare is "not of an age, but for all time." Those who cherish Shakespeare's mercurial wit will delight in the rapid shifts, from grief to hilarity, so characteristic of the bard himself.

Amitav Ghosh. Monday the 16th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Internationally bestselling author Amitav Ghosh (The Glass Palace) offers a contemporary story of adventure and romance, identity and history. The Hungry Tide brings two outsiders deep into one of the most fascinating regions on Earth — tiny islands known as the Sundarbans off the coast of India — where the treacherous forces of nature and human folly threaten to destroy a way of life.

Tuesday, 17th

Chuck Palahniuk. Tuesday the 17th, 7:30PM, First Unitarian Church. From the acclaimed bestselling author of Fight Club and Lullaby comes twenty-three of the most horrifying, hilarious, mind-blowing, stomach-churning tales readers will ever encounter, told by people who have answered an ad for a writers' retreat — "Abandon Your Life for Three Months" — unaware they're headed to a cavernous and ornate old theater where they are utterly isolated from the outside world. Appallingly entertaining, Haunted is Chuck Palahniuk at his finest — which means his most extreme and his most provocative. This free event takes place at the First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th St., downtown Portland. Seating is limited to first come, first served.

Wednesday, 18th

John Vaillant - The Golden Spruce. Wednesday the 18th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. As vividly as Jon Krakauer put readers on Everest, John Vaillant takes us into the heart of North America's last great forest, where trees grow to eighteen feet in diameter, sunlight never touches the ground, and the chainsaws are always at work. In The Golden Spruce, Vaillant recounts the bloody history of the Haida (a fierce seafaring tribe based in the Queen Charlottes) and the early fur trade, and provides harrowing details of the logging industry, whose omnivorous violence would claim both logger-turned-activist Grant Hadwin and a unique Sitka spruce, 165 feet tall and covered with luminous golden needles.

Gary Snyder and Jerry Franklin. May 18, 7 p.m., Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland. Legendary poet Gary Snyder and forest ecologist Jerry Franklin, will be speaking together on "Destruction and Renewal: Lessons from Mount St. Tickets for this lecture were quickly sold out, so the show has been moved to the Schnitzer, a larger venue. But the additional tickets won't last long. If you wish to hear these two renowned Northwest speakers, you may reserve tickets at the Illahee website http://www.illahee.org/lectures, or call them at 503 222-2719.

Thursday, 19th

Andy Mingo and Lydia Yuknavitch. Fiction reading by Yuknavitch and screening of Mingo’s indie film Bravo America, Thursday, May 19, noon-1:00, in the Gregory Forum, Clackamas Community College. Free.

Donald Hall. Thursday the 19th, 1:00PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Donald Hall's celebrated book of poems Without was written for his wife, Jane Kenyon, who died in 1995. Hall returns to this powerful territory in The Best Day the Worst Day, a work of prose that is equally "a work of art, love, and generous genius" (Boston Globe). Jane Kenyon was nineteen years younger than Donald Hall and a student poet at the University of Michigan when they met. Hall was her teacher. The Best Day the Worst Day is an intimate record of their twenty-three-year marriage that stands alongside Elegy for Iris as a powerful testimony to both loss and love. This afternoon reading and reception takes place at 1 pm.

Stop the Next War Now. Thursday the 19th, 7:30PM, Powell's Books on Hawthorne. Over seventy of the world's most visionary thinkers and activists — including Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), Naomi Klein (No Logo), and radio host Amy Goodman — have contributed to a new book aimed at uniting a global peace movement to stop the next war. Edited by CODEPINK co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, Stop the Next War Now offers a crucial and timely response to an ever increasing threat of war and violence, and provides the tools to rally the millions around the world who oppose the war in Iraq into action.

Daniel Alarcón - War by Candlelight. Thursday the 19th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. In this exquisite collection, Daniel Alarcón takes the reader from Third World urban centers to the fault lines that divide nations and people. War by Candlelight is a devastating portrait of a world in flux, and Alarcón is an extraordinary new voice in literary fiction, one you will not soon forget. "A rare combination of technical accomplishment and generous heart." — Kirkus Reviews.

Friday, 20th

Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar Reading, Friday, May 20, 7:00 PM, Columbia Basin College, Pasco, WA. Laux is the author of three collections of poetry, including the most recent Smoke (BOA Editions). Her fourth volume of poems, Facts about the Moon, is forthcoming from Norton in fall 2005. Millar is the author of Overtime (Eastern Washington University Press, 2001) and has published widely in periodicals such as Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Shenendoah, TriQuarterly, Manoa, New Letters, and DoubleTake.

Robert MacIver - Rules for Old Men Waiting. Friday the 20th, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. A brief, lyrical novel with a powerful emotional charge, Rules for Old Men Waiting is about three wars of the twentieth century and an ever-deepening marriage. Robert MacIver, a historian who long ago played rugby for Scotland, creates a list of rules by which to live out his last days. The most important rule — to "tell a story to its end" — spurs the old Scot to invent a strange and gripping tale of men in the trenches of the First World War. Frank McCourt calls Peter Pouncey's debut novel "[a] deeply sensual, moving, thrilling novel that calls for a second and third reading — it is that rich."

Saturday, 21st

Sunday, 22nd

Monday, 23rd

Oregon Writers Colony Presents Barbara Verchot and Kristy Athens. Monday the 23rd, 7:00PM, Powell's Books in Beaverton. Literary Arts is a statewide, nonprofit arts organization dedicated to promoting the importance of language as a means to express, explore, and experience the world in which we live. Barbara Verchot, Literary Arts marketing director, and Kristy Athens will describe the six programs of Literary Arts — the Oregon Book Awards, Oregon Literary Fellowships, Poetry Downtown, Poetry In Motion, Portland Arts & Lectures, and Writers in the Schools — and answer questions about the Oregon Book Awards and Oregon Literary Fellowships programs.

Eric Bogosian. Monday the 23rd, 7:30PM, Powell's City of Books on Burnside. Performance artist and playwright Eric Bogosian follows his acclaimed first novel, Mall, with a powerful and emotionally wrenching tale of two lovers who form a mesmerizing and destructive bond while trying to evade the looming failure of their respective lives. Wasted Beauty is Bogosian's enthralling journey through the high life of drugs and fashion celebrity, middle-class guilt, and sexual obsession.

Nicole Krauss - The History of Love. Monday the 23rd, 7:30PM, Powell's Books on Hawthorne. The author of Man Walks into a Room, Nicole Krauss, returns with a haunting novel brimming with laughter, irony, passion, and soaring imaginative power. With Krauss's consummate and spellbinding skill, The History of Love gradually draws together the stories of an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness.