Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events, August 31-September 6

Monday, August 31, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Happy Monday!

This week contains not one, but two release parties for the very first single issues of new comics series, written and/or illustrated by local writers and artists, and published by Image Comics and Marvel, respectively. Check them out below.

As for the rest of the week...

MONDAY
Annie Bloom’s Books will be hosting three novelists whose books have a horror, paranormal bent: M.J. Rose (author of The Witch of Painted Shadows), Wendy Webb (author of The Vanishing), and Cat Winters (author of The Uninvited). 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8pm, FREE

Another Read Through’s Lesbian Book Group will be discussing Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, a semi-autobiographical novel nominated for the National Book Award set in the rural South, told from the perspective of a child born out of wedlock known as Bone, caught between her mother and her abusive husband. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8:30pm, FREE

Local author George Byron White will be participating in Conversation With Writers at the Hillsboro Main Library, using his most recent novel In the Wake of Our Misdeed to provide insight into his writing process. 2850 NE Brookwood Pkwy, 7-8:45pm, FREE

At Powell’s at Cedar Hills, Jeff Alworth presents The Beer Bible, advertised as “the ultimate reader and drinker-friendly guide to all the world’s beers,” complete with classifications, origins, ingredients, taste profiles, and more. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

Want to take one last getaway before the summer ends? Stop by Powell’s on Hawthorne to get ideas from Kim Cooper Findling, author of Day Trips from Portland, Oregon: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

TUESDAY
Thriller author Kevin O’Brien will be at Powell’s at Cedar Hills reading from his new novel No One Needs to Know, a grisly tale inspired by the Charles Manson murders in which the film production of a famous mass suicide starts suffering from its own share of deaths. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

Graphic designer Art Chantry, famous for his entirely non-digital poster and album cover designs, will be presenting a collection of essays exploring pre-digital age graphic design titled Art Chantry Speaks: A Heretic’s History of 20th Century Graphic Design at Powell’s City of Books. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

WEDNESDAY
At Powell’s on Hawthorne, Janet Surrey will be reading from her new book The Buddha’s Wife, which tells the story of Princess Yasodhara’s journey to spiritual enlightenment and provides advice and lessons on how to live a more spiritual life in light of her journey. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

Powell’s City of Books will be hosting the book launch of Sara Jaffe’s debut novel Dryland. Set in Portland in 1991, Dryland tells the story of Julie, whose brother was a swimmer and former Olympic rising star and has since exiled himself to Berlin, who signs up for her local swim team as a result of the recruiting efforts of Alexis, the swim team captain, in an attempt to make her own mark and come to terms with her brother’s mixed legacy. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

THURSDAY
Powell’s on Hawthorne will be hosting Justin Taylor, who will be reading from his short story collection titled Flings. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

FRIDAY
Illustrator Emi Lenox, best known for her autobiographical diary project EmiTown, will be at Things From Another World celebrating the release of Plutona #1, the very first issue of her new comics series about five suburban kids who discover the dead body of Plutona, the greatest supero in the world, while stumbling through the woods. 2916 NE Broadway Ave., 5-7pm, FREE

Bridge City Comics will be hosting the release party for the first issue of Mockingbird, a new comic series about the Marvel superhero Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, now an agent at S.H.I.E.L.D., written by NYT best-selling author Chelsea Cain and illustrated by Joelle Jones, both of whom will be in attendance. 3725 N Mississippi Ave., 6-9pm, FREE

Joon Oluchi Lee, author of 94 and Lace Sick Bag, will be giving a reading at Publication Studio Portland, Oregon. 717 SE Ankeny St., 7pm, FREE

SUNDAY
The National Beat Poetry Festival will be hosting an Oregon edition of a fun-filled night of beat poetry made by and presented to the community at Post 134, hosted by Camille Perry and featuring several talented beat poets. 2104 NE Alberta St., 7pm, FREE