Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events, Feb. 2-8

Monday, February 02, 2015

The event of the week you should be aware of – the venerable Portland author and poet Ursula K. Le Guin will be at Broadway Books on Thursday along with several other noteworthy poets, all of whom will be reading their work published in the Fall 2014 issue of the journal Windfall: A Journey of Poetry of Place, which features poetry that captures the spirit of place within the Pacific Northwest. The other poets in attendance are David Filer, Paulann Peterson, Carlos Reyes, and Penelope Scambly Schott. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8pm, FREE.

And now the rest of the week:

Starting off Monday is John Vaillent at Powell’s City of Books reading from his debut novel The Jaguar’s Children, a thriller about a group of passengers trapped just inside the Mexican border awaiting rescue from friends who might not be able to hear them. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Also on Monday at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, Sarah van Gelder, co-founder and editor-in-chief of YES! Magazine and her colleagues have compiled a collection of essays exploring how to meaningfully cultivate happiness through the strength and depth of our personal relationships titled Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, and Make a Difference. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE.

On Tuesday, three Portland poets, Frances Payne Adler, Donna Prinzmetal, and Willa Schneberg, will be at Annie Bloom’s Books sharing their respective poetry ranging from coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, retellings of the Brothers Grimm’s fairytales, and an exploration of the life of multiple generations of one Jewish American family. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7pm, FREE

Also on Tuesday, Alexandra Fuller will be at Powell’s City of Books presenting her memoir Leaving Before the Rains Come in which the disintegration of her marriage with an American man causes her to revisit and ask questions about her experiences growing up in Africa during the Rhodesian wars and the family she left behind to move to the States. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Wednesday is a special day for the Writers in the Schools (WITS) program, which, among other things, places local authors in Multnomah public high schools for a semester to work alongside and inspire high school students to improve their reading writing. Students from three high schools will be giving readings of work they have produced throughout the semester. Each school’s event will be held in separate venues.

Cleveland High School – Independent Publishing Resource Center, 1001 SE Division St., 7-9pm, FREE
Madison High School – BiPartisan Café, 7901 SE Stark St., 7-9pm, FREE
Benson High School – location and time TBD, FREE

Also on Wednesday, notable YA author Gayle Forman will be at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills reading from her new release I Was Here about a teenage girl named Meg reeling after her best friend commits suicide with apparently no warning. Joining her in conversation will be Blake Nelson, a Portland YA author. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

Next up on Wednesday, Sharma Shields will be at Powell’s City of Books will be reading from her fantastical novel about a family consumed by the overwhelming need to hunt for the mythical, elusive sasquatch, The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Thursday is yet another packed day. The local podcast Late Night Library, in conjunction with Literary Arts, presents three authors, novelist and short story writer Robin Black, poety Cathy Linh Che, and musician and author Nick Jaina. 925 SW Washington St., 7pm, $5 suggested donation

Next on Thursday at Another Read Through, local author Julie Allen will be reading from and discussing her book Passionate Commitments about the lives and domestic partnership between 20th century feminists and communists Anna Rochester and Grace Hutchins. 3932 N. Mississippi Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

Finally on Thursday, S.M. Hulse will be at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne presenting his debut novel Black River about a man named Wes returning to the small, Montana town he grew up in and struggling to deal with the impending release from prison of the man who held him hostage 20 years ago. 3732 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

On Friday, Joyce Carol Oates will be at Powell’s City of Books with her newest book The Sacrifice, which explores the intersection of racial violence, sexual assault, and the effect such a crime has on the community to which the crime belongs. This novel is directly based off the infamous rape case filed by Tawana Brawley in the late eighties. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

To cap off the week also on Saturday, Laura Ingalls Wilder makes a comeback in a newly edited and annotated release of her original autobiography Pioneer Girl, of which the Little House Books are directly based on. The editor and award-winning Wilder biographer Pamela Smith Hill will be discussing the narrative origins of Laura Ingalls and her pioneering family at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 12pm, FREE

Additionally on Saturday, at Powell’s at Cedar Hills, NYT bestselling author Lisa Gardner will be reading from her new stand-alone thriller Crash & Burn. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 4pm, FREE