Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events, March 23-29

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Monday, March 23, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

First off, if your schedule is in any way dictated by the Portland public school system, happy spring break! If not, hopefully this week will nevertheless be relaxing, as well a chance to celebrate the official beginning of spring.

And if you do happen to have the week off and are looking for something to do, let this week’s list of author events and poetry readings be your guide.

First on Monday, Jacqueline Winspear, author of the popular Maisie Dobbs series of detective novels set during the aftermath of World War One in Great Britain, will be reading from her latest installment A Dangerous Place at Broadway Books. This is a ticketed event, and is currently sold out. However, you can call the store to add your name to the waiting list at (503) 284-1726. 1714 NE Broadway St., 7-8pm, $26.99

Next on Monday, Powell’s City of Books is hosting Jacob Grier, bartender and writer of the new book titled Cocktails on Tap: The Art of Mixing Spirits and Beer, which is filled with over 50 recipes mixing everyone’s two favorite drinks—craft beer and craft cocktails. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Lastly on Monday, Stephen Alter will be at Powell’s on Hawthorne reading from Becoming a Mountain, an account of Alter’s treks in the Himalayas following an attack by intruders who left him and his wife for dead and his insights and introspections regarding the Himalayas and their cultural and historical meaning. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

On Tuesday, Youtube sensation Paige McKenzie will be at Annie Bloom’s Books with her YA novel based off her popular Youtube channel The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, the story of sixteen-year-old Sunshine who, after moving from Texas to Washington with her mother Kat, strikes out on a mission to prove that the creepy house the two of them live in is truly haunted. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8:30pm, FREE

For those who can’t make it to the Tuesday event, Paige McKenzie will also be reading and signing at Powell’s at Cedar Hills on Wednesday. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

Also on Wednesday, James Hannaham will be at Powell’s City of Books presenting his book Delicious Foods about a mother and her son struggling to survive after the death of their husband and father, the drug that threatens to tear their family apart, and Darlene’s journey to reunite with her son Eddie. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

First on Thursday at Annie Bloom’s Books, prolific mystery writer J.A. Jance will be reading from her tenth entry in the Ali Reynolds series titled Cold Betrayal in which the titular character and her friend Sister Anselm race to uncover the secrets behind a polygamous cult before those secrets disappear for good. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8:30pm, FREE

It’s poetry night at Another Read Through on Thursday, where three local poets will be reading from their collective oeuvres: Paulann Petersen, Oregon’s sixth poet laureate, Alexis Orgera, and Christopher Luna, the first and current poet laureate of Clark County, WA. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

Next on Thursday, Donald Miller, author of Portland cult-classic memoir Blue Like Jazz, will be at Powell’s City of Books with his new memoir Scary Close, chronicling the terrifying decision he made at 40 years old to abandon performance-based relationships and be completely and entirely himself. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Finally on Thursday, Powell’s on Hawthorne will be hosting Jacob Rubin, who will be reading from his debut novel The Poser about a star imitator who risks getting trapped amidst his many personas and losing his own self, the one identity he’s never been able to master. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

On Friday at Glyph Café and Arts Space, the cafe’s Featured Writer Rob Schlegel and poet Emily Kendal Frey will be hosting a poetry reading comprised of six local poets who will take turns reading “pro-bird” and “anti-bird” poems. 804 NW Couch St., 5-7pm, FREE

Next on Friday, A.J. Swoboda will be at Powell’s City of Books discussing faith in God, suffering, and the difficult of keeping faith amidst suffering in his new book A Glorious Dark. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

For this week’s final event on Saturday at Powell's City of Books, former Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, the first member of Congress to come out of the closet back in 1987, will be presenting his political memoir detailing his journey growing up just outside New York City and coming into political power and fighting for social change in Boston’s city hall, the Massachusetts legislature, and finally the U.S. Congress. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

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