Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events, May 11-17

Monday, May 11, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

As usual, this Thursday is insane. I don’t know how anyone is going to be able to figure out which event to attend, and good luck to everyone who has a difficult decision to make.

The biggest of Thursday’s event is the reading of the one and only Philip Glass, classical composer of symphonies, operas, and film scores and one of the most innovative voices in music of the 20th century. He will be reading at the Newmark Theater from his memoir titled Words Without Music, which takes readers from his childhood in Baltimore, his study in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, to his travels across the world as he crafts scores of music beloved for their minimalist beauty. Glass will be joined in conversation by Christopher Mattaliano, the general director of the Portland Opera. Sponsored by Powell’s Books, tickets for this event include admission and a copy of Words Without Music. 1111 SW Broadway Ave., 7:30pm, $39.95

Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program wraps up this school year with readings by students from each participating high school. This week, students from Lincoln High School (Wednesday) and Franklin High School (Thursday) will be reading their stories and poems, the culmination of their year-long study. Lincoln High School’s reading will take place at 6:30pm at the Portland Art Museum and Franklin High School’s reading will be held at 7pm the nearby Cafe au Play. Both events are free to the public.

MONDAY
Historian Richard Reeves will be at Powell’s at Cedar Hills presenting Infamy, an account of the internment of over 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans during World War II.
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

At Powell’s City of Books, editor Samantha Waltz will be presenting a collection of 30 writers exploring their experiences of acquiring, meeting, becoming part, and living with stepfamilies titled Blended. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Sassafras Lowrey will be at Powell’s on Hawthorne reading from hir book, described as “a gorgeous queer punk reimagining of the classic Peter Pan story,” titled Lost Boi, a story told from the perspective of Peter Pan’s Lost Bois and embodying the original tale’s focus on the painful struggle of growing up. Sassafras will be joined in conversation with writer and visual artist Cooper Lee Bombardier. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

TUESDAY
Writing coach Judy Reeves will be at Annie Bloom’s Books presenting Wild Women, Wild Voices: Writing from your Authentic Wilderness, the culmination of her experience as a writing coach and holding workshops for female writers helping them to discover and explore their authentic voices. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8pm, FREE

At Broadway Books, Carlos Reyes will be reading from his book Keys to the Cottage: Stories from the West of Ireland, the result of his 40-plus years of living in Letterkelly as he observies his neighbors and people he meets as time changes the landscape and atmosphere. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

Los Portenos, a group of Latino writers writing in Portland, will be holding an event titled Poetry from the Interior: William Stafford and Miguel Hernandez, hosted by Literary Arts. Members of Los Portenos will be reading both poetry and prose in response to William Stafford’s pacifist poems from his time serving in World War II and Miguel Hernandez’ anti-fascist writings while a prisoner during the Spanish Civil War. Attendees are invited to bring a Stafford or Hernandez poem to share. 925 SW Washington St., 7pm, FREE

At Powell’s at Cedar Hills, fantasy authors Mary Robinette Kowal and Marie Brennan will be reading from their new books, both of which are set in alternate 19th-century, magical universes: Of Noble Family, the fourth book in Kowal’s series of Jane Austen-inspired, regency fantasy series and Voyage of the Basilisk, the third book in Brennan’s epic tales of the Lady Isabella Trent as she embarks on a new voyage to study and discover all the species of dragons she can. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

Leonard Miodinow will be presenting a new account of scientific discovery from the Stone Age to the Present Age that explores humans’ desire to know as the propeller for technological advancement titled The Upright Thinkers at Powell’s City of Books. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

WEDNESDAY
Local publisher Burnside Review Press will be celebrating the release of poetry collection good beast by Andrew Michael Roberts at Literary Arts. There will also be readings by poets Carl Adamshick and Sara Guest. 925 SW Washington St., 7pm, FREE

Would you like to learn how to clone a mammoth? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, also a pioneer in “ancient DNA” research, will be at Powell’s City of Books discussing the science, controversy, and potential repercussions of “de-extinction,” or the act of bringing extinct animals back to life, all of which can be found in her new book How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

THURSDAY
Investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Bryan Denson will be reading from his book The Spy’s Son about the CIA double agent Jim Nicholson who sold secrets to Russia’s foreign intelligence service and who would become the highest ranking CIA officer to be convicted of espionage in 1997, and his son Nathan, whom he trained to take his father’s place after his imprisonment. Sponsored by Annie Bloom’s Books, the reading will take place at the next-door restaurant O Connor’s “The Vault.” 7850 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8pm, FREE

Another Read Through will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of Mount St. Helens with local author Christine Colasurdo, who will be reading from her book Return to Spirit Lake about the landscape of Mount Saint Helen and giving a presentation about the volcano’s eruption. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

The poetry journal Windfall, which publishes poetry rooted in the Pacific Northwest, will be celebrating the publication of its Spring 2015 edition with readings by poets Judith Barrington, Barbara Drake, Andrea Hollander, Verlena Orr, and Kim Stafford, along with readings by editors Michael McDowell and Bill Siverly, at Broadway Books. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

S.G. Browne will be reading from his new book about a group of volunteers for pharmaceutical drug clinical tests who gain superpowers as a result and their ensuing takedown of evildoers in New York City titled Less Than Hero at Powell’s at Cedar Hills. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

At Powell’s City of Books, Emily Schultz will be presenting The Blondes, a suspense novel that’s been compared to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale in which blonde women are the carriers of a contagious, rabies-like disease that turns them into killers. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Jeremy Robert Johnson will be at Powell’s on Hawthorne reading from his mind-altering conspiracy novel Skullcrack City about a corporate lackey who in attempting to bring down the company from the inside, discovers far more than he bargained for in the company’s computer files. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

Ooligan Press presents the next installment of their Transmit Culture lecture series in which publishing industry professionals get together to discuss a different facets of the industry. Engaging in conversation this Thursday will be Georgia Frances King, editor of Kinfolk, and Julie Falk and executive director of Bitch Media Shattuck Hall Annex, 1914 SW Park Ave., 7:30pm, FREE with a suggested donation of $5-10.

FRIDAY
Writers Lisa Galloway and Sossity Chiricuzio have each been accepted into prestigious writing workshops: Tin House and the Lambda Writers Retreat, respectively. To cover travel and living expenses, they are holding a fundraiser on Thursday in which they will read excerpts of their work, along with guest readers galadriel Mozee, Brenda Taulbee, alley Hector, and Alise Sanchez. There will also be an auction and raffle, as well as music following. The fundraiser will be held at Post 134. 2104 NE Alberta St., 7pm, FREE

SATURDAY
Glyph Cafe presents a reading by their featured writer of the month, poet Margareta Waterman, author of a new, interdisciplinary and in-depth poetry collection titled denouement. 804 NW Couch St., 2-4pm, FREE

Founding members of Oregon’s Portland Picnic Society Marnie Hanel, Andrea Slonecker, and Jen Stevenson, have collaborated on a cookbook/primer on how to hold the perfect picnic titled The Picnic: Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket, which they will be presenting at Powell’s on Hawthorne. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 2pm, FREE

Craig Johnson, author of the successful Longmire mystery novels (which have also been adapted into a television show), will be be presenting his latest mystery in his long-running series featuring the exploits of the Wyoming born-and-bred Sheriff Walt Longmire titled Dry Bones at Powell’s at Cedar Hills.3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 2pm, FREE

SUNDAY
Powell’s Books presents Chef David Robertson, founder and co-owner of the Dirty Apron Cooking School in Vancouver, who will be presenting his new cookbook aimed at both newbies and professionals looking to diversify their kitchen experience titled The Dirty Apron Cookbook at the restaurant Pastaworks. 3735 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 11am, FREE

Honoring Our Rivers is an annual student anthology containing poetry, essay, and artwork submissions from students throughout. In honor of the anthology’s 15th year of publication, students will be reading and presenting their submissions alongside professional authors and artists at Powell’s City of Books. 1005 W Burnside St., 4pm, FREE

Michael V. Smith will be at Powell's City of Books reading from his memoir My Body Is Yours, and exploration of masculinity and gender from the perspective of a self-described “inadequate male” who, as a child and teenger from a working-class family living in a small town and later as an adult performer, struggled with his perceived failure to embody masculine ideals. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Reading Frenzy will be celebrating the release of Jessica Hopper’s book of music criticism spanning two decades of album reviews, essays, columns, essays, interviews, and oral histories titled The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic with a reading a following after-party at Beacon Sound. 3628 N Mississippi Ave. and 3636B N Mississippi Ave., 6:30pm, FREE