Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events, May 25-31

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Happy Memorial Day! Unfortunately, if understandably so, there are no literary events today. The rest of the week makes up for Monday's lack with events featuring writers such as Greg Rucka, Megan Kruse, Stacy Wakefield, and Michael Perry.

TUESDAY
Reading Frenzy will be hosting a reading and signing with Stacy Wakefield, author of The Sunshine Crust Baking Factory about a young woman named Sid newly arrived in New York at the height of the city’s squatting movement in the 1990s who settles in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and sets her sights on making herself a home and community. 3628 N Mississippi Ave., 7pm, FREE

Comics writer Greg Rucka, author of numerous DC comics and winner of multiple Eisner awards, will be at Powell’s City of Books presenting the third volume of his series with Oni Press titled Stumptown about a Portland-based female detective named Dex Parios. In this volume, she’s on the hunt for the person who attacked one of her best friends after a Timbers match. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

WEDNESDAY
At Powell’s City of Books, Aleksandar Hermon will be reading from his new book The Making of Zombie Wars, which, in case you’re wondering, is not about the origin of the zombie uprising. Rather, it’s the story of aspiring screenwriter Josh Levin who, after moving in with his girlfriend, gets involved with another woman with a jealous and violent husband and has his life unravel in an exceedingly dramatic fashion, all while attempting to work on his screenplay Zombie Wars. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

THURSDAY
At Annie Bloom’s Books, YA author Kate Ristau will be reading from her new book Shadowgirl about a teenage girl named Aine who, after losing control of her fey powers, escapes into the Shadowlands to uncover the secrets of her family and her past and is caught in the middle of a centuries-long war. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7-8pm, FREE

Local poets Margot Lavoie, Vargus Pike, and Sandra de Helen will be reading from their respective poetry collections - The Altar of the Amazing Chance, April Song, and All This Remains to be Discovered - at Another Read Through. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8pm, FREE

At Broadway Books, Megan Kruse will be presenting her debut novel Call Me Home, published by based Hawthorne Books, about a family torn apart and forced to come to terms with their own and each other’s choices. A woman named Amy, who upon being forced to make a decision between her two kids, leaves an abusive relationship and returns home with Lydia, the younger of the two, who struggles with what she sees as her mom’s selfishness. Jackson, the son she left behind, has to confront coming out as gay while living in the Midwest. 1714 NE Broadway Ave, 7-8pm, FREE

At Powell’s City of Books, Cole Cohen will be reading from her memoir Head Case: My Brain and Other Wonders, the story of her complete lack of ability to judge time and space, her doctor’s unbelievable diagnosis of a hole the size of a lemon in her brain that’s responsible for her problems, and Cole’s journey towards understanding the mental landscape of her brain and making a life for herself following her diagnosis. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

Powell’s on Hawthorne will be hosting journalist Sarah Tomlinson, who will be presenting her memoir Good Girl, the story of her relationship to her wandering, wannabe mystic father who she adored as a child. As Tomlinson got older, their relationship grew more toxic and her sense of self more fragile. Good Girl chronicles both her years with her father and her efforts since then to repair the damage brought on by their relationship and reforge her identity. 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30pm, FREE

FRIDAY
Former Navy SEAL and NYT bestselling author Brandon Webb will be at Powell’s at Cedar Hills presenting Among Heroes, the stories of eight SEALs he trained and served beside who died while serving, men he came to know as both soldiers and friends, and later regard as heroes. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7pm, FREE

At Powell's City of Books, Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite will be presenting their debut novel The War of the Encyclopaedists, set in the early days of the Iraq War. This is the story of the friendship between two young men forging their way through two different life paths - attending college in Boston and serving as an infantryman in Iraq - who keep each other updated on their lives through editing a Wikipedia article about themselves. This article comes to capture over time the loss of their idealism and movement away from their shared dream. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE

SATURDAY
Nikki McClure will be reading her new children’s book In about all the different, equally wonderful things you can do when you’re indoors or outdoors at Powell’s City of Books. 1005 W Burnside St., 4pm, FREE

Jamie Tworkowski, author of the 2006 short story “To Write Love on Her Arms” which sparked what is now a non-profit, international movement aimed at self-harm and suicide prevention, will be at Powell’s at Cedar Hills reading from his essay collection titled If You Feel Too Much about acceptance, healing, and not being afraid to ask for help. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 4pm, FREE

SUNDAY
At Powell’s on Hawthorne, three authors published by Portland-based University of Hell Press - Michael N. Thompson, Stephen M. Park, and Brian S. Ellis - will be presenting their newest works, including two poetry collections (A Murder of Crows by Thompson and Often Go Awry by Ellis) and a memoir (High & Dry by Park). 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 4pm, FREE

À reading, a monthly reading series occurring on the last Sunday of each month, will feature contemporary poetry written by local authors Samiya Bashir, Kaia Sand, and Lindsay Allison Ruoff at the downtown bar Valentines. 232 SW Ankeny St., 5pm, FREE

Humorist Michael Perry will be at Powell’s City of Books presenting his debut novel The Jesus Cow about a calf bearing the image of Jesus Christ, what happens after the “miracle” goes public and the media arrive on the scene, and how this novel’s unusual cast of characters seek happiness and prosperity out of an absurd situation. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30pm, FREE