Portland Book Events: March 1-7

From what I could find (please contact me if you have an event you would like me to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of March 1, 2009 through March 7, 2009 are:

Here are links to the community calendars for the Tri-County area Libraries (there are a phenomenal amount of events held at our local libraries, we should count ourselves lucky): Washington County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County

Sunday March 1-

G. Pascal Zachary Reading (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): A warm and humorous tale that is as much about the marriage of two cultures as it is about two different personalities, G. Pascal Zachary’s Married to Africa (Scribner) is an American man’s touching story of falling in love with an African woman, the challenges they face, and the memory of Africa they never really leave behind. “Zachary’s witty tale of opposites attracted also provides an illuminating portrait of African and American daily lives,” cheers Kirkus Reviews.

Monday March 2-

Zero Waste: A Key Move Towards a Sustainable Society (University of Portland Buckley Center, Room 163, @1:30pm): Environmental activist Paul Connett will discuss his latest article “Zero Waste: A Key Move Towards a Sustainable Society,” at 1:30 p.m. Monday, March 2 in Room 163 of the Buckley Center on the University of Portland campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd.

A chemistry professor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., Connett is an internationally respected authority on waste management issues and sustainable living practices. He has co-authored six peer-reviewed articles on dioxin and numerous other articles on waste management. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said of Connett, “He is the only person I know who can make waste interesting.”

1,000 Words One Year Anniversary Reading & Matthew Hattie Hein Bon Voyage Party (The Maiden, @7:00pm): Please join the 1,000 Words Reading Series for our one-year anniversary and local all-around performer Matthew Hattie Hein’s bon voyage party. Four great writers—Matthew Hattie Hein, Kristy Athens, Parker Staley, and Geneva Chao, will each read four tiny pieces written for the occasion over the past month, based on a set of prompts and arbitrary rules provided by series curator Mel Favara on the theme TRANSIT. It will be fast and fancy if not furious. Vancouver emo-punk trio We Play Quiet will also play.

Macintosh Users Group: Graphics/Video (Powells Technical Books, @7:00pm): Join us the first Monday of every month for a Graphics/Video meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.

Lono Waiwaiole Reading (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 7:00pm): Dark Paradise (McMillan), the latest novel from 2003 Oregon Book Award winner Lono Waiwaiole, is set on the Big Island in Hawaii and examines the underside of that celebrated environment. Mix two boys who want to control the same drug trade, throw in some Japanese and Mexican gangsters, add the biggest drug bust in the history of the island, and what do you get? A dark paradise, indeed.

Adam Bradley Reading (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): In Book of Rhymes (Basic Civitas Books) Adam Bradley, one of the brightest young scholars of hip-hop studies, celebrates the lyrics of hip-hop as the most vivid, most revolutionary form of American poetry today. Book of Rhymes explores America’s least understood poets, unpacking their surprisingly complex craft, and according rap poetry the respect it deserves. “This refreshing read challenges common assumptions that hip-hop is simple or mundane,” cheers Library Journal.

Illustrator Nikki McClure (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): All in a Day (Abrams Books for Young Readers) is a lovely book that illuminates all the possibilities a day offers — the opportunities and chances that won’t ever come again — and also delivers a gentle message of good stewardship of our planet. Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant’s poetic text, alongside Nikki McClure’s stunning, meticulously crafted cut-paper art, makes this picture book not only timeless but appealing to readers of all ages.

Tuesday March 3-

Larry Diamond Reading (PSU Smith Memorial Student Union 294, @5:30pm): Larry Diamond is the worlds foremost expert on democracy and democratization around the world. In this talk, based on his new book”The Spirit of Democracy” Diamond will describe the spread of democracy around the world as well as recent setbacks, including evidence of alooming global “democratic recession”. Diamond will outline astrategy for the promotion of democracy that is sensitive to local conditions while also effective in promoting stable, efficient, and just rule.

Tony Wolk Reading (Broadway Books, @7:00pm): Tony Wolk joins us tonight to read from the final book in his Lincoln Out of Time trilogy: Lincoln’s Daughter. This series is about a time-traveling Abraham Lincoln and the widow who gives birth to his daughter — in the future. In this concluding novel, Wolk weaves together the story of Lincoln’s life as a young man with the story of a daughter searching for her fathers — plural, not possessive, as she seeks to find her stepfather who has traveled back to 1833 and also encounters her birth father. Tony Wolk is scholar with an avid interest in Abraham Lincoln, drawing on fourteen years of Lincoln research to give a historically accurate feel to his imaginative trilogy. He moved to Portland in 1965 to teach at in the English department Portland State University, a role he continues today. Tony is also an avid bicyclist. He is often seen in Broadway Books with helmet in hand (or on head), and he has accumulated more than 55,000 miles on his bike. The Lincoln trilogy is published by local Ooligan Press. Please join us for what is sure to be an entertaining and educational night!

Kim Harrison Reading (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 7:00pm): With White Witch, Black Curse (Eos) Kim Harrison, the bestselling author of The Outlaw Demon Wails returns to the sexy, supernatural adventures of Rachel Morgan as she pursues the identity of her vampire boyfriend’s murderer. “Harrison conducts readers on a suspenseful, satisfying journey of payback, personal growth, and empowerment,” hails Booklist.

Craft Circle Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 7:00pm): This month’s craft circle book group meets to discuss Crewel World by Monica Ferris. Bring your crafting supplies as we talk books and crafts the first Tuesday of each month.

Daniyal Mueenuddin Reading (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In the spirit of James Joyce’s Dubliners, Daniyal Mueenuddin’s collection of linked stories, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (W. W. Norton), illuminates a place and a people through an examination of the entwined lives of landowners and their retainers on the Gurmani family farm in Lahore, Pakistan. “[B]eautifully crafted,” declares Publishers Weekly (starred review). “Mueenuddin invites the reader to a richly human, wondrous experience.”

Wednesday March 4-

Randy Shaw Reading (Central Library, @6:00pm): Join for an inspiring evening with Randy Shaw, author of the new book Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. In “Beyond the Fields,” Shaw reveals the untold story of how the spirit of “Sí Se Puede” that began with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers in the 1960s still sets the course for today’s social justice movements. Shaw finds that the influence of Chavez and the UFW has ranged far and wide: in labor campaigns like Justice for Janitors, in the building of Latino political power, in the fight for environmental justice, in the growing national movement for immigrant rights, and even in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. SEIU Executive Vice-President Eliseo Medina praises Shaw’s book as a “stirring account of how the UFW transformed people’s lives,” and LeRoy Chatfield of the Farmworkers Documentation Project says it is a “must read” for former UFW volunteers.

Write Around Portland Workshop (Powells City of Books, @6:30pm): Join Write Around Portland (W.A.P.) for a 10-week seminar devoted to generative writing and the transformative power of writing in community. Based on the successful W.A.P. model, this dynamic workshop incorporates exercises designed to inspire the writing life. Group members will have an opportunity to read their work at a local event to cap off the course. Please note: This workshop will meet Wednesdays, March 4th through May 6th, from 6:30 to 8:30p.m. at Powell’s City of Books. Advanced registration is required. For more information and to register, contact W.A.P. at 503-796-9224.

Oregon Literary Review co-hosts First Wednesdays (Blackbird Wine Shop, @7:00pm): A special reading from Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon’s Sesquicentennial Anthology edited by Matt Love. Readers include Evelyn Sharenov, Joanna Rose and performance by Kate Mann.

Will Pomeroy Diary Presentations (Oswego Heritage House, @7:00pm, $5 non-members): Lake Oswego Librarian Claire Kellogg will be presenting the Diary of Will Pomeroy: A Boy’s Life in 1883 Oswego with local historian Susanna Kuo.

An Evening with Abraham Lincoln (Tigard Library, @7:00pm): In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, Steve Holgate, a Lincoln actor, will present an April 1865 “press conference” addressing his presidency and the Civil War.  Musician “Illinois” Doug Tracy will open the program with historic songs from Lincoln’s campaigns of 1860 and 1864.

CFI/Freethinkers Book Club (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 7:00pm): This month’s nonfiction book group meets to continue their discussion of The Accidental Mind by David Linden. New members to the group are always welcome.

Keith Donohue Reading (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): The eagerly awaited follow-up from the author of the New York Times bestseller The Stolen Child. An unforgettable story about faith and fear, Keith Donohue’s Angels of Destruction (Shaye Areheart Books) tells the mesmerizing story of Norah, a nine-year-old girl who seems to materialize out of thin air when she arrives one bitterly cold night on Margaret Quinn’s doorstep. “[S]trange and finely written,” praises Library Journal. “[A] dark and unsettling story that takes hold of the reader.”

Thursday March 5-

Oregon Battle of the Books (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 5:00pm): The Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is a reading incentive program designed to encourage students to read quality literature. In celebration of Oregon’s sesquicentennial (150th birthday), many of the 2009 OBOB book selections are set in Oregon, along with titles selected from the 2008-2009 Beverly Cleary Children’s Choice Award and Young Reader’s Choice Award competitions. Moderators Patrick Carman (Skeleton Creek), Susan Fletcher (Alphabet Dreams), and Karen Karbo (the Minerva Clark series) will sign copies of their books beforehand. Note: Booksigning begins at 5 p.m.; Battle at 7 p.m.

Poetry Northwest Release Party (The Blue Monk, @5:30pm): You like poetry. Your friends like beer. You don’t need to choose between them. Writers, poetry appreciators, beer swiggers, and literary groupies. Please join us… To celebrate the launch of our Winter ’08/Spring ’09 issue! Our March Happy Hour will focus on LITERARY FRIENDSHIPS. For more information, please contact Caitlin@poetrynw.org

Poetry Reading: D.A. Powell (Lewis & Clark Manor House, Armstrong Lounge, @7:00pm): D. A. Powell’s books of poetry include Tea, Lunch, and Cocktails. The latter was a finalist for the PEN West, Lambda, Publishers’ Triangle and National Book Critics Circle Awards. Chronic, his fourth US collection, was published in February 2009.

The New York Times wrote of Powell’s work, “No accessible poet of his generation is half as original, and no poet as original is this accessible.” Among his many honors, Powell has received a Paul Engle Fellowship from the James Michener Center, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, an Academy of American Poets Prize, and the Lyric Poetry Award from the Poetry Society of America. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including New England Review, the Washington Post, Poetry, the Norton anthology Hybrid Forms, and Best American Poetry 2008.

The event will take place in the Manor House, Armstrong Lounge. Refreshments will be served. Please contact Dyann Alkire at 503-768-7405 for further information.

Dr. Linda Tamura And Oregon Reads (Milwaukie Ledding Library Pond House, @7:00pm): As part of Oregon Reads 2009, the Ledding Library is promoting the reading of the book Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler. Stubborn Twig, which is being read statewide, tells the story of Hood River’s Yasui family. The Yasui’s, who came to Oregon in the early 1900′s, became model Americans and then suffered through the internment camp experience of World War II. As part of Oregon Reads, the Ledding Library is proud to present a talk by Dr. Linda Tamura on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 PM at the Ledding Library Pond House. Dr. Tamura, a Professor of Education at Willamette University, will tell the story of young Japanese- American citizens who served their country during World War II while their families were incarcerated in wartime internment camps. Dr. Tamura grew up in Hood River and speaks very poignantly about the Japanese-American experience in Oregon. She often describes herself as “an orchard kid who grew up on my parents’ apple and pear orchard.” Dr. Tamura’s book, Hood River Issei, is the oral histories of Japanese immigrants who settled in the Hood River Valley.

Will Pomeroy Diary Presentations (Lake Oswego Library, @7:00pm): Please join us at the library on March 5th at 7:00 p.m. as we celebrate the newly published “Diary of Will Pomeroy.” This 1883 diary was written by the son of the Superintendant of Mines and the family lived on Iron Mountain. There will be a short presentation, Cornish sweets in honor of the family’s homeland, and special guests at the program will be two of Will Pomeroy’s granddaughters who will be visiting Lake Oswego for the first time.

First Thursday: Chris Tolomei, Portland at Night (Powells City of Books, @7:00pm): What began as a project to capture all of Portland’s bridges at night has evolved into a full-scale exploration of nocturnal Portland. After sunset, the city reveals its cinematic nature, evoking a noirish filmscape from an earlier era.

Steinhardt Lecture in Economics with Linda Bilmes (Lewis & Clark Council Chamber, Templeton Student Center, @7:30pm): This year’s Steinhardt Lecture in Economics will feature Linda Bilmes, Professor of Economics Kennedy School, Harvard University.

Apart from its tragic human toll, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been, and will be staggeringly expensive in financial terms. Author of The Three Trillion Dollar War (with Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz), Bilmes will speak on expense items that have been hidden from the U.S. taxpayer, including not only big ticket items like replacing military equipment (being used up at six times the peace time rate) but also the cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans – for the rest of their lives. Shifting to a global focus, she will discuss the cost in lives and economic damage within Iraq and the region. Professor bilmes will focus on what the U.S. taxpayer’s money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the U.S. economy. Bilmes’ research has changed the way we think about the war.

Eamon Grennan Reading (University of Portland Buckley Center, Room 163, @7:30pm): Acclaimed Irish poet Eamon Grennan is set to give a reading at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 in Room 163 of Buckley Center on campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. The event is free and open to the public.

Grennan has won grants from National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, including Still Life with Waterfall, the 2003 Lenore Marshall Award for Poetry, What Light There Is, As If It Matters, So It Goes, The Quick of It, and his latest collection, Matter of Fact. Grennan will read from his work and answer questions.

The Secret History of Dreaming (Powells Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): Dreaming is essential to survival, evolution, and to creative endeavors in every field. In this wide-ranging, visionary book, The Secret History of Dreaming (New World Library), Robert Moss traces the strands of dreams through archival records and well-known writings, weaving remarkable yet true accounts of historical figures influenced by their dreams. Library Journal calls it “captivating, well written, and sure to please the casual reader.”

Reading Frenzy Benefit: Corin Tucker, Tu Fawning, Golden Bears & Lots More! (Holocene, @8:30pm, $8-$20 sliding scale): Seth Lorinczi and the fine folks at Holocene are hosting a fundraiser for us, featuring a smorgasbord of some of our favorite local talent! Including:

Music: Corin Tucker, Tu Fawning, Golden Bears, plus two secret, special guest acts!

Film: ThunderAnt screening with Carrie Brownstein

Words: Willy Vlautin and Arthur Bradford

In the last 14+ years Reading Frenzy has brought you hundreds of free literary and art events, thousands of hard to find titles, hosted numerous benefits for local non-profits, inspired projects, helped launched careers, and even played matchmaker a few times. As a business that puts purpose before profit we need a little extra love every now and then. So bring it on and bring some friends with you while you’re at it!

Friday March 6-

Adrian Phoenix Reading (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @ 7:00pm): In the bestselling tradition of Laurell K. Hamilton and Patricia Briggs, In the Blood (Pocket Books), Adrian Phoenix’s thrilling follow-up to the critically acclaimed fantasy debut A Rush of Wings, is “an imaginative, deftly plotted, dark urban fantasy with believable, well-drawn characters” (Library Journal).

Molly Wizenberg Reading (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In A Homemade Life (Simon & Schuster), Molly Wizenberg, creator of the award-winning blog Orangette, brings readers a tender and touching memoir about life, love, loss, and food. “[A] charming voice that strikes a neat balance with the reflective passages,” declares Publishers Weekly. “Her strong personality stands out among her generation’s culinary voices.”

Saturday March 7-

Storytelling In The Caboose (Looking Glass Bookstore, @10:00am): Story-Telling for Children (in the Caboose!) with Sy James

Vampire Love: The Second Sex Negotiates the 21st Century (In Other Words Books, @4:00pm): Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series seems to have an entire generation of adolescent girls fantasizing about being carried off by bloodsucking men. How are feminist moms, concerned therapists, committed teachers, and thoughtful young women to understand such a phenomenon? How might Mary Pipher, (Reviving Ophelia), Lynn Phillips (Flirting with Danger), and even Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex) help us understand the cultural tensions Meyer’s books have tapped into? Bonnie Mann, long-time feminist activist and an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon, analyzes vampire love. Discussion to follow.