Profile: Author Series at The Clearing Cafe

This post is authored by contributor Nicole Krueger.  You can keep track of what Nicole is up to on her wonderful blog Books and Bards.

As a writer, I feel a deep appreciation for venues that are willing to support local authors by scheduling literary events. After all, book readings aren’t always the most heavily attended happenings, even in lit-loving Portland.

So when I heard The Clearing Café was looking for local writers to help launch a biweekly author series, I was happy to help out by contacting a couple of Inkwater Press authors, who were excited to get involved.

The Clearing Café is an annex of sorts to The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa, owned by acupuncturist and herbalist Peter Borten along with massage therapist and Ayurvedic specialist Briana Borten. Its focus is offering food and drinks made from ingredients that are locally, sustainably, and organically grown.

The Bortens approach their business with the intention of “seeding the world with peaceful individuals,” and they begin by offering an atmosphere that is comfortable and relaxing. The menu includes organic juices, fruit smoothies, hearty soups, and Panini sandwiches. The walls showcase the work of a different local artist each month.

The café’s author series kicked off Sept. 14 with a reading by Jeremy Benjamin, author of the short story collection If I Catch You Reading This (check out Reading Local’s interview with Jeremy about his involvement in the Portland Fiction Project) and continues this Sunday from 4-6 p.m. with a reading by S.W. Capps, author of Salmon Run.

Briana Borten took some time recently to talk about the mission of The Clearing Café:

Tell me about The Clearing Café and what makes it unique.

The Clearing Café is a neighborhood café with high-quality food and drinks, focusing on organic and local produce. Our intention is to provide a warm and welcoming environment where people feel loved.

What do you see as your role in the Portland community?

I see the café as a platform for expressing peace and love to the community and having it spread out into the world from there. We also want our space to be a gathering space for our community to relax and reconnect.

Why did you decide to turn the café into a literary venue?

We appreciate all forms of art and wanted to see the café participate in any way that we can. Offering authors a venue to share their art seemed like a natural progression.

What are your goals for the author series?

To have our community see The Clearing Café as a place where they can find new and interesting authors and find out about what they are writing, and for authors to have a venue to share with the community.

Does literature and/or reading play a role in your family’s life? If so, how?

My husband loves to write. He just finished writing his first book and writes all of The Dragontree’s newsletters. It is fun for us to explore words and ways of communicating with our clients and with each other. We both love to read to our daughter, Sabina; she brings us books every day and says, “Read a book”—it is delightful.

What types of books do you enjoy?

I enjoy all sorts of books from self-evolution books to fun fantasy books.