Portland Book Events: January 30-February 5

From what we could find (please contact us if you have an event you would like us to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of January 30, 2010 through February 5, 2010 are:

Saturday January 30-

Ink Splash (Writers’ Dojo, @10:00am, $15 suggested donation): Ink Splash is an annual workshop for young writers offered in conjunction with the submission period for Ink-Filled Page’s Youth Issue. Join the editors and special guest poetry ambassador Celeste Thompson for an inspiring day of literary creation. The day will include poetry writing prompts as well as personal creation time. We’ll also workshop one of your poems or stories, highlighting your writing talent and offering suggestions for further exploration. Light refreshments will be provided. This workshop is geared toward young adults in grades 6–12. Bring: Four copies of a poem or story to workshop.

Simple Handmade Books (Sellwood-Moreland Library, @1:00pm): Artist Dawn Grunwald will show you how to bind your own books using the ancient technique of Japanese stab binding. Each student will make sample journals from reclaimed paper to practice several styles.

Tigard Reads 2010 Kickoff Event (Tigard Public Library, @1:00pm): Help kick off the month-long community reading event with family friendly entertainment from the local folk duo The Wanderers, who specialize in Woody Guthrie songs from the Dust Bowl era.  Copies of the book for children, Woody Guthrie: Poet of the people, will be available at the kick-off as well as the selected book for 4th to 9th graders, A Long Way from Chicago. Copies of the adult selection, The Grapes of Wrath, will also be available.

Johanna Wright (Green Bean Books, @4:00pm): Meet author and illustrator Johanna Wright as she reads her wonderful new picture book The Secret Circus.

Molly Best Tinsley (In Other Words Women’s Books & Resources, @4:00): Satan’s Chamber (Fuze Publishing) has been called the first feminist spy thriller. It portrays a struggle between what is unforgiving in human nature—greed that leads to violence—and what is best—altruistic courage, love, and forgiveness. A spy thriller that bends genres, Satan’s Chamber blends fast-paced action with psychological depth, gritty reality with a sense of humor.

A former professor of English at the United States Naval Academy, Molly Best Tinsley is also a widely published, award-winning author and produced playwright whose work has received recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Book Awards, the Pushcart Prize, the Maryland Arts Council, among others. She is the co-author of The Creative Process (Bedford/St. Martin’s), and the author of Throwing Knives (Ohio State University Press) and My Life With Darwin (Houghton Mifflin). Dr. Tinsley currently divides her time between Ashland and Portland, Oregon.

William Stafford Celebratory Reading (Looking Glass Bookstore, @4:00pm): Celebrate William Stafford’s Birthday with the Friends of William Stafford. Hosted by Robin Bagai & Willa Schneberg, the celebration will begin with featured readers: Lois Baker, Sage Cohen, Robert McFarlane, Shawn Sorensen, and FWS Board Member Paulann Petersen. It will then be open for those in the audience who wish to read. As your gift, please bring along a Stafford poem to read for the group!

Three Cups of Tea – One Book One Community Kickoff (North Plains Library, @6:30pm): The Third Annual One Book One Community reading event begins. This year’s book selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg  Mortenson, founder of Pennies for Peace,  the Central Asia Institute, and builder of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the kickoff event, more than eighty copies of the book will be distributed free of charge on a first come, first serve basis. Registered participants will receive a special gift and learn about scheduled February events, inspired by Dr. Greg’s book.  There will also be a sampling of Central Asian cuisine and music.

Sunday January 31-

Molly Best Tinsley (Murder by the Book, @1:00pm): Drop by and chat with Oregon author Molly Tinsley, author of Satan’s Chamber. Set in Washington,D.C. and The Sudan, Molly’s debut novel is a dynamic international thriller.

William Stafford Commemorative Birthday Event–Readings & Presentations (Central Library, @2:00pm): Central Library hosts readings and presentations commemorating Oregon’s late poet.

Featured Participants: Joel Nightingale Berning presents William Stafford as a Minister. Mr. Berning is a third-year Master of Divinity student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City; Kate Gray published her first full-length book of poems, Another Sunset We Survive, in 2007, and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award; Carlos Reyes is a noted poet, writer and translator whose latest book of poetry, The Book of Shadows: New and Selected Poems, was published in 2009; Penelope Scambly Schott has published several books, including A is for Anne: Mistress Hutchinson Disturbs the Commonwealth, which won the 2008 Oregon Book Award for Poetry; Joseph A. Soldati, host for the program, has published poems and essays. Recent among his published books is Apocalypse Clam.

William Stafford Celebratory Reading (Hillsboro Main Library, @2:00pm): Join poets and poetry lovers for an afteroon celebration of William Statfford and his work. Readers include the following local poets: Mark Thalman, Barbara Drake, Marie Buckley, Sue Einowski, Ellen Louis Hart, and Holly Springfield. Bring your favorite William Stafford poem to share and read with the group, as time allows. Cake and coffee/tea will be provided.

Moonstruck Literary Series (Moonstruck Chocolate-Lake Oswego, @6:30pm): The program features local poets Christopher Luna, accompanied by Julio Appling; Dennis McBride; David Rutiezer; and guitarist Peter Zisa. Books and CDs available. Hosted by Joan Maiers Free and open to the public. Arrive early to order chocolates and beverages for enjoying poetry and music. Donations of any size accepted for Haitian relief efforts.

Portland Poetry Slam featuring “Mighty” Mike McGee (Backspace, @7:30pm): This is one slam you have to come to. If you have any friends that you always have to explain “why you like this poetry stuff?” this is the show to bring them to. “Mighty” Mike McGee is an international spoken word artist, writer, performer, speaker, slam poet and comic. He has performed in thousands of venues all over North America, and was one of the first Americans ever to perform poetry at the University la Sorbonne in Paris, France.

Monday February 1-

Books-to-Action (Hillsdale Library, @6:00pm): Read and discuss “Where I Slept” by Transition Projects. In 2007, Portland residents of Transition Projects shelters were asked to photograph the places they slept while living on the streets. With their disposable cameras and a willingness to show us their truth, they created a discomforting book that serves as a stark reminder that we can do better. Engage in a community service project related to homelessness, organized by the Boomer Initiative at Hands On Greater Portland. Books-to-Action is a quarterly series sponsored by Multnomah County Library and Hands On Greater Portland, partners with Life by Design Northwest.

West Linn Adult Book Club (West Linn Library, @6:45pm): Join the adult book club to discuss The Jump-Off Creek, by Molly Gloss. The Adult Book Club focuses on contemporary literary fiction, although non-fiction and classic works are read as well. All titles are selected by the members of the Book Club. Meetings are generally held on the first Monday of each month from 6:45 – 7:45 PM in the library’s Community Room.

The Portland Fiction Project: Love is Not Punny, It’s Surrealist (The Maiden, @7:00pm): The Portland Fiction Project returns to The Maiden to perform some of our favorite Love-themed flash fiction pieces. Ben Parzybok (Couch) will join us and read from his upcoming novel. Sweeter Than Sooner (Kendra Carpenter – cello / Greg Thelen – guitar) will be our musical guest. And if you stick around, The Pete Krebs Trio plays and people swing dance at 9.

Jacob Needleman (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): In What Is God? (Tarcher), his most deeply personal work, religious scholar Jacob Needleman cuts a clear path through today’s clamorous debates over the existence of God, illuminating an entirely new way of approaching the question of how to understand a higher power. “An erudite, challenging text full of difficult questions,” cheers Kirkus Reviews.

Margaret Erhart (Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): Set against the backdrop of the brooding and sensual landmark, Margaret Erhart’s The Butterflies of Grand Canyon (Plume) is the story of how a young woman’s heart is awakened and a decades-old mystery is solved. Publishers Weekly calls it “light and agreeable, touched with just the right amount of awe at the splendors of nature.”

PSU MFA Monday Night Lecture Series Features: George Kuohar (Portland State, Shattuck Hall Annex, @7:30pm): George Kuohar will lecture about his work! The public is invited (its free, tell your friends)

Tuesday February 2-

Title Raves-Book Blogs (Central Library, @12:00pm): Explore the online book scene with local literary bloggers Laini Taylor, Alison Hallett, Gabe Barber and Emily-Jane Dawson.

For the Love of Crafts: Woven Scrap Journals (North Portland Library, @6:00pm): Get crafty for Valentine’s Day, or just for the love of crafts. Turn a simple piece of cardboard into a loom — and then, turn your finished weaving into a useful blank book! This project is a great way to use up paper and cardboard from your recycle bin and scraps of fabric leftover from other projects.

Willamette Writers Portland Meeting featuring Ellen Urbani (The Old Church, @7:00pm): Ellen Urbani will speak to the Portland chapter of Willamette Writers about writing memoirs and the pitfalls and joys of writing memoir from points of view not directly experienced. She is the author of When I Was Elena. For more meeting information, visit the Willamette Writers website.  For more information about Ellen, visit her website.

Kevin Sampsell (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): From writer and Future Tense publisher Kevin Sampsell comes A Common Pornography (Harper Perennial), a searing memoir, told in vignettes, that captures the history of an American family. Intertwining recollections of small-town youth with darker threads of family history, Sampsell reveals how incest, madness, betrayal, and death can seem positively normal. “Embarrassing and honest, heartbreaking and hilarious,” hails Willy Vlautin, author of Northline and The Motel Life. “A great memoir from one of the Northwest’s best writers.”

Wednesday February 3-

Write Around Portland 10-Week Workshop (Powells City of Books, @6:15pm): Based on their acclaimed community writing model, this generative workshop incorporates favorite exercises to inspire the writing life. Workshop fee ($285.00) includes free parking, snacks, and access to the “Bowels of Powell’s.” Fee helps fund workshops for low income youth and adults. To register, or for more information, visit www.writearound.org.

The Gift and the Commons: Creativity and the Public Good with Lewis Hyde (PNCA, Swiegert Commons, @6:30pm): A poet, essayist, translator, and cultural critic, Lewis Hyde is most widely known for his book, The Gift, a groundbreaking study of creativity in a market-driven world, re-released in 2007 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Hyde asks questions central to the lives of artists as well as teachers and others who serve the public good: How do we discover work that satisfies beyond financial compensation? What are our norms for reciprocity and how do gifts create bonds in communities? His current project extends these questions to the realm of the “cultural commons” — “that vast store of un-owned ideas, inventions, and works of art we have inherited from the past, and that we continue to create.” In his lecture, Hyde will discuss personal gifts, the creative spirit, and our shared cultural past and imagined future. A MacArthur Fellow, Hyde teaches during the fall semesters at Kenyon College, where he is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing. The lecture is co-presented by PNCA and Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling Center for Community Engagement.

Oregon Literary Review co-hosts First Wednesdays (Blackbird Wineshop, @7:00pm): First Wednesdays is a series of readings, performances and wine-tasting. Readers for February 3 are Ana Callan, Alissa Nielsen, Lauren Schmidt, and Bennett Huffman.

CFI/Freethinkers Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month’s nonfiction book group meets to discuss How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer. Join us!

Ariel Gore (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): A woman’s happiness may not come easy, and it may not take the forms prescribed by popular culture, but, as Ariel Gore chronicles in Bluebird (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), it is necessary. This uplifting study identifies the real secret of joy and reveals whether it’s truly at odds with the goals of modern women. “Ideal for Eat, Pray, Love fans in search of positive psychological theory,” says Kirkus Reviews.

Thursday February 4-

The Gift and the Commons: Creativity and the Public Good with Lewis Hyde (Lewis & Clark, Templeton Campus Center, Council Chambers , @4:00pm): The Gift, Lewis Hyde’s groundbreaking study of creativity, explores the meaning of art in a market-driven society.  Hyde asks questions central to the lives of artists as well as teachers and others who serve the public good: How do we discover work that satisfies beyond financial compensation? What are our norms for reciprocity and how do gifts create bonds in communities?  Hyde’s current project extends these questions to the realm of the “cultural commons” – “that vast store of unowned ideas, inventions, and works of art we have inherited from the past, and that we continue to create.” As we debate “intellectual property,” cultural “piracy,” and what counts as shared “cultural literacy,” these issues take on renewed urgency.

“Chocolate Cheeks” Book Release & Art Exhibit with Steven Weissman (Floating World Comics, @6:00pm): Steven Weissman, modern master of light tragedy, is at his most horrible with Chocolate Cheeks. Juxtaposing gag-driven, newspaper-fashioned strips that are just gross enough to delight younger readers and sophisticated enough to be appreciated by grown-ups alongside the symbolically rich extended narrative of “Blue Jay,” this is the greatest “Yikes” book yet.

11th Annual Valentine’s Invitational (Reading Frenzy, @6:00pm): Join us for our 11th Annual Valentine’s Invitational! Dozens of artists contribute Valentine themed artwork to benefit a local non-profit. This year’s recipient in the Special Education PTA of Portland (SEPTAP). Free beer from Ninkasi!  See the Reading Frenzy website for a full list of artists.

First Thursday: Marc Jordan (Powells City of Books, @6:30pm): The Basil Hallward Gallery is pleased to present Transmogrify, a collection of oil paintings by Marc Jordan. Jordan, whose paintings change stylistically based on concept, says, “I get an idea, execute it to the best of my ability, and move on. Pictorially, I believe very few things can be communicated in the same way.”

Kelli Stanley (Murder by the Book, @7:00pm): Join us in welcoming Kelli Stanley and her new book City of Dragons. Kelli paints a vivid portrait of San Francisco in the 1940′s and introduces Miranda Corbie, private investigator.

Raymond Carver: A Writer’s Life (Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, @7:30pm): In Raymond Carver: A Writer’s Life (Scribner), a biography of the iconic literary figure whom the London Times called “the American Chekhov,” Carol Sklenicka penetrates the myths and controversies surrounding Carver’s life and career. “The epic biography that Carver deserves,” hails Kirkus Reviews (starred review), while Booklist calls it “a riveting and essential piece in the grand puzzle of American literature.”

Friday February 5-

First Friday: Graham Salisbury (West Linn Library, @6:30pm): Graham Salisbury, author of Night of the Howling Dogs (the Teen selection for West Linn Reads), will be our guest for this First Friday event. The library will also be giving away 55 copies of the book!

Connie Willis (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): Connie Willis, the Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author of Doomsday Book, returns with Blackout (Spectra), an epic time-traveling story that follows three researchers from the future who are stranded in the past during World War II. “Willis uses detail and period language exquisitely well, creating an engaging, exciting tale,” praises Publishers Weekly.

Robert Goolrick (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): Filled with unforgettable characters, and shimmering with color and atmosphere, Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife (Algonquin) is an enthralling tale of love and madness, of longing and murder. “A sublime murder ballad that doesn’t turn out at all the way one might expect,” proclaims Kirkus (starred review).

For further events check out the links to the community calendars for Tri-County area Libraries: Washington County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County.

Image credit Zorger.