Portland Book Events: January 23-29

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 23, 2010 through January 29, 2010 are:

Saturday January 23-

Voices In Verse (Cedar Mill Community Library, @10:00am-11:00am): Bring along a cup of coffee and share your own poetry or listen to others read their favorites. The group meets on the fourth Saturday morning of each month in the library’s upstairs meeting room.

Writers Talking: Jess of Get Sconed! (Central Library, @1:00pm): Jess is the author of the award-winning vegan blog “Get Sconed!,” one of the longest-running vegan food blogs. She is the coauthor of Stumptown Vegans, a site for restaurant reviews and podcasts. She is also a recipe tester for Post Punk Kitchen cookbooks. Jess has been in Portland since 2004. She will talk about her blog, eating locally, and being a Portland vegan. Samples will be available! Samples will be available!

Sunday January 24-

Exile & Return: Portland’s Japanese-American Community Following Executive Order 9066 (Central Library, @12:30pm): In conjunction with Portland Center Stage’s production of David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars (adapted for the stage by Kevin McKeon), Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and PCS explore connections and parallels to Portland’s Japanese-American culture and history during the period of internment and post-war—featuring live music and community conversation. Following the performance, we will have a moderated panel discussion featuring Ellen Eisenberg, Gary Higashi, Henry Sakamoto, and Linda Tamura. Under discussion will be historical perspectives and first-hand accounts on the period of Japanese internment following Executive Order 9066 and the post-WWII experience of Japanese-Americans in the Pacific NW.

Parallel Play Writers’ Group (Hillsboro Main Library, @2:00pm): Parallel Play is a new writers’ group, led by local poet, Marie Buckley. This group will meet on the fourth Sunday of each month, January – May (except for April) and is for adults. Each group will begin with a writing prompt; from 2 to 3, writers will respond to the prompt; from 3 to 4, people may share their writing and receive feedback. Sharing and verbal feedback is optional. For more information about the writers’ group, or to register, contact Hillary Garrett, Reference Librarian, at hillaryg[at]ci.hillsboro.or.us or 503-615-2482.

NW Author Series: How to Use a Critique Group presented by Amber Keyser, PhD (Wilsonville Public Library, @3:30pm): In this workshop, we’ll discuss the characteristics of a productive writing group and how to find one. Through hands-on activities, we’ll explore how to give and receive constructive criticism. Finally, we’ll focus on how critique and revision will help you produce your best possible work and have fun doing it. Several members of Amber Keyser’s critique group, Viva Scriva, will be on hand to share the inner workings of this productive bunch of writers.

Amber Keyser, an evolutionary biologist turned freelance writer, uses both story and science to understand how the world works and why we do what we do. Her books for children include An Algonquin Heart Song: Paddle My Own Canoe(The Friends of Algonquin Park) and two graphic novels from Capstone Press, Cells with Max Axiom and Genes with Max Axiom (due out in 2010).

Monday January 25-

Caffeinated Art #79 (Three Friends Coffee House, @7:00pm): Portland poets Zachary Schomburg and Emily Kendal Frey will read from their first collaborative chapbook in a forthcoming trilogy, Team Sad. Open mic to follow.

Ink-Filled Page: Red Anthology Reading (Lili Patisserie Cafe, @7:00pm): Red Anthology, the latest collection from the Ink-Filled Page literary and arts journal, succeeds in tracing the vibrant hues of life through the black ink on the page. Local contributing authors Claire Rudy Foster, Andrew S. Fuller, and Cecilie Scott will read selections of their recent work. The pieces highlight struggle with personal memories, the writing of a new page on the back of the old. Refreshments will be graciously provided by the Lili Patisserie Cafe, so come sample the stories and sweets.

Audrey Niffenegger (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): Audrey Niffenegger, author of the phenomenally successful novel The Time Traveler’s Wife, returns with Her Fearful Symmetry (Scribner), a spectacularly compelling and haunting second book set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London. “[G]orgeously rendered, utterly bewitching, and profoundly unnerving,” raves Booklist (starred review).

Elizabeth Gilbert (Bagdad Theater, @7:00pm): Picking up where her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love left off, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Committed (Viking) details the extraordinary circumstances that surround her love with Felipe, the man she swore never to marry. “Presented in the author’s easy-going, conversational style, the material is intriguing and often insightful,” says Kirkus Reviews. Please note: This ticketed event takes place at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets, $27, include admission and a copy of Committed, and are available at the Bagdad Theater, the Crystal Ballroom, and Ticketmaster.

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

Tuesday January 26-

How to Start a Mother-Daughter Book Club (Northwest Library, @3:00pm): Girls, bring your moms to this interactive workshop with Cindy Hudson, author of “Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.” Learn how to get your friends and moms together to talk about your favorite books.

Terrific Tuesday featuring Mark Fearing (West Linn Library, @6:30pm): This hilariously dark story, The Book That Eats People, will be read by the books illustrator Mark Fearing (who is from West Linn!). Mark will also show art from some of his upcoming book projects. For ages 5 and up.

Patti Smith (Bagdad Theater, @7:00pm): Patti Smith’s evocative, honest, and moving coming-of-age story reveals her extraordinary relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Part romance, part elegy, Just Kids (Ecco) is about friendship in the truest sense, and the artist’s calling. Please note: This ticketed event takes place at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets, $27, include admission and a copy of Just Kids, and are available at the Bagdad Theater, the Crystal Ballroom, and Ticketmaster.

Garrison Keillor (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, @7:30pm, $25 and up): The Oregon Symphony hosts the much loved radio host of A Prairie Home Companion. Keillor walks and talks the best of Americana. His masterful storytelling about life in the Midwest paints pictures that range from grade-school crushes, growing up in a low thermostat household, to the wonderful cast of folks populating his beloved Lake Wobegon.

Wednesday January 27-

Teen Author Panel & Book Signing (Beaverton Library, @7:00pm): Meet some of your favorite local teen authors! They will be on-hand to talk about their books, the writing process, getting published and more! Books will also be available for sale and signing. Visiting authors include: Lisa Schroeder (Chasing Brooklyn, Far From You and I Heart You, You Haunt Me); L.K. Madigan (Flash Burnout); Christine Fletcher (Ten Cents a Dance and Tallulah Falls); April Henry (Torched, Shock Point, Face of Betrayal); Laini Taylor (Blackbringer, Silksinger, and Lips Touch Three Times)

Verse in Person – Poetry Readings (Northwest Library, @7:00pm): Listen to Oregon poets read from their works. This monthly program is organized by local poets to highlight two to three poets each reading.

Classics Book Group (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): This month we meet to discuss both A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. Join us!

Evening Book Group (Tigard Public Library, @7:00pm): The Tigard Library evening book group will discuss The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  C. Alan Bradley’s debut novel is a mystery set in Great Britain in the 1950s, featuring a charming and diabolically intelligent young sleuth. Registration is not required and new members are always welcome.

Elizabeth Kostova (Powells City of Books, @7:30pm): The Swan Thieves (Little Brown and Co.), the eagerly anticipated new novel from Elizabeth Kostova, bestselling author of The Historian, is a story of obsession, history’s losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope. It travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. “The luxurious artistic detail and richly drawn characters will pull in readers, who will be hard-pressed to stop turning pages,” cheers Library Journal (starred review).

Garrison Keillor (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, @7:30pm, $25 and up): The Oregon Symphony hosts the much loved radio host of A Prairie Home Companion. Keillor walks and talks the best of Americana. His masterful storytelling about life in the Midwest paints pictures that range from grade-school crushes, growing up in a low thermostat household, to the wonderful cast of folks populating his beloved Lake Wobegon.

Thursday January 28-

Open Mic Night (Lake Oswego Library, @6:30pm): Get discovered at the Lake Oswego Library! Come share your art and be inspired by the talent of your community. Join us for our monthly Open Mic Program. Sign up begins at 6:30 p.m. and performances start at 7:00 p.m. Performances are limited to five minutes. We welcome singers, poets, dramatic readers and more! Everyone is welcome—to participate or to listen.

William Stafford Celebratory Reading (Broadway Books, @7:00pm): Please join us for our annual celebration of William Stafford’s birthday. Tonight’s event will be hosted by Joanna Rose and will feature Stevan Allred, Jane Glazer, John Morrison, and FWS Board Member Don Colburn. Bring your favorite Stafford poem to read as your gift!

WITS Student Reading (Powells City of Books, @7:00pm): Writers in the Schools (WITS), a program of Literary Arts, celebrates the release of their new anthology, A Whole New Subject, featuring poems, prose, drama, and comics written by Portland public high-school students who participated in semester-long creative writing residencies taught by local professional writers. Enjoy readings by students, their high-school teachers, and WITS writers.

Friends of Mystery Bloody Thursdays XXIV featuring John Kroger (Terwilliger Plaza, @7:30pm): Friends of Mystery hosts Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, this year’s Oregon Book Award winner for Creative Non-Fiction for his book Convictions: A Prosecutor’s Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves. The event will begin with a reception at 7:00 pm, followed by the program at 7:30 pm. The meeting is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the lots just east across 6th Avenue from the lower level entrance. Handicapped parking is available at the upper level entrance. Tri-Met bus #8, Jackson Park, stops just in front of the lower level entrance.

Friday January 29-

Robin Hobb (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, @7:00pm): New York Times-bestselling author Robin Hobb debuts a new fantasy series with Dragon Keeper (Eos), book one of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, exploring a world of deformed dragons and the human misfits who serve as their keepers.

Nick Flynn (Powells City of Books, @7:00pm): The Ticking Is the Bomb (Norton) is a dazzling, searing, and inventive memoir from Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, that explores the challenges of becoming a father in the age of terror. “A striking collection of memories that will mystify, enlighten, trouble and amaze,” proclaims Kirkus Reviews (starred review).

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