Leanne Grabel, Brontosaurus Illustrated, reading with Joanna Rose and Sherri Levine

We are thrilled to welcome Leanne Grabel, one of the most creative artists in town, back to Broadway Books to talk about her new book Brontosaurus Illustrated, along with her “back-up band”: the writers Sherri Levine and Joanna Rose.

Brontosaurus Illustrated is the story of a rape that is now fifty years old. Nina Gold was a 19-year-old Stanford sophomore riding a full math scholarship to the American dream. But her avid quest was trampled one spring break by a kidnapping and rape, a trauma the size of a brontosaurus. Brontosaurus Illustrated is a graphic rendition of this story and Nina’s consequent spin-out that lasted for decades as she searched for reasons, meanings, antidotes. And a way forward. With a rape occurring every minute of every day, there are millions of stories that need to be told. Brontosaurus Illustrated is one of them.

Leanne Grabel is a writer, illustrator, performer, and retired special education teacher. In love with mixing genres, Grabel has written and produced numerous spoken-word mult-media shows, including “The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression”; “Anger: The Musical”; and “The Little Poet.” Her books include Lonesome & Very Quarrelsome Heroes, Flirtations, Brontosaurus, Badgirls, and Gold Shoes, a collection of graphic prose poems. My Husband’s Eyebrows, an illustrated collection of poetry and prose published by The Poetry Box, will be coming shortly. Grabel was the 2020 recipient of Soapstone’s Bread and Roses Award for contributions to women’s literature in the Pacific Northwest. Grabel and her husband Steve Sander are the founders of Cafe Lena, Portland’s legendary poetry hub of the 90s.

Sherri Levine’s newest collection of poetry is Stealing Flowers from the Neighbors, published by Kelsay Books. She is the author of the chapbook In These Voices, published in 2018 by The Poetry Box. She is the recipient of the 2019 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize and was awarded Poet’s First Prize in the Oregon Poetry Association biannual contest in 2017. Sherri hosts Head for the Hills—a monthly poetry reading series and open mic.

Joanna Rose is the author of two novels: Little Miss Strange (Algonquin) and her most recent, A Small Crowd of Strangers (Forest Avenue Press). She has taught youth through Literary Arts Writers in the Schools and Young Musicians & Artists. She currently teaches adult classes on language and craft at The Attic Institute of Arts & Letters. And wherever she lives, there is sure to be a dog or two.