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Garden+ Lecture Series: Christian Tagsold

Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave, Portland, OR, United States

Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West The German author of Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West discusses his provocative and groundbreaking theories that the idea of the Japanese garden has less to do with Japan’s history and traditions than with the country’s interactions with the West. Tagsold, who has researched over eighty Japanese gardens in ten countries, explores their history, popularity, and shifting aesthetic, as well as that most elusive concept — authenticity. Limited copies of Christian Tagsold’s book Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Location: Yanai Classroom About the speaker Christian Tagsold is Associate Professor at the Institute for Modern Japanese Studies, University of Düsseldorf. He writes on Japanese…

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$15 – $20

Liz Scott in conversation with Rene Denfeld

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

We are thrilled to welcome Liz Scott and Rene Denefeld to the store at 7 pm on Monday, April 29th. In her memoir This Never Happened, Liz Scott goes in search of the answers to the mysteries of her family. She mines photographs and letters, leaving no one, including herself, unexamined.“This is where I live -- somewhere smack between pity and rage, between empathy and indictment. And as hard as I look, I still can’t find a place between mercy and pain.” Scott has creatively assembled the text, including bulleted and numbered lists, correspondence, and photographs, which together tell Scott’s family history from as many angles as possible. In the end, the book is about the struggle to clear away pain to make room for…

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Free

Graham Hancock

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR, United States

Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods, has made it his life's work to find out. In America Before (St. Martin’s), he draws on the latest archaeological and DNA evidence to bring his quest to a stunning conclusion. America Before is a culmination of everything that millions of readers have loved in Hancock’s body of work, namely an exploration of the mystery of ancient civilizations, amazing discoveries, and profound implications for how we lead our lives today.

Free

Mo Welch in Conversation With Stacey Hallal

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Stand-up comedian Mo Welch’s How to Die Alone (Workman) is a self-help guide for NOT helping yourself, packed with irreverent humor and terrible life advice for modern adults. Welch's comics illustrate and celebrate our common afflictions – social anxiety, terrible dates, too few friends (who aren't cats), too many cookies, too much wine, and an allergy to exercise and day jobs – with totally relatable, slightly dark, and genuinely funny humor. Welch will be joined in conversation by comedian Stacey Hallal, founder of Portland’s Curious Comedy Theater.

Free

Carolyn Burke

Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

Carolyn Burke’s Foursome: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keefe, Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury (Knopf) is a captivating, spirited account of the intense relationship among four artists whose strong personalities, passionate feelings, and aesthetic ideals drew them together, pulled them apart, and profoundly influenced the very shape of 20th-century art.

Free

Michele Filgate With Lidia Yuknavitch, Nayomi Munaweera & Rene Denfeld

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

As an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took her more than a decade to realize what she was actually trying to write: how this affected her relationship with her mother. In What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About (Simon & Schuster), 15 writers explore what we don’t talk to our mothers about, and how it affects us, for better or for worse. Filgate will be joined in conversation at the event by Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Book of Joan, Nayomi Munaweera, author of What Lies Between Us, and Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder.

Free

Chelsea Biondolillo in conversation with Justin Hocking

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

Chelsea Biondolillo joins us to read from her new collection of essays, The Skinned Bird, published by Kernpunkt Press. Chelsea will be joined in conversation this evening by Justin Hocking, author of (most recently) The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld. The Skinned Bird is about all the ways we break our own hearts. In lyric, fragmented essays -- full of geological, ornithological and photographic interventions, with landscapes, loss, and longing -- Biondolillo travels the terrain of leaving and finding home while keeping her sights fixed firm on the natural world around her. The collection includes "How to Skin a Bird," winner of the Carter Prize for the Essay, and the Best American Essays 2014 notable essay, "Phrenology." Lidia Yuknavitch describes the collection as "nothing short…

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Free

Westside Writing Group

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR, United States

A group for anyone writing nonfiction or memoir who would like company, support, and, most of all, accountability. Whether you’ve never written a word or you’re a published author, join us!

Free

The Widmer Way – Jeff Alworth

Another Read Through 3932 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR, United States

Portland, Oregon, didn’t always have a wildly successful craft brew scene. Someone had to be daring enough to innovate, and the Widmer brothers were just the men for the job. Written by Portland beer guru Jeff Alworth (The Beer Bible, Beer Tasting Tool Kit), The Widmer Way: How Two Brothers Led Portland’s Craft Beer Revolution chronicles Kurt and Rob Widmer’s journey from humble homebrewers to craft beer pioneers and purveyors of the iconic Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen. Alworth also dives deep into Portland’s history, setting the scene for Widmer’s rise in the city now known for its exquisite beer. Drawing from hours of interviews with Kurt and Rob, close family and friends, and big names in the beer industry, The Widmer Way offers an exclusive look…

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Free

Foucault in California

Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

In 1975, iconic French philosopher Michel Foucault spent a weekend in Southern California at the invitation of Simeon Wade. Led by Wade and his partner, Michael Stoneman, Foucault experimented with psychotropic drugs for the first time; by morning he was crying and proclaiming that he knew Truth. Foucault in California (Heyday) is Wade's firsthand account of that long weekend. Presenting his late brother’s book is David Wade, as well as Heather Dundas, author of the book’s foreword.

Free
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