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The Mouths of Others: Author Diana Kirk

Mt. Hood Community College Theatre 26000 SE Stark Street, Gresham, OR, United States

See this The Mouths of Others talk by Diana Kirk, author of Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy, and a contributor to Nasty!, a collection of bold essays and recollections. Hear the Astoria-based writer and business owner read some of her latest provocative and genre-busting work on Wednesday, May 29, from Noon – 1 p.m. in the Visual Arts Theatre. When she’s not writing, Kirk owns and operates a bar in Astoria and travels as much as possible. You can learn more about her at https://dianakirk.wordpress.com Event takes place in the Visual Arts Theatre on the Gresham campus. Free and open to all!

Free

Helen Zia in Conversation with Putsata Reang

Portland Chinatown Museum 127 NW Third Ave, Portland, OR, United States

The Portland Chinatown Museum is honored to present a book conversation with Helen Zia, acclaimed writer, journalist, and activist. Helen Zia will be in conversation with writer Putsata Reang to discuss Helen’s new book, LAST BOAT OUT OF SHANGHAI. A book signing will follow the discussion period. This event is part of the Portland Chinatown Museum's ongoing series, STORIES MY MOTHER AND FATHER TOLD ME, sponsored in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities. LAST BOAT OUT OF SHANGHAI is based on the dramatic, real-life stories of a generation caught up in the mass rush out of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist Revolution, with startling parallels to the struggles faced by emigrants today. Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel, its richest, most…

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$10 – $12

Rebecca Robinson and Stephen Strom

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

Journalist Rebecca Robinson and photographer Stephen Strom join us to discuss their recently published book Voices from Bears Ears: SeekingCommon Ground on Sacred Land, published by the University of Arizona Press. In late 2016, President Barack Obama designated 1.35 million acres of public lands in southeastern Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump shrank the monument by 85 percent. A land rich in human history and unsurpassed in natural beauty, Bears Ears is at the heart of a national debate over the future of public lands. Through the stories of twenty individuals, and informed by interviews with more than seventy people, Voices from Bears Ears captures the passions of those who fought to protect Bears Ears and those who…

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Free

Annie Jacobsen

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

When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly classified branch of the CIA – and the most effective black operations force in the world. With unprecedented access to 42 men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Surprise, Kill, Vanish (Little, Brown) brings to vivid life the untold story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units.

Free

Eric Gorges in Conversation With Gary Rogowski

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

In A Craftman’s Legacy (Algonquin), Eric Gorges, host of TV’s A Craftsman’s Legacy, makes the case that the craftsman’s way – the philosophy, the skills, and the mindset – can provide a blueprint for all of us in our increasingly hurried, mass-manufactured world. Filled with insights about the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of craftsmanship, A Craftsman’s Legacy identifies the craftsman’s values: taking time to slow down and enjoy the process, embracing failure, knowing when to stop and when to push through, and accepting that perfection is an illusion. Gorges will be joined in conversation by Gary Rogowski, author of Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction.

Free

Reading: Thomas J. Sims: On Call in the Arctic

Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, United States

Annie Bloom's welcomes Thomas J. Sims to read from On Call in the Arctic: A Doctor's Pursuit of Life, Love, and Miracles in the Alaskan Frontier. The evening will also include a visual presentation. The fish-out-of-water stories of Northern Exposure and Doc Martin meet the rough-and-rugged setting of The Discovery Channel's Alaskan Bush People in Thomas J. Sims's On Call in the Arctic, where the author relates his incredible experience saving lives in one of the most remote outposts in North America. In Anchorage, Dr. Sims was scheduled to act as Chief of Pediatrics at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Life changed, along with his military orders, when he learned he was being transferred from Anchorage to work as the only physician in Nome. There,…

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Free

Slow Media – Jennifer Rauch

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

Join us for a reading from Slow Media: Why Slow is Satisfying, Sustainable and Smart, a Nautilus Book Award winner described as  a “powerful corrective to media scholarship” (Chris Atton), a “spirited, sane, and savvy manifesto” (Carl Honoré), and a “compelling argument for how media can promote human existence more proportioned to human beings” (Douglas Rushkoff). Jennifer Rauch’s Slow Media aims to transform the way we produce and use media, just as the Slow Food movement changed how people grow, buy and eat food. Her book helps readers understand complex relationships between everyday media choices, human well-being and the natural world. It propels conversations about how we can challenge the status quo — as users, consumers, and citizens. These alternative visions nurture a media ecosystem that…

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Free

David Wolman & Julian Smith

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

In 1908, three unknown riders arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, their hats adorned with wildflowers, to compete in the world’s greatest rodeo. They had travelled 3,000 miles from Hawaii, where their ancestors had herded cattle for generations, to test themselves against the toughest riders in the West. Dismissed by whites, who considered themselves the only true cowboys, the Hawaiians left the heartland as champions – and American legends. David Wolman and Julian Smith’s Aloha Rodeo (William Morrow) blends rough-knuckled frontier drama with a rousing underdog narrative.

Free

The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story

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

What happens when an undocumented teen mother takes on the U.S. immigration system? Taking us into detention centers, immigration courts, and more, Aaron Bobrow-Strain’s The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) reveals the human consequences of militarizing what was once a more forgiving border. This event in sponsored by Voz Workers' Rights Education Project and Causa, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization.

Free

Do You Have Kids? Life When the Answer Is No

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

A savvy and validating guide to what might be in store for growing numbers of childfree and childless adults worldwide, Kate Kaufmann’s Do You Have Kids? Life When the Answer Is No (She Writes Press) takes on topics from the shifting meaning of family to what we leave behind when we die. Weaving together wisdom from women ages 24 to 91, with both her own story and a growing body of research, Kaufmann brings to light alternate routes to lives of meaning, connection, and joy.

Free
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