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Lauren Fleshman in Conversation With Robin Romm

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

Lauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running. One of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women’s running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry with feminist running brand, Oiselle, and now coaches elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen the way that our sports systems — originally designed by men, for men and boys — fail young women and girls as much as empower them. Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates once they hit puberty, and female collegiate athletes routinely fall victim to injury, eating disorders, or mental health struggles as they try to force their way past…

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Free

Kids’ Storytime with Christine Babinec

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

It’s never too early to teach children about the necessity of boundaries and the power of consent. Developed by therapist Christine Babinec after years of working with survivors of abuse, Want a Hug?: Consent and Boundaries for Kids (Familius) is a book about communication, understanding, mutuality, listening, and love. Far from a didactic lecture, this joyful picture book affirms that developing consent skills is a natural, positive, fun, and affirming experience. With colorful, inviting illustrations, children will learn that it’s okay to say no and, perhaps more importantly, it’s okay to say yes. The power is in the choice. Preorder a Signed Edition

Free

In-Store Reading: Gregg Coodley: Patients in Peril

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

Annie Bloom's welcomes back local author Gregg Coodley for an in-store reading from his new book, Patients in Peril: The Demise of Primary Care in America. Signed and personalized copies are available for order! Please, please, please include the name for personalization in the order notes; or indicate "signed only." About Patients in Peril: Once, Americans could count on having a personal or primary care physician who would see patients for new or chronic problems, whether in the office or the hospital. The appeal of such a system is more than psychological, for both primary care and continuity of care with a physician over time are associated with improved patient care, greater patient satisfaction, and lower overall costs. These days are ending as primary care…

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Free

The Moth: StorySLAM: Vices

The Old Church Concert Hall 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR, United States

VICES: Prepare a five-minute story about a wicked habit, a mild failing or a defect in your otherwise perfect self. Tell us what acts as kryptonite on your character! The ball and chain of developed habits and poisonous predilections. Give a special shout out to the backfiring virtues...when being too good is actually bad. COVID Requirements: See The Old Church's COVID Policy for details. We will not be selling any tickets at the door. This venue is 16+ *Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. Media Sponsors: OPB and Literary Arts  

$15

Erika Bolstad in Conversation With Lydia Kiesling

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

At first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband committed her to an asylum under mysterious circumstances. As Erika's mother was dying, she revealed more. Their family still owned the mineral rights to Anna's land — and oil companies were interested in the black gold beneath the prairies. Their family, Erika learned, could get rich thanks to the legacy of a woman nearly lost to history. Anna left no letters or journals, and very few photographs of her had survived. But Erika was drawn to the young woman who never walked free of the asylum that imprisoned her. As a journalist well versed in the effects…

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Free

So, You Wanna Be A Writer w Wayne Gregory | Jan 17 – Feb 14 | Online

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ~ E. L. Doctorow You have a thousand stories inside your head. You dabble on the page but rarely if ever finish anything, much less share with others. “Is my work good enough?” you wonder.  “Do I have something original and interesting to say? What makes me think I can be a writer?”  The biggest obstacle for emerging writers is not lack of time nor lack of skill nor lack of things to write about. It’s a lack of self-confidence. This workshop is designed for those who want to be writers but are not sure they can be. …

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$219 – $248

Curtis White

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

In Transcendent (Melville House), celebrated cultural critic Curtis White asks what Buddhism will look like in the future. Do we want a secular Buddhism that looks like corporations and neuroscience? Or do we want a Buddhism that still provides refuge from the debased world of money and things? Transcendence is not about magic realms where spirits fly about; the world is, as Shunryu Suzuki put it, its own magic. We only need to reclaim it and reclaim our humanity while we’re at it. The problem White suggests is a culture that recognizes only "things," capitalist things and science things, and aggressively denies the idea that the world of things has a beyond. We're told by science ideologues like the New Atheists that we live in…

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Free

Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms This workshop is virtual, PST Register here Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms In this 6-week class, we will experiment with short form creative writing. Our focus—whether it’s flash fiction, lyric essay, prose poetry, or hybrid—will be on the art of compression. Each week, participants will be given a writing exercise, a short reading, and two workshop submissions from their peers. Class time will include workshop as well as discussion of readings and craft. Our workshop will be guided by observations, questions, and possibilities. We will be thinking less about how to “fix” a piece of writing and more about what we see, our curiosities, and how to recognize hidden opportunities. Each participant will receive feedback from…

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$80 – $200

Six Month Screenwriting Intensive

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

“Screenplays…are primarily a narrative blueprint for cinematic interpretation. They require certain beats, certain layouts, and certain terminology to communicate the visual and audio needs of an eventual production — a production that hundreds of professionals will collaborate on.” – Ken Miyamoto, Screencraft “The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement.” – Raymond Chandler The art and craft of writing for the screen is a skill that all authors would do well to have in their creative arsenals. On one level, prose fiction, memoir, non-fiction, all these forms have been, and will continue to be, sought out by the film industry as foundations for works in…

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$1,100

Alison Mariella Désir in Conversation With Peter Bromka

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

Running saved Alison Désir’s life. At rock bottom and searching for meaning and structure, Désir started marathon training, finding that it vastly improved both her physical and mental health. Yet as she became involved in the community and learned its history, she realized that the sport was largely built with white people in mind. Running While Black (Portfolio) draws on Désir’s experience as an endurance athlete, activist, and mental health advocate to explore why the seemingly simple, human act of long distance running for exercise and health has never been truly open to Black people. Weaving historical context — from the first recreational running boom to the horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery — together with her own story of growth in the sport, Désir unpacks…

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Free
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