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Memoir Writing: It happened to me and I’m here to tell it

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

Memoir, telling stories of how we made it through and what we learned, deeply connects us through the fabric of human experience. How do we mine our memories to create moments that illuminate, open hearts and minds, and pull readers into our world? In this workshop we will explore how to go about making specific events from our lives into intriguing, relatable, and solid memoirs. We will spend time exploring memoir samples, building a writers’ toolbox of skills such as scene writing, dialog, characterization, how to navigate the ladder of abstraction, and setting. We will also share work in a safe and constructive setting. Sundays,  January 26 – March 29, 2020 (10 class meetings) 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. All classes meet at Literary Arts,…

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$565

Cookbook Club Potluck

Two Rivers Bookstore 8836 N Lombard Street, Portland, OR, United States

This month, we'll be sharing recipes from Diana Henry's A Change of Appetite: Where Delicious Meets Healthy.

Free

A Place Outside the Law: Forgotten Voices From Guantánamo

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

Law scholar and Witness to Guantanamo founder Peter Jan Honigsberg uncovers a haunting portrait of life at the military prison and its toll, not only on the detainees and their loved ones, but also on its military and civilian personnel and the journalists who reported on it. Honigsberg conducted 158 interviews across 20 countries so that the people who lived and worked there could tell their heartbreaking and inspirational stories. In startling, aching prose, A Place Outside the Law (Beacon) shines a light on these unheard voices, and through them, encourages the global community to embrace humanity as our greatest tool to make the world a safer place.

Free

Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion

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

In the last few decades, a wealth of new information has emerged about who animals are – intelligent, aware, and empathetic. Studies show that animals are astounding beings with intelligence, emotions, intricate communications networks, and myriad abilities. In Animalkind (Simon & Schuster), PETA founder and president Ingrid Newkirk presents these findings in a concise and awe-inspiring way, detailing a range of surprising discoveries. Animalkind is a fascinating study of why our fellow beings deserve our respect and the steps we can take to put this new understanding into action.

Free

Eric Nuzum in Conversation With Chuck Klosterman

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

In Make Noise (Workman), veteran podcast creator and strategist Eric Nuzum distills a career’s worth of wisdom, advice, practical information, and big-picture thinking to help podcasters “make noise” – to stand out in this fastest of fastest-growing media universes. Nuzum identifies core principles, including what he considers the key to successful audio storytelling: learning to think the way your audience listens. He delivers essential how-tos, from conducting an effective interview to marketing your podcast, developing your audience, and managing a creative team. He also taps into his deep network to offer advice from audio stars like Ira Glass, Terry Gross, and Anna Sale. Nuzum will be joined in conversation by Chuck Klosterman, author of Raised in Captivity.

Free

Classics Book Group

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

This month our group meets to discuss Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. Join us!

Free

Reading: Marcy Houle: A Generous Nature

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

Annie Bloom's welcomes back Portland author Marcy Houle. A Generous Nature: Lives Transformed by Oregon offers profiles of twenty-one conservationists and activists who have made enduring contributions to the preservation of Oregon’s wild and natural places and its high quality of life. These stories speak to their courage, foresight, and actions—at times against great odds—to save places, enact legislation, and motivate others to cherish and protect the places that make Oregon unique. These stories do more than educate. They will inspire readers and demonstrate that individually we can make a difference. They underscore that the natural wonders of our state should be guarded and not taken for granted. In these times of unsettled political polarization and divisiveness, A Generous Nature is a crucial reminder of…

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Free

A Reading of The Berlin Diaries

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education 724 NW Davis Street, Portland, OR, United States

Hand2Mouth Theatre and OJMCHE present a theatrically staged reading of The Berlin Diaries, by Andrea Stolowitz, finalist for the 2017 Oregon Book Award. Performers are Erin Leddy and Damon Kupper, Directed by Hand2Mouth's Artistic Director Jonathan Walters. The great-grandfather of playwright Andrea Stolowitz kept a journal for his descendants after escaping to New York City in 1939 as a German Jew. Following the complicated lure of genealogy, Stolowitz goes back to Berlin to bring the story of her unknown ancestors out of the archives into the light. The record keeps as many secrets as it shares; how do people become verschollen, lost, like library books? In this complex, contemporary drama about the search for home, fragmented heritage and Jewish diaspora, two performers scintillate between characters…

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$10 – $15

7DS: Pants On Fire!

White Eagle 836 N Russell St, Portland, OR, United States

Pants On Fire! features seven storytellers telling the most insane, outrageous, hard-to-believe stories from their own lives. The catch? One of those seven will actually be telling a bald-faced lie -- a whopper that never actually happened. Think you can spot which of our seven storytellers is the liar? If you can, you might win a stay at McMenamin's Edgefield Hotel on us. Not sure you can which is guess the liar? No worries! There will be other ways to win valuable prizes throughout the evening, including a chance to take on one of your fellow audience members in our Two Truths & A Lie Mano-y-Mano Cage Match. Even if you don't win, you'll walk away having heard seven of the most wild, outrageous, hard-to-believe…

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$10

Reading: Rachel Carter & Sarah Coomber

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

Annie Bloom's welcomes Northwest authors Rachel Carter & Sarah Coomber. How do you live when all you can feel is pain? The best word to describe Rachel Carter’s life was “fearless.” She rode a motorcycle in high school, she worked in a cannery in Alaska at 20, and then backpacked solo through Europe. When she finally “settled down,” she married Josh and pursued a career in sales. She lived a picture-perfect life—then Multiple Sclerosis caught up with her. After two years of rapid decline, Rachel found herself lying on the floor, writhing in agony, hoping to die. In Enduring the Cure, Rachel Carter shares how she overcame her struggle with the debilitating disease. It’s a story of pain, decline, an experimental treatment, and healing. But…

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Free
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