LitPDX seeks to amplify marginalized voices, and welcomes all, their ideas, their events, and their words.

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Talks & Discussions

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Rene Denfeld in Conversation with Stephanie Rose

Books Around the Corner 40 NW 2nd Street, Gresham, OR, United States

We are thrilled to welcome Rene Denfeld to Books Around the Corner on January 16th at 6:30-7:30pm. Rene is the internationally bestselling author of the novels The Enchanted, The Child Finder, and The Butterfly Girl. Rene will discuss The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl with Stephanie Rose, former librarian and owner of Books Around the Corner. Page Turner Book Club attendees of The Child Finder and/or The Butterfly Girl will have priority. This will be an intimate event so attendance will be capped at 15 people. To RSVP please come in and order a copy of The Butterfly Girl and/or The Child Finder or if you've attended one of the two book clubs already please let us know you plan on attending. Bring your…

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Free

Nicholas Buccola in Conversation with Tony Wolk, James Baldwin Celebration

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

Nicholas Buccola in Conversation with Tony Wolk, Discussing the Baldwin/Buckley Debate of 1965 Please join us at 7 pm on Thursday, January 16th, as we cap off our year-long celebration of James Baldwin with a conversation between Nicholas Buccola, author of the recently published book The Fire is Upon Us, and Tony Wolk, professor of literature at Portland State University. Buccola’s book focuses on the historic televised debate in 1965 between James Baldwin, civil rights firebrand, and William F. Buckley Jr., the father of modern conservatism. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro." The Fire is Upon Us tells the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies…

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Free

Diana Lo Mei Hing in Conversation with Horatio Law

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

Diana Lo Mei Hing was born in Hong Kong and spent her childhood in Guangzhou during the volatile run up to the Cultural Revolution. Her father fled with his family to Milan, Italy where Diana was raised. A well known abstract watercolor and mixed media painter, photographer, and poet in Italy, where she continues to exhibit, Diana moved to Portland with her American husband, also a fine arts photographer, in 2015. This is her first solo exhibition in the Northwest. Front Gallery Followed by a no-host lunch at the Red Robe Tea House Tickets: $12/General; $10/Members

$10 – $12

Celilo Collaborations: Sharing the Stories of a Place and Its People

Oregon Historical Society 1200 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR, United States

The Native fishing community of Celilo Village was in crisis following World War II. Large dams, highway widening, and federal policies of termination and relocation conspired to remove Indian people from a place their families had occupied for more than 12,000 years. Stepping into this maelstrom were two women from very different backgrounds. Together, they forged an alliance that made a difference. Flora Thompson and her husband, Chief Tommy Thompson, fought to protect fish drying sheds, fishing stations, and Celilo Village homes for decades. Joining her was Martha Ferguson McKeown, a high school English teacher, community activist, and author of several local histories, including two children's stories about the Thompsons. Their intertwined stories, as told by historian Dr. Katrine Barber, illustrate the importance of cross-cultural…

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Free

The League of Exceptional Writers

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

In From Book to Film, literary agent Fiona Kenshole shares how an author’s rights are used to make movies, translations, and even toys based on the author’s books. Hosted by Rosanne Parry, the League of Exceptional Writers is a monthly workshop where authors and illustrators share their knowledge with kids, 8 to 18 years old, who are interested in creating books. Join us!

Free

Longreads Club: Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India

Rose City Book Pub 1329 NE Fremont, Portland, OR, United States

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents himself as an ascetic economic visionary. He is also a hero of anti-Muslim bigots. The Prime Minister’s Hindu-nationalist government has cast two hundred million Muslims as internal enemies. 13,750 words, about 60 minutes ARTICLE: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil-in-narendra-modis-india (If the article is pay-walled, click here to read: http://archive.is/DfcVS) If you prefer to listen to the article, there is an audio track at the top of the page. Another option is that you can create a Text-To-Speech mp3 for free here: http://www.fromtexttospeech.com/. The TTS is a robotic voice, but many people get used to it fairly quickly. The Longreads Club is a twice-monthly program hosted by WorldOregon's Young Professionals group. Join us for Longreads Club where we discuss a long-form article focused on global…

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Free

Original Art: Daniel Clowes release party and signing with Daniel Clowes

Floating World Comics 1223 Lloyd Center, Portland, OR, United States

Join us on Sunday, February 9 to celebrate the release of Original Art: Daniel Clowes, which turns the spotlight on one of the medium’s most dynamic creators. A vital entry of the Fantagraphics Studio Edition series, this volume draws from Clowes’ nearly 30 years of comics art, ranging from his seminal one-man anthology, Eightball (in which Ghost World was originally serialized), to his most recent graphic novel, 2016’s best-selling time travel thriller, Patience. Daniel Clowes will also take part in a Q&A with Fantagraphics editor, Eric Reynolds. The edition features over 150 pages of art from 1989–present, each reproduced as an exact facsimile of the original to best showcase every detail of the artist’s cartooning process. Plus new covers, endpapers, and other surprises from Clowes, including…

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Free

A Black History Month Tribute to Toni Morrison

Multnomah County Library - North Portland Meeting Room 512 N Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR, United States

A prolific writer of novels, essays and song lyrics who first came to prominence in the early 1970s, Morrison focused particularly on the experience of women within the black community. Her work earned her numerous awards, most notably the Nobel Prize for Literature, for which she broke new ground as the first African American winner. Join us for a celebration of the life and achievements of Toni Morrison.

Free

Will Eisner and the Business of Comics

PSU - Smith Memorial Student Union 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

In honor of Will Eisner Week, PSU hosts this panel discussion featuring Dark Horse Comics founder Mike Richardson, IDW's Ted Adams, and moderator Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Free

Everybody Reads 2020: Tommy Orange

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 1037 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

Celebrate the power of books to create a stronger community by attending the 2020 Everybody Reads author event with Tommy Orange. Literary Arts is proud to host an evening with award-winning author Tommy Orange as the culminating event of Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads program. This year’s programming will center on Orange’s debut novel, There There. Tickets start at $15, available at Portland5.com With the selection of There There, Everybody Reads 2020 centers around the experience of urban Native Americans in Oakland, California. Through a shared reading experience, we will explore a multitude of themes in the book, from identity and ownership to the urban-rural divide. About There There: Orange’s shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow,…

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$15
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