Thursday 3/12: Caldera Arts welcomes Patricia Smith as she reads from her latest poetry. Wieden + Kennedy, 6:30 p.m., free.
Local author Wendy Kali celebrated her latest work, The Butch/Femme Photo Project, which was recently turned into a book. She will talk about the project, read excerpts, and display original photographs. Another Read Through, 7 p.m., free.
Kjirsten Severson, Donald Dunbar, Seth Tichenor, and Joseph Mains blend poetry with art and philosophical discussion in their latest reading, How Are We Human. Red e café, 7 p.m., free.
Clyde Curley reads from his new book, A Cup of Hemlock. Annie Bloom’s Books, 7 p.m., free.
Elisa Albert discusses her debut novel After Birth, with Robin Romm, author of Mercy Papers. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Mark Adams shares his on one of the world’s longest mysteries, Meet Me In Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Friday 3/13: Enjoy a mix of smart and compassionate crime and thriller writers. Lou Berney reads from The Long and Faraway Gone, John Burley reads from The Forgetting Place, and Glen Erik Hamilton reads from Past Crimes. Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7 p.m., free.
The Uncanny Reader, edited by Marjorie Sandor, comes alive with readings and re-enactments from the anthology, plus music by Ash Black Bufflo, all nestled in the nooks and crannies of Southeast Portland’s best-haunted independent bookstore. Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 7 p.m., free.
Mystery authors Lori L Lake and Jessie Chandler will come together for this reading. Lori is a local award-winning author of The Gun Series and the Public Eye Mystery Series, which she will be reading from, and Jessie has won awards for her Shay Hanlon mysteries. She will be in town to celebrate the local launch of her newest mystery series—Operation Stop Hate. Another Read Through, 7 p.m., free.
Saturday 3/14: In Show and Tell: How Art and Text Go Hand in Hand, a writing workshop for young adults, writer/illustrator team Amy and Jason Baskin show ways pictures and words can work together to improve a story. Hosted by author Rosanne Parry, The League of Extraordinary Writers is a monthly workshop where authors and illustrators share their writing knowledge with kids 8 to 18 years old who are interested in creating books. Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 2 p.m., free.
Few literary forms can match the memoir in terms of unflinching honesty, dark humor, heartbreak, and cringe-inducing discomfort. Local authors Marnie Freeman, Melissa Gittelman, Fredrick Swan, Marjorie Belson, and Veronica Esagui will share from their books and widely differing life experiences. Another Read Through, 1:30 p.m., free.
Sunday 3/15: Carlos Reyes reads from his newest poetry collection, The Keys to the Cottage: Stories from the West of Ireland. Powell’s City of Books, 4 p.m., free.
Robert Scheer reads from They Know Everything about You, a groundbreaking exposé of how government agencies and tech corporations monitor virtually every aspect of our lives, and a fierce defense of privacy. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Come celebrate the release of San Diego writer and musician Drew Andrews’s debut novella, The Shepherd’s Journals. Andrews will be doing a reading and playing music. Post 134, 7:30 p.m., free.
Monday 3/16: To celebrate Small Press Month, Powell’s is proud to host the 8th annual marathon reading of small press authors, Smallpressapalooza. This year’s lineup features readings by John Barrios, Bruce Greif, Suzanne Burns, Jac Jemc, Luke Bloomfield, Evelyn Hampton, Kelly Schirmann, Ashley Toliver, Lauren Ireland, Alexis Orgera, Parker Tettleton, and Mike Young. Hosted by Powell’s small press champion, Kevin Sampsell. Powell’s City of Books, 6 p.m., free.
Tuesday 3/17: According to legend, those who kiss the Blarney Stone (built into the battlements of Blarney Castle in Ireland) will be granted the gift of gab (or perhaps an orally transmitted disease). Testing the power of persuasiveness, Jacobsen’s Books will host four contributing authors from Windtree Press’ new anthology Gifts from the Heart who will read their stories, and attendees have to guess which parts are true and which are lies. Jacobsen’s Books, 6:30 p.m., free.
David Axelrod will read from his new poetry collection, Folly, along with fellow poet Amy MacLennan (The Fragile Day, Weathering). Milepost 5, 7 p.m., free.
Salon Skid Row presents a night of reading and music with performances by Korrea, Eurhapsodoi, Haley McCurdy, Pancho, and Cinema Obscura. The Corner Bar, 7 p.m., free.
Attend a special night of poetry that shines a light on the diverse global heritage of Oregon’s contemporary poets. In an effort to expand the reach of these distinct voices, Oregon’s Seventh Poet Laureate Peter Sears presents a reading alongside trilingual Mixtec poet and socio-linguist Octaviano Merecias-Cuevas. Walters Cultural Arts Center, 7 p.m., free.
The Unchaste Readers series welcomes Bonnie Ditlevsen, Amanda Cochran Helstrom-White, Melissa Duclos-Yourdon, Alison Hallett, Monet Patrice Thomas, Gigi Little, Tessara Gabrielle Dudley, and Megan Kruse to share their work for tonight’s reading. Post 134, 7:30 p.m., free.
Paul Beatty reads from his new novel, The Sellout, set in a world where plantation culture is reborn in California. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 3/18: One of American poetry’s most distinctive and essential voices, Jane Hirshfield, reads from her incandescent new collection, The Beauty. Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World is Hirshfield’s dazzling new collection of essays on how the best poems work. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
