Thursday 6/25: Lit Hop PDX, Portland’s Literary Barhopping Party, is hitting downtown and old town Portland this summer with 55 readings at 6 venues in 3 hours. The Rumpus and Future Tense Books will be hosting their own slew of readers at the Ash Street Saloon, hosted by Notable Portland editor Olivia Olivia and Future Tense’s Kevin Sampsell. The Rumpus reading will feature readings by Samiya Bashir, Dena Rash Guzman, Olivia Olivia, Justin Hocking, Myriam Gurba, Troy James Weaver, Zach Ellis, Laura Gibson, and Jay Ponteri. Ash Street Saloon, 7 p.m., free. Other readings listed here.
The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon Arts and Media Collective is partnering with the Tell It Slant Reading Series to host a reading by residents of the Jade and Midway districts around issues of displacement, gentrification, and dual identity, titled Place/Displace. Banner Furniture Outlet, 7 p.m., free.
David Neiwert reads from his latest book, Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Friday 6/26: Nicole Haroutunian reads from her new collection Speed Dreaming with Portland writer Caitlin Delohery. Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 7 p.m., free.
Touring up from its home base in San Francisco to partner with Portland Poetry Slam for the night, Lit Slam hosts both established and emerging voices. The twist is this: Five randomly selected audience members will become “editors” for the evening and the poems they select will be published in Lit Slam’s annual anthology, Tandem. Literary Arts, 7 p.m., free.
Saturday 6/27: Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, continues his award-winning graphic novel trilogy, inspired by a 1950s comic book that helped prepare his own generation to join the struggle, March: Book Two, cowritten by Andrew Aydin, with artist Nate Powell. Powell’s City of Books, 2 p.m., free.
The Bone Tax Review reading series returns with a reading featuring Emily Kendal Frey, Leah Noble Davidson, Natalie Garyet, and Julia Laxer. Jack London Bar, 7 p.m., free.
Sunday 6/28: Pure Surface and À reading join together for a reading featuring work by Josh Lubin, Jen Coleman, and Sidony O’Neal, accompanied by dance by Take Yamamoto and film by Jesse Mejía. Valentine’s, 5 p.m., free.
Monday 6/29: Laura Pritchett reads from her latest book, Red Lightning. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Pet lover and journalist David Grimm explores our rich history and surprising future with animals in his new book, Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Tuesday 6/30: Salon Skid Row presents Justin Rigamonti, Wendy Bourgeois, and Christopher Rose for this week’s reading. The Corner Bar, 7 p.m., free.
Max Blumenthal reads from his latest book, The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza, detailing his life on the ground during a massive middle-eastern conflict in the streets of Palestine. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 7/1: Stephanie Kallos reads from her new novel, Language Arts. Kallos will be joined in conversation by Ellen Urbani, author of the forthcoming novel Landfall. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
