Wednesday November 18top

Word and Image/Word as Image

From the Nuremberg Chronicle to pop art, Francisco de Goya to Jenny Holzer, the Portland Art Museum's Word and Image/Word as Image tracks over 500 years of, well, words somehow wrapped up in images. Most works—by Goya, Roy Lichtenstein, Edgar Heap and others—seem designed to evoke (and provoke) social commentary via language. Others, like Ed Ruscha's Drops, simply explore the aesthetic of text. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Wednesday and Saturday, 10 am-8 pm Thursday-Friday, noon-5 pm Sunday. Closes Nov. 29. $12, free for members and children under 17. Map

Al Gore

The anticipation has been brewing for months. Finally, our favorite almost-president, Al Gore, arrives in Portland to lecture on his new book, Our Choice. Essentially a sequel to his bestseller An Inconvenient Truth, Gore will (again) attempt to inspire and educate about the climate crisis that threatens the future of human civilization. Not sure how fresh the material will feel, but if Portlanders can rally 1,000 people in Pioneer Square for the cause as they did last month, it’s guaranteed Gore will have a packed house. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 248-4335. 7:30 pm. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com. $45 & $65 (All tickets include a copy of the new book.). Map

Dianne Kornberg

Northwest photographer Kornberg presents the “visual poetry” she has created in collaboration with poets Elisabeth Frost and Celia Bland in this month’s Photography Council’s Brown Bag Series. Kornberg will discuss the creative process of cross-disciplinary collaborations and show off original prints, some of which have never been seen by the public. Who doesn’t love sneak peeks? Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-0973. Noon. Free. Map

Thursday November 19top

Back Fence PDX: Get Me Outta Here

A half-dozen brave storytellers, from political blogger Karol Collymore and "Beer Brewer & Navy Explosives Builder" Sara Atkeson to former DJ Fatboy Roberts and human beatbox Fogatron, will take the stage at Back Fence this month to share their (true!) tales based on the theme “Get Me Outta Here.” Free cupcakes from Saint Cupcake will satisfy your sweet tooth while the stories keep you entertained. Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St., 223-4527. Doors open at 6 pm, show begins at 7:30 pm. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com Map

Mary Karr

In a follow-up to her critically acclaimed memoir The Liars’ Club, Karr chronicles her tough transition from a devastating childhood into a rocky adulthood as an alcoholic young mother in LIT: A Memoir. Karr is known for her great public-speaking skills; don’t miss an author who can keep your attention at the podium as well as on the page. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm. Free. Map

Friday November 20top

Mortified Portland

Masochists that they are, the organizers of Mortified are back for another cringe-worthy show. Try not to blush as your fellow Portlanders take turns sharing their journal entries, love letters, sketches and home movies they made in adolescence. Mega-embarrassment and laughs ensue. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to enter that "Ode to Bobby Little" you wrote when you were 11 into next year's show. Maybe. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. 8:30 pm. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Map

Saturday November 21top

Curtis White

White, the author of Requiem and The Middle Mind, comes to Portland to present The Barbaric Heart: Faith, Money and the Crisis of Nature. Music will be played, beer will be sold and the climate crisis will be discussed. Could this potentially be a more laid-back alternative to Al Gore at the Keller? It’s cheaper, at least. Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate Ave., 286-9449. 7 pm. $8. Map

Monday November 23top

Amy Goodman

Goodman, the host of Democracy Now!, a program that airs on nearly 800 radio stations worldwide, comes to town to present her new book, Breaking the Sound Barrier, as a benefit for KBOO Community Radio. The book explores how independent journalism by ordinary citizens can be the best kind of reporting. Hmmmm. Come get inspired to interview your neighbors. Bagdad Theater & Pub, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 236-9234. 7:30 pm. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com. $10 general admission, $25 reserved seating. Map

Jennie Shortridge

Shortridge’s fourth novel, When She Flew, tells the story of a straight-shooting police officer named Jessica who discovers an Iraq vet and his young daughter living off the radar in the woods of Oregon. The plot is obviously based on the bizarre true story of the father and daughter who were discovered in Forest Park in 2005. Art imitating Portland’s reality. Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Highway., 246-0053. 7:30 pm. Free. Map

Tuesday November 24top

Jesse Katz

Portland-born author Katz will read from his new memoir, The Opposite Field, a story of his time as baseball commissioner for his son’s Little League, which consisted of mostly Latino kids in a largely Asian suburb of L.A. Bonding with your son while exploring diversity seems to be a theme this month. See our review of The Blind Side for proof. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway., 284-1726. 7 pm. Free. Map