BY SUSAN WICKSTROM 243-2122 ext. 328 Navigator: Timeline | Listings | Interview | Pick Timeline 1979 Michael Powell takes over the bookstore from his dad. 1984 Portland Arts & Lectures' first series: Calvin Trillin, Ann Beattie, Norman Mailer, Pauline Kael 1987 First Oregon Book Awards 1993 William Stafford dies. 1994 First Poetry Slam 1996 National Poetry Slam is held in Portland. 1997 Central Library reopens, and Poetry in Motion puts verse on Tri-Met buses.                       FOCUS ON: Judith Barrington In a city full of writers, wannabe writers and simply fans of good writing, Judith Barrington stands out. Not just because she's tall, has the telltale clip of a Brit accent, is a favorite writing teacher about town and has two notable books of poetry and prose memoir under her belt--History and Geography and Trying to Be an Honest Woman, as well as her most recent, Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art. Barrington stands out because she is the founder and director of "The Flight of the Mind" writing workshops for women and president of Soapstone, a nonprofit writing retreat for women. She walks the line between self-interest and plain interest just fine, and that's just the sort of person who becomes a literary hero in the City of Roses.She landed in Portland in 1976 with plans of spending the summer here--and never left. "One of the reasons I ended up staying was because it was a good place to become a writer," she explains. "It was very cheap to live, so it was easy to become a free-lance person and patch together a life of writing and part-time teaching. The community was very receptive to writers." Portland has changed tremendously in 25 years, but Barrington believes the close-knit feeling she originally found has remained constant. "The literary community was, and still is, relatively free of factionalism," she says. "You hear stories of other cities where there's a lot of competitiveness and back-biting. That just isn't true here, even though the community has grown enormously." Barrington has seen people come and go in the past two decades, but certain individuals played crucial roles in shaping Portland's literary landscape. "One of the steady, very important presences has been Ursula K. LeGuin. She's not only a well-known and brilliant writer but also a very good community member, someone who really participates. William Stafford was also an ongoing presence. His death was a great loss." Barrington is quick to applaud the diversity of voices that make up Portland's writing community, noting Hawaiian-born author Kathleen Tyau and poet-carpenter Clement Starck, as well as gay and lesbian voices such as Tom Spanbauer, Anndee Hochman and Janice Gould. "They're not just writing for their own community anymore," she says, "but winning a respected place in the literary scene." According to Barrington, other individuals worked tirelessly to create organizations that now define local literary arts: "One of the important ones was OILA, Brian Booth's brainchild that became Literary Arts Inc. and grew to join forces with Julie Mancini's Arts & Lectures series." In her years here, Barrington has observed a dramatic increase in the number of writers' organizations, creative writing conferences and small presses in Portland, as well as some very unique literary venues. "Sandra Williams started the Mountain Writers Center," she says. "Barbara LaMorticella and Walt Curtis did really good work with Talking Earth on KBOO. It's been a source of irritation to me that OPB radio doesn't feature anything about books or writers from this area." But many Portland businesses do support the literary community. "There are numerous open-mike locales," Barrington says. "One of the best is Cafe Lena." She notes that major bookstore chains still haven't killed off the little guys. "I think we can be proud that Portland is one of the healthiest U.S. cities for independent bookstores. It's one of very few cities to still have a women's bookstore, In Other Words. And Powell's, despite its size and various recent turmoils, is still a haven and an example of a business that's given back to the community in ways that are important for progressive causes." Nevertheless, Portland's literary scene has suffered some losses, especially in the form of gatherings such as the Portland Poetry Festival, LitEruption and Artquake. "I think they were all victims of the abysmal funding situation here," Barrington says. "The major difficulties over the last 25 years are all caused by major funding problems. The private sector is going to have to start kicking in. It's not just a matter of there being no money, which is awful, but the people who are both artists and organizers are spending the time they should be doing artistic work scraping for money." Despite the eternal battle for bucks, Barrington has witnessed a wealth of new opportunities for writers, readers and all lovers of literary arts. "One of the highlights of this period is the incredibly gorgeous renovation of the Central Library," she says. "Ginny Cooper's vision has been an important part of Portland's literary community thriving through this time." This fall, Barrington will travel back to England to teach at the London Poetry School, but she is looking forward to some of her adopted hometown's scheduled literary events. "I like going to the Oregon Book Awards," she says. "The Northwest literary community has managed to hold on to a spirit of one person's success reflecting well on all of us. We can be pleased for each other. That's a nice thing about Portland." Listings SELECTED READINGS Nicole Mones Portland's own Mones hit the big time last year when her debut novel, Lost in Translation, appeared to rave reviews. The story's heroine, an American expatriate working as an interpreter, wants to be drawn completely into the Chinese culture that she loves so deeply. She takes a job with an archeologist who believes the remains of Peking Man are hidden deep in the Mongolian desert. The plot thickens deliciously into a unique, suspenseful and extremely intelligent tale of love and loss. The author draws upon her own travels to China, where, in addition to being a translator, she worked in the textile industry and on an archeological dig in the remote interior. Meet Mones, a welcome addition to Portland's literati, as she reads from Lost in Translation, now available in paperback. Borders Books, 708 SW 3rd Ave., 220-5911. 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 16. Free. Gioia Timpanelli As one of the world's greatest professional storytellers, Timpanelli can rely on her dramatic arts to verbally tell the tale. Now, her brilliance shines from the written page in her book, Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily, which is now available in paperback. Both novellas are told as fables in which women achieve transformation. "A Knot of Tears" features an agoraphobic baroness from Palermo whose life is changed by a talking parrot that flies in through the window. "Rusina, Not Quite in Love" offers a fresh twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale. Timpanelli will read from her charming and rich fiction. Looking Glass Bookstore, 318 SW Taylor St., 227-4760. 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 23. Free. Chuck Palahniuk Everybody wants him to talk about Brad Pitt, and Palahniuk is happy to comply. After all, he and the star of Fight Club, the movie version of his debut novel, are buddies now. Palahniuk may be proud of his new Tinseltown trappings, but he also has a new book to sell, damn it. Portland's friendliest writer of postmodern comic violence will read from his latest novel, Invisible Monsters, about a fashion model who loses her identity when she becomes hideously disfigured. Her pain leads her on a crazy road trip with a transsexual-in-progress, and along the way the two people search for their true selves. Palahniuk took on religion, media and celebrity in his second novel, Survivor. And Fight Club bemoaned white guys' loss of power. See how he feels about a society steeped in the superficiality of beauty as he presents Invisible Monsters. Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Highway, 246-0053. 5 pm Sunday, Sept. 26. Free. Powell's, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm Friday, Oct. 1. Free. Hispanic Heritage Month Reading Tom Spanbauer's Dangerous Writers program has cranked out a barrage of published authors lately: Ken Foster, Rodger Larson, Joanna Rose, Chuck Palahniuk--the list grows. Spanbauer is obviously doing something right. In this celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, three Dangerous Writers--Joe Ponce, Emma Oliver and Yvonne Martinez--will read their fiction. Borders Books, 708 SW 3rd Ave., 220-5911. 7 pm Tuesday, Sept. 28. Free. Barbara J. Scot Scot worked for Portland Public Schools for years before she started writing. Now she has three books to her credit, The Violet Shyness of Their Eyes, Prairie Reunion and her latest, The Stations of Still Creek. Scot writes about her travels, both physical and emotional. In her new memoir she embarks upon her spiritual journey through the forest surrounding her cabin near Mount Hood. She examines marriage, aging and her life choices as she meditates upon the many aspects of nature that surround her, especially the elements of the trees that become the center of her journey. Scot's fans will be delighted by The Stations of Still Creek simply because of the familiar geography. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 284-1726. 7 pm Tuesday, Sept. 28. Free. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates has devoted his life to defining African-American culture, both on a personal and public level. He is the chairman of Harvard's Afro-American studies department, and he frequently contributes to such magazines as The New Yorker and Harper's. His numerous books include the American Book Award-winning The Signifying Monkey and Colored People, his eloquent and powerful memoir of growing up in a small West Virginia town when the United States was just warming up to desegregation. This esteemed author will visit Portland to present Encyclopedia Africana, which he co-edited, in an event sponsored by Powell's Books and the black studies department of Portland State University. Hoffman Hall, Smith Memorial Center, Portland State University, 1825 SW Broadway, 228-4651. 7:30 pm Friday, Nov. 5. Free. Tom McGuane There's a reason movie cowboys kiss their horses at the end of westerns--equine love. Montana writer McGuane slaps a literary smooch on those beasts of burden with his new collection of essays, Some Horses. Though McGuane is best known for his macho novels, which include The Sporting Club, The Bushwhacked Piano and Ninety-Two in the Shade (a finalist for the National Book Award), he now proves his mastery of literary nonfiction. The nine essays in Some Horses reveal the special bond between humans and their equine pals and share the talents of such personalities as famed horse whisperer Buster Welch and equally famous cutting horse Chink's Benjibaby. McGuane will venture from his ranch in Sweet Grass County to read from his new book about horse love. Twenty-Third Avenue Books, 1015 NW 23rd Ave., 224-5097. 7 pm Thursday, Nov. 11. Free. EVENTS Gloria Steinem: "Moving Beyond Words" The Voices Contemporary Lecture Series began seven years ago and has developed a loyal following of fans who celebrate the strength of high-powered women. This year's program kicks off with Steinem, a high priestess of the women's movement who co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972. Her books include Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem and Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. Other Voices lectures will feature NPR's Susan Stamberg and Gail Sheehy (Passages, etc.) and a political debate between Eleanor Clift and Angela "Bay" Buchanan. First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave., 243-3440. 7 pm Wednesday, Oct. 13. $109-$169 for series. The Last Word: A Literary Open Mike for Women and Their Friends Portland has seen its ups and downs when it comes to open-mike venues. A few years ago, a poet could publicly read his or her work nearly every night of the week--though there were no guarantees about the size or mood of the audience. Now it seems we are struggling through a drought of open mikes. Thank goodness In Other Words, our local women's bookstore, is continuing this important literary tradition with its increasingly popular last-Friday-of-the-month open mike for women. Anything goes: poetry, prose, spoken word, performance. Expect a supportive audience and loads of unexpected talent. In Other Words, 3734 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-6003. 9 pm Fridays, Sept. 24, Oct. 29 and Nov. 26. Free. David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell Portlanders love NPR personality David Sedaris, and he obviously loves us back because he visits at least once a year now. Who could ever get tired of his sweet, acerbic wit? Sedaris' hilarious essays have been collected in three books: Barrel Fever, Naked and Holidays on Ice. At this event, he promises all new material. Vowell, music critic for such publications as Spin and the Village Voice and author of Radio On: A Listener's Diary, will join Sedaris. They both work as contributing editors for This American Life, the hugely popular public radio show. Sedaris and Vowell's appearance will benefit Literary Arts Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes knowledge through the written word with such programs as Writers in the Schools, Poetry in Motion and Oregon Literary Fellowships. First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave., 227-2583. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 3. $16-$50. 1999 Oregon Book Awards Last year, Literary Arts Inc. pulled the Oregon Book Awards ceremony out of a rut by moving the event to the Kennedy School Auditorium and replacing the usually musty, macho host with a woman, Sallie Tisdale. The program honors Oregon's best writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama and young readers' literature by awarding a prize to the best work in each category. The MC this year will be Susan Orlean, former WW writer and author of The Orchid Thief who also writes for The New Yorker. This event is a wonderful opportunity for regular folk to rub shoulders with Portland's glittering literati. Nominees for the 13th annual awards will be announced in October. Scottish Rite Center, 709 SW 15th Ave., 227-2583. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 23. $15. Michael Cunningham and Amy Bloom Portland Arts & Lectures' 1999-2000 season includes a strong and eclectic group of literary types such as fiction writers Russell Banks, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth McCracken and A.L. Kennedy; poet and critic James Fenton; biographer Ron Chernow and radio producer Ira Glass. Though any and all of these events promise to be entertaining, this particular evening with authors Cunningham and Bloom should be a good one. Cunningham won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Hours, a brilliant homage to Virginia Woolf. His other novels are Golden States, At Home at the End of the World and Flesh and Blood. Bloom worked as a psychologist before she started writing fiction in her mid-30s. Her excellent 1993 short-story collection, Come to Me, was a finalist for the National Book Award. She then developed one of those stories into her 1997 debut novel, Love Invents Us. Now Bloom writes a sex-advice column for New Woman magazine as she continues to write fiction. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 227-2583. 7:30 pm Tuesday, April 11, 2000. $100-$175 for series; single tickets may be available. Ira Glass He's the hippest thing going right now. Everyone wants a piece of Glass and This American Life, his popular and intelligent weekly public radio show that looks at the more quirky aspects of our society. Each show is divided into four acts that examine a different theme, such as "The Kindness of Strangers" or "The Cruelty of Children." Glass and his crew, which includes a number of talented contributing editors (see David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell above), uncover a fascinating array of viewpoints that shape our kooky, heartwarming and sometimes scary society. Glass began his career at NPR as an intern at the tender age of 19 and clawed his way up to the rank of producer. Now he is finally venturing out into the real world to indulge in some shameless self-promotion. His appearance will wind up Portland Arts & Lectures' 1999-2000 series. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 227-2583. 7:30 pm Monday, April 24, 2000. $100-175 for series, single tickets may be available. Pick Oregon Book Awards - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published September 15, 1999