Skip to main content1. Portland's pop star of lit, Chuck Palahniuk, released another bestseller, Lullaby. But there are mumblings in book corners that Palahniuk is in danger of becoming formulaic.
2. Portland's grande dame of letters, Ursula K. Le Guin, brilliantly exposed the sexual cosmos in Birthday of the World.
3. The oldest public library west of the Mississippi, the Multnomah County Library, celebrated 100 years of helping create a literate city.
4. Psychonautical Supply on Southeast Belmont Street is one of the most interesting bookshops to open in town in years, with its focus on cognitive liberation. But the untimely death of its founder, Brad Willard, who sadly overdosed on a drug not known for its mind-expanding properties, has some concerned that the shop will close. This would be a shame, as Portland needs more booknooks like this.
5. The Portland Factor, according to writer James Atlas, is the ability the city has to turn out in droves to hear authors. Atlas explained this phenomenon at the highly enjoyable roundup on biography (which also included Edmund White and Francine du Plessix Gray) sponsored by Portland Arts and Lectures.
6. There were a few new performance venues for readings in 2002. Disjecta opened its doors to two successful Booty Calls, while the movable feast that is Pacific Switchboard has been achieving interesting results by commingling national names with local.
7. The Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission began hosting some entertaining and informative afternoon lectures at Central Library, including a memorable discussion on the work of Alfred Powers (Oregon's greatest literary historian) and an SRO presentation on the art and history of Storefront Theatre.
8. OCHC has also joined forces with Powell's Books to create a press-on-demand publishing house for out-of-print regional titles. This successful venture premiered with Homer Davenport's The Country Boy and Louise Bryant's Six Red Months in Russia.
9. Famed New York Times theater critic Mel Gussow came to town to give a witty lecture (sponsored by Profile Theatre) on the work of Harold Pinter and Edward Albee, among others. Unfortunately, Mr. Gussow was then forced to see a play downtown that left him visibly contemptuous.
10. The "Portland Factor" was again on display at Portland Arts and Lectures' evening with famed Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who revealed to the house his love for the work of William Stafford. No word on what Heaney might think of Kim.
WWeek 2015