Literature
& PoetryFebruary
2010
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Literature
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February
2010
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Storefront Project Offers Creative Writing Projects for Youth The Nature of Words has launched The Storefront Project, a creative writing workshop and tutoring site for middle- and high-schoolers at Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe at 135 Minnesota Ave. in downtown Bend. Students can enroll in a four-workshop series on a drop-in basis at no charge. Taking a page from David Eggers’ 826 Valencia concept in San Francisco, which is now in urban centers nationwide, NOW’s Storefront Project offers its workshops and one-on-one tutoring on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-5:30pm with special programs offered on Saturdays. In addition, field trips can be arranged allowing classrooms to visit The Storefront during school hours for creative writing instruction. NOW will host a grand opening event for The Storefront Project at Dudley’s on February 11 at 4pm. Workshops will be theme-based to help inspire young writers, and limited to 15 students. The theme for the winter term is “Outside Looking In.” It is the goal of The Nature of Words to make creative writing cool, to make the Storefront Project a desired place to see and be seen. “The Storefront Project is an exciting extension of our Creative-Writing-in-the-Schools program, since it will bring creative writing opportunities to students who might not otherwise have access to the school-based workshops,” said Ellen Waterston, executive director of the Nature of Words. In conjunction with The Storefront Project, NOW has published The Teachers’ Guide to NOW, a resource to help teachers use NOW’s programs to inspire their students. Those programs include an annual literary festival held the first week of November, and the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition, now accepting submissions, which recognizes young writers ages 15-25 for excellence in fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry and nature essays. Deadline for submissions is May 10, 2010. Teachers who have not received a copy of The Teachers’ Guide to NOW can request a copy by calling The Nature of Words at 541-330-4381 or by emailing info@thenatureofwords.org. Debut Novelist Naseem Rakha Wins 2010 PNBA Book Award Naseem Rakha’s The Crying Tree has won a 2010 Pacific Northwest Booksellers award for fiction. This is Rakha’s debut novel, but she is a well-known, award-winning journalist whose stories have been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition, as well as Marketplace Radio, Christian Science Monitor and Living on Earth. The winners were selected by a committee of independent booksellers from more than 200 nominated titles, each written by a Northwest author and published in 2009. “The Northwest is known for its readers, authors and independent booksellers, and I am honored that The Crying Tree received this recognition from the region’s literary community,” says Rakha. “I keep hearing that the book tells a timely and important story and this award helps validate those comments. From my launch at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, to my visit with a group at the women’s correctional facility in Wilsonville, OR, I’ve been thrilled to see the enthusiasm this story evokes. I again want to say ‘thank you’ to all the wonderful folks who have supported me and I hope the celebration of this award touches those who have graciously invited me into their lives.” The Crying Tree reaches into the heart of a family nearly torn apart by a mother’s act of forgiveness. It is a story of things not being what they seem, family secrets, and how these furtive actions reverberate through many lives. Dramatic, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting, The Crying Tree is an unforgettable story of love and redemption, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the transformative power of forgiveness. Who Wrote the Book of Love? What’s your take on The Grand Passion? The Deschutes Public Library will present a very Valentine’s Second Sunday. February’s theme will be love, and the program will take place on Sunday, February 14 at 2pm in the Brooks Room of the Bend Public Library. Open mic will follow. From Shakespeare’s How do I love thee to Lucille Clifton’s Hips to Philip Memmer’s What He’ll Do If She Leaves, a thousand poets heave taken to pen and paper - sometimes with passion, sometimes with exasperation or regret, sometimes all three at once! - to take on the subject of love. Local poetry groups the Skyhooks (mostly women) and the High Desert Poetry Cell (men) will alternately light up the pages of famous and infamous poet’s words on love, reading both from their own work and across centuries and cultures to explore the wit and wonder of falling in - and out - of love. Then - it’s your turn. Please bring a favorite love poem (your own or another poet’s) to share at the open mic that follows the group readings. Following the reading, there will be a box of chocolates that awaits the luck winner of the Book of Love raffle. www.dpls.us/calendar or Lisa McGean at 541-312-1034. Book Honors Late Writer Jim Witty A different kind of book about Central Oregon is now available just in time for the holiday season. Meet Me in the Badlands, Exploring Central Oregon with Jim Witty is a collection of articles by the late Outing writer for The Bulletin newspaper in Bend. In his articles, Witty took readers with him on the trails, lakes, rivers, desert and mountains of Central Oregon. He had a unique way of capturing the most subtle and intimate details of the Central Oregon outdoors, drawing his readers in and making them feel like they were walking along side of him. Witty’s writing was friendly, outgoing, enthusiastic and humorous -- just like him. Whether you’re a casual hiker or an outdoors junkie, this book is a must-have for Central Oregon visitors and locals alike. Witty passed away unexpectedly on November 17, 2008 and his family and friends took it upon themselves to finish a project he had been talking about for several years; to publish a book of his Outing articles. With the help of The Bulletin and countless volunteers, this dream has become a reality. The book is now available throughout Central Oregon at a cost of $19.95. Book proceeds go directly to The Jim Witty Memorial Fund and will benefit Witty’s wife and sons. Information: www.outings.webs.com or Mark Quon at mquon@quondc.com or 541-617-1911. Cleaning Out Closets Will Never Seem the Same Again Clutter is distracting, and it takes people away from their priorities. That is why there is a real point to getting rid of clutter - and that point is to reclaim your life – especially at this time of year. It is important for all of us to learn how to achieve the benefit of more time and energy for the important things in life – family, work, hobbies – the list is endless. In Clutter Clearing Choices (O-Books), Barbara Tako not only offers practical advice on clutter clearing, home organizing, and simple living, but she does it in a humorous and entertaining way. Readers will undoubtedly be thrilled with the quantity of helpful ideas and resources her book contains and, as Tako is quick to point out, will enjoy the ‘feel good factor’ that comes from donating, recycling, or gifting whatever our excess happens to be. Since we live in a country of consumerism, what better way to utilize our clutter than to pass it on – after all, ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.’ The book offers readers motivating ways to pick and choose which mode of de-cluttering works best for them. Clutter happens to us all – it just does – and it seems to develop a life of its own as it accumulates around us. Countless corporations understand that an unorganized and cluttered worker is not as productive as an organized one. For this reason, Tako’s organizing expertise has earned her so much respect that her services as a guest speaker are often requested by corporate giants such as 3M, Medtronic, Target and Securian. She captivates audiences with her humorous, down-to-earth, common sense strategy, and her advice helps people free up their lives. www.clutterclearingchoices.com One Ring Circus Unveiled by Author Deschutes Public Library will highlight Katherine Dunn, author of the cult classic Geek Love and the recently published One Ring Circus: Dispatches from the World of Boxing during the month of July with programs and readings as part of the Celebrate Oregon Authors series being offered through 2009. The programs are free and open to the public. Dunn is a Portland novelist and journalist. In May, One Ring Circus: Dispatches from the World of Boxing, an anthology of Dunn’s essays about boxing was published. Her essays, written while she was a boxing correspondent for the Associated Press, cover the sport in all its forms and at its many levels. Ranging from portraits of legendary fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Mike Tyson to the unsung stories of trainers, amateurs, promoters, cutmen, and a pair of pugilistic priests, Dunn uses her characteristic vernacular to elevate the sport and communicate its beauty, passion, and character. Dunn's novel Geek Love, tells the unforgettable story of a traveling side show family and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1989. She also wrote the novels Attic (1970) and Truck (1971) and is currently at work on a new book. Born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1945, Dunn went to high school in Tigard, Oregon, and later attended Reed College in Portland. Following her time at Reed, Dunn spent several years in Europe traveling. In addition to writing novels, she has had varied careers as a journalist, house painter, bartender, teacher, radio personality and writer of an advice column. During July, join Deschutes Public Library in celebrating Katherine Dunn. Information 541/312-1032, lizg@dpls.us Handmade and Homecooked: Cookbook author and artist Mary Marquiss will teach a series of cookbook creation classes this summer at Atelier 6000. The classes begin with an overview that free to the public on July 10 at 7pm at Atelier 6000 for the people to learn more about the cookbook creation process, and meet the instructor. The cookbook creation process will be taught with three separate classes, each focusing on a different aspect of the process so students can take one class, a combination, or the series of three. The cost of each class is $95 and a discount is offered when students sign up for all three. To learn more about the classes go to www.marymarquiss.com and click on classes. To sign up for the classes contact Atelier 6000 541/330-8759. A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick Returning to her Midwest roots, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick draws a page from her grandmother’s photo album to capture the interplay between shadow and light, temptation and faith that marks a woman’s pursuit of her dreams.She took exquisite photographs, but her heart was the true image exposed. Fifteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele loves nothing more than capturing a gorgeous Minnesota landscape when the sunlight casts its most mesmerizing shadows. So when F.J. Bauer hires her in 1907 to assist in his studio and darkroom, her dreams for a career in photography appear to find root in reality. With the infamous hazards of the explosive powder used for lighting and the toxic darkroom chemicals, photography is considered a man’s profession. Yet Jessie shows remarkable talent in both the artistry and business of running a studio. She proves less skillful, however, at managing her growing attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer.This luminous coming-of-age tale deftly exposes the intricate shadows that play across every dream worth pursuing–and the irresistible light that beckons the dreamer on. |
EVENTS Bend
Library Farewell
Bend Writers Roundtable Second
Sunday Readings in Bend 419-2389 Redmond
Library 312-1050 La
Pine Library 312-1090 Sisters
Library 312-1072 Sunriver
Area Library 312-1081 Jefferson County Public Library 475-3351 www.jcld.org Central
Oregon Writers Guild
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