This Week in the Mercury

The Lawless Frontier

Music

The Lawless Frontier

Laura Gibson Encamps and Finds Confidence in La Grande


A Different Drum

Music

A Different Drum

Neal Morgan Follows First Impulses



  |  

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Books Readings Tonight!

Posted by Alison Hallett on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 1:39 PM

ldm-logo-2.png

Opium Magazine has hosted "Literary Death Match" events in New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Beijing, Los Angeles, London, Seattle, Paris, and Raleigh. And tonight, after sampling the charms of Raleigh and Denver, the event finally comes to Portland. What it is:

Four authors "perform" their work—give 8-minute-or-less readings, with an emphasis on entertainment value and humor. Three judges critique the performances, humorously (but gently). Two writers advance to the finals, where, according to press materials, "the show's literary sensibility [is traded in] for an absurdly comical climax to decide the winner."

I like absurdly comical climaxes. Most readings are terrifically boring. It's rare in Portland to see readings organized around the premise of not being boring. The authors reading tonight each represent a Portland literary organization—Jeff Hardison's repping storytelling series Back Fence; Riley Michael Parker, publisher Future Tense Books; Kerry Cohen, Writer’s Dojo; and Arthur Bradford, Tin House. Having read Cohen's book, seen Parker and Bradford read, and gotten into a drunken argument with Hardison, I'm grudgingly putting my money on Hardison.

Judges are OPB's poet-in-residence Scott Poole, the Dandy Warhols' Zia McCabe, and mystery-writin' hotshot Chelsea Cain.

The Blue Monk, 3341 SE Belmont, $10, 8:30 pm, with an afterparty at 10 pm

Also tonight, at various Powell's locations:

At the Hawthorne store, Keith Stern outs gays through the ages in Queers in History.

At the downtown Powell's, Jennie Shortridge reads from When She Flew, "a new novel about faith, family, and finding the courage to do the right thing." (I think that description may have been generated by a computer program.)

And at the Beaverton store, Ethan Gilsdorf reads from Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, "a new memoir about Monty Python, Dungeons and Dragons, and finding the courage to embrace your inner murloc." (Reviewed here by the Mercury's resident expert on all things nerdish, Erik Henriksen).

 

Comments (6) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Yeah the literary death march thing sounds like a refreshingly good idea in this area. Maybe even someone who likes books but otherwise wouldn't be caught dead at a reading would go to one of these and enjoy it.
Posted by Commenty Colin on November 12, 2009 at 2:30 PM · Report
2
I've got the beer helmets if you've got the homemade signs with bible verses on them.
Posted by atomic on November 12, 2009 at 2:42 PM · Report
3
atomic, to find me, look for this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/century_hawk/…
Posted by Commenty Colin on November 12, 2009 at 2:51 PM · Report
4
It's cool, I'm gonna get to this bastard early. Woooo!
http://www.freedomgrill.com/images/Eileen-…
Posted by atomic on November 12, 2009 at 3:21 PM · Report
5
Jagarbombs on me.


Posted by Alison Hallett on November 12, 2009 at 3:28 PM · Report
6
@ Commenty Colin:

I would think a "literary death march" is *precisely* where one would be caught dead at a reading.
Posted by mosesjackson on November 12, 2009 at 5:55 PM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use