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Language Arts

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Ned Blackhawk and the Rediscovery of America

Blackhawk, winner of a 2023 National Book Award for his history of Native life in the U.S. and its historical misrepresentation, speaks in the Oregon Historical Society’s Hatfield Lecture series.

Liz Cheney on Jan. 6 and beyond

Speaking to a Hatfield Lecture Series audience about her book “Oath and Honor,” the former congresswoman talks about Putin, China, Israel/Hamas, Trump’s “Big Lie” and more.

News & Notes: Libraries turn the page

As Central Library reopens in downtown Portland, The Library Foundation takes on new leadership. Plus: A new leader for the Parks Foundation; talking Nevelson and Neel at PNCA.

Jon Franklin, who died last month at 82, taught a generation of journalists – including ArtsWatch’s Brett Campbell -- to apply the power of storytelling to news reporting. Franklin is pictured in 1985 in his University of Maryland office. Photo by: Edwin Remsberg/The Diamondback/University of Maryland University Archives

Jon Franklin and the art of nonfiction

A former student recalls how the one-time University of Oregon and Oregon State professor taught generations of writers to use the techniques of drama to tell true stories.

‘Bad Mexicans’ and the 1910 revolution

Historian Kelly Lytle Hernández talks in a Hatfield Lecture Series program about the “magonistas” dissidents who paved the path for the ouster of the iron-fisted President Porfirio Díaz.

Hank Minor, a master falconer from Sisters, and his Harris hawk, Molly, gave a presentation in September on the art of falconry at the Harney County Library in Burns. Photo courtesy: Harney County Library

Oregon’s rural libraries: Crossroads of community

In small towns, libraries are often the only places that host art and cultural events. Librarians say grants, such as one open this month from Oregon Humanities, are crucial to making that happen.

Dance by the book: Moving stories

From the rhythms of tap to the glories of Nijinska to “Why Dance Matters” and more, Martha Ullman West prepares a list of great dance reads just in time for giving.

‘Scene Shifting’: The Western land in flux

“The view never stays the same for long; never for a moment, actually”: Dan Powell’s book of photos captures moments from an ever-changing landscape in the dry stretches of the West.

Playing Clarence Darrow in Pakistan

In 1997, Portland actor Tobias Andersen portrayed the famous American lawyer at a huge arts festival in the sprawling city of Lahore. In a new book, he tells the story of his adventures.

Tyler Crook (right), chair of the Willamina Public Library board, leads a Saturday drawing workshop. Crook, a professional comics artist, says, “We live in some pretty challenging times and libraries are uniquely suited to provide the things that our community needs." Photo by: David Bates

Willamina Public Library: The little library that could

The library has weathered budget and staff cuts, an unwieldy inventory, and the pandemic to deliver everything from books to workshops, games, and homeless outreach to the Yamhill County community of 2,200.

On writing ‘The Boy from Kyiv’

Marina Harss talks about dance, writing, and her new biography of Ukrainian American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, whose “Wartime Elegy” will be performed Nov. 3-12 in Seattle.

A human view of a civil rights icon

Historian Jonathan Eig talks to a Portland audience about his intimate portrait of MLK Jr.’s American journey in “King: A Life,” the first biography of the human rights crusader in 40 years.

Let the spooky season begin, Posthaste

As Halloween hastens toward us, Tenebrous Press throws a party for “Posthaste Manor,” Jolie Toomajan and Carson Winter’s “new weird horror” novel about a very haunted house.

The Death of Walt Curtis: A Personal Note

“Walt Curtis danced to his words. His hands, his body, his voice, they were all swooping and soaring, loud, rhythmic, theatrical. And his words were setting the beat. I couldn’t believe it.”

Caroline Miller in England and Africa

The former Oregon political figure’s new memoir takes her back to the 1950s and life-shaping experiences from teaching in England to seeing apartheid first-hand.

Remembering August Wilson

As a new biography hits the book stands, Seattle theater critic Misha Berson recalls her own interactions with the late, great American playwright.

CMNW Council
Blueprint Arts Carmen Sandiego
Seattle Opera Barber of Seville
Stumptown Stages Legally Blonde
Corrib Hole in Ground
Kalakendra May 3
Portland Opera Puccini
Cascadia Composers May the Fourth
Portland Columbia Symphony Adelante
OCCA Monthly
NW Dance Project
Oregon Repertory Singers Finding Light
PPH Passing Strange
Maryhill Museum of Art
PSU College of the Arts
Bonnie Bronson Fellow Wendy Red Star
Pacific Maritime HC Prosperity
PAM 12 Month
High Desert Sasquatch
Oregon Cultural Trust
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