Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Tuesday, March 3
Opening night of the Second Annual Rise Above Art & Writing Exhibit! Refreshments will be provided and the reception starts at 6:30, so come on out and support such talented teens! Look for copies of the first Rise Above zine, titled Our World, containing poems, short stories, and artwork created by teens in the program. The exhibit will be on display through March 31.
When: 6:30
Where: Walters Cultural Art Center
Cost: Free
For more information, please email teensriseabove@yahoo.com or visit the Hillsboro Community Arts page at www.hillsborocommunityarts.org

Date: Wednesday, March 4
Randy Shaw, author of Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century, will be at the Multnomah County Central Library as part of their “Writers Talking” series.
When: 6-7:30pm
Where: Central Library, Collins Gallery
Cost: Free
For more information, check out the Multnomah County Library events page at www.multcolib.org


Date: Thursday, March 5
Poet D.A. Powell will be at Lewis & Clark College reading from his new book of poetry, Chronic. Powell’s books of poetry include Tea, Lunch, and Cocktails, a finalist for the PEN West, Lambda, Publishers’ Triangle, and National Book Critics Circle Awards. He has received a Paul Engle Fellowship from the James Michener Center, a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, Academy of American Poets Prize, and the Lyric Poetry Award from the Poetry Society of America.
When: 7pm
Where: Lewis & Clark College, Manor House, Armstrong Lounge
Cost: Free
For more information, please contact Dyann Alkire at 503-768-7405 or visit www.lclark.edu/dept/english/specialevents

Photo Story: Uncle George

"Have you heard the one about Hugh and the monastary? You haven't? (chuckle, chuckle) Well...."

I went to a family reunion a couple of years back. They still let Uncle George have his moment in the spotlight, telling his signature crazy jokes: long, on and on, repetitive and ending in the merest wisp of a punchline. Whether it was the Yellow Fingers, or Motor the Bole Weevil, or Foot, Foot-Foot and Foot-Foot-Foot, they all ended with a total dissappointment among all the kids and big belly laughs from all the adults. I think the adults laughed harder the more disappointed the kids were.

The family reunion I'm talking about was different. I was ready. The moment Uncle George rested after one of his doozies, I lit into a joke I had wound around a chinese fable I had heard somewhere. I felt the getting up on waterskiis, whooshing through the joke with sound effects and repetitiousness, keeping an eye on whether the kids were getting to bored or confused and keeping an eye on Uncle George who was in some form of shock. I wasn't stealing his crown but I was certainly sitting on his throne for a long spell. Magical it was and the punch line did not break any records, but the best thing happened next. My cousin Sally jumped in right after me and took off like a gypsy wagon with three good wheels, wandering through her fairytale world towards who-knows-where. If George had gaped during my story, he was all smiles when Sally was spinning. He knew that the old Shaggy Dog Story was alive and kicking and would be for many more years.

George, I'm saddened to say, is no longer with us. He didn't make many more reunions after that one and I've missed a few myself. But, this summer we're flying from Oregon to Buffalo, NY and driving out to the Fingerlakes to attend a big reunion and we'll meet Sally there. I'm starting to think of one that will make the eyes roll in the front row and make the glasses raise in the back row to Uncle George. Maybe there will be room in my story for old Foot-Foot. How old Foot-Foot was confounded by a Cypress tree...

Photo: "Stupid" by Ramzi Hashisho

Photo Story Prompt: Smiling Man

This week's photo story writing prompt:

Write whatever comes to you--short or long, fiction or truth.

We'd love to see what you come up with! Send your writing in to photostory@indigoediting.com to be posted on our blog with other stories based on the same photo. If you'd like your name, Web site, and contact info to be posted with your story, be sure to include that too. Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Photo: "Stupid" by Ramzi Hashisho

Writing Poetry of the Jewish Experience

Poetry Workshop with Willa Schneberg

Is a Jewish poem something written by a Jewish author, or must it have a Jewish theme? Participants will explore what we consider the Jewish experience through poetry. Poems by Yehudi Amichai, Gerald Stern, Adrienne Rich, Philip Schultz, Marge Piercy, etc. will be considered. Writing exercises will be offered to motivate the creation of poems. Poems written in the workshop will be respectfully critiqued. Time permitting, we will critique a previously written poem by each participant
who chooses to share. Open to all levels of experience.

Location: Oregon Jewish Museum, 310 NW Davis Street (Chinatown)
Date & Time: Sunday, March 15, 1PM - 4PM

Maximum of twelve participants. Suggested Contribution: $75.
If you have financial considerations email the instructor: info@threewayconversation.org.
All Proceeds from the workshop will benefit OJM. For more information check out the events page at www.ojm.org or to register, call OJM: (503) 226-3600 or email Friderike Heuer: friderike@ojm.org

Willa Schneberg received the Oregon Book Award in Poetry for her second collection In The Margins Of The World. Poems have appeared in Tikkun and Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. In 2004, she judged the Ruben Rose Poetry Contest, an international poetry contest sponsored by Voices Israel, a group of Israeli poets writing in English, and read at Bar Ilan and Tel Aviv University. Willa's one woman exhibition of clay sculpture entitled Manifestations of the Divine was on view at Oregon Jewish Museum in 2001. Last year she read at the Library of Congress. Storytelling in Cambodia is her most recent collection. With Judy Margles, Willa has conceived and organized a yearly reading of Oregon Jewish Writers at OJM that is now in its ninth season.

Rise Above Art & Writing Exhibit

Please join the Second Annual Rise Above Art & Writing Exhibit at the Walters Cultural Art Center from March 3rd to 31st. On opening night there will be a reception at 6:30pm and refreshments to kick off the month long event. The Walters Cultural Art Center will also be celebrating its fifth year anniversary, so with music, art demonstrations, poetry, literature, and other events and exhibits there will definitely be something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

Also, be sure to look for copies of the first Rise Above zine, titled Our World. You’ll find short stories, poetry, and artwork all created by teens in the Rise Above Program, proudly showcasing their work for you to enjoy.

Please join in the celebration of these teens’ hard work and creativity by showing your support and coming to opening night on March 3rd!

For more information, email teensriseabove@yahoo.com or go to Hillsboro Community Arts.

Editorial Tip of the Week: "An" and "A", "Oh" and "O"

Confusing such simple words like “an” for “a” is easy to do. What sounds just find in spoken speech can be read completely different in text, so understanding the rules before editing your work is key.

With the indefinite article, deciding between “a” versus “an” depends on the sound of the word preceding it. Use “a” before any word beginning with a consonant sound and “an” before vowel sounds. This of course leads to some issues, like with words beginning with “h”: a hotel, a history, an honor, or an heir. It all depends on whether or not the “h” is pronounced or not, so be sure to read your work carefully.

Using the interjection “oh” is meant to take the place of certain exclamations of emotion, such as “Ow!” for pain, “Ugh!” for distaste, or “No way!” for surprise. “Oh” can be capitalized if at the beginning of a sentence, and usually followed by a comma, like in “Oh, why do you do this to me?” or “The day was amazing, but, oh, I can’t describe it!”. The vocative “O” is always capitalized, never really punctuated, and more commonly seen in poetry or classical literature, “Save us, O Lord…”

For more tips and information, check out the Chicago Manuel of Style online at www.chicagomanuelofstyle.org.

Photo Story: Driftwood

Dear Diary, I'm feeling lousy on a sunny day. How does that happen? My parents are as inconsiderate as possible! I'm turning 14 and it means nothing to them. They drag me to the beach house for the long weekend with none of my friends, nobody around for miles, it seems. The water is still too chilly to even put my feet in. They said Aunt Bettie Jean needs to come out to the beach for a while. Yes, that Aunt Bettie Jean! Even silence and being alone are better than her trying to cheer me up with Lowcountry history or news of the Water Festival (so original! a festival for water!). Sugar, this, and Sugar, that. "Did ahh evah tell y'all about the devil livin' in the Cypress?" I'm to watch the beach for driftwood while my parents go pick her up! Honestly, has there ever been a birthday with such an exciting theme: driftwood. Which makes me think... Maybe I am driftwood. Born in Jersey, moved down to South Carolina, had to ditch all my friends in Kindergarten, had to make new friends with this new accent and all the sand and red dirt. Still, I'm not dirt, no! I'm driftwood! All the bark has been stripped away and yet, there's still something left of me and I'm not giving up. I saw this crab at the bottom of a pool of water, and I couldn't help but feel the same way, isolated, trapped, waiting for the tide to come in and rescue me.... OMG, Diary, it's so good to find you again! I almost left you out all night on the beach. Yes, my parents are totally crazy! They brought Cherry Ann, Trish and Amelia and enough Sun chips to get us all wound up! My startled face is on every one's cell phone and my 14th birthday will go down as one of the best. I'm sorry I was so gloomy and crabby. I promise to give my parents a little more credit and I'll be nice to Aunt Bettie Jean next time I see her. Maybe I'll give her some driftwood. ;) Photo: "Oh, These Photographers!" by Joanna Margueritte

Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Saturday, February 21
Chelsea Cain, New York Times bestselling author and Oregonian columnist, will be at the Multnomah Central Library as part of their Writers Talking series. Her works include Confessions of a Teen Sleuth: A Parody, The Hippie Handbook , and more recently her femme fatale serial killer series, Heartsick, Sweetheart, and Evil at Heart (due out in September).
When: 1-2:30pm
Where: Multnomah Central Library, US Bank Room
Cost: Free
For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library webpage at www.multcolib.org/events/writers

Date: Saturday, February 21
Angela Davis, writer, scholar, and activist, will be giving a lecture at Reed College this weekend. She is involved in the economic, racial, and gender struggle for equality and has most recently been teaching at U.C. Santa Cruz as the professor of the History of Consciousness. Her most recent books include Abolition Democracy: Beyond Prisons, Torture, and Empire and Are Prisons Obsolete?
When: 7pm
Where: Reed College, Kaul Auditorium
Cost: Free
For more information, visit www.reed.edu/bhm

Date: Monday, February 23
Paul Gerhards, author of Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of Buddha will be at the Looking Glass Bookstore, lecturing on “One Thing Every Author Needs to Know about Book Publishing.”
When: 7pm
Where: Looking Glass Bookstore, 7983 SE 13th Ave
Cost: Free
For more information, visit www.lookingglassbook.qwestoffice.net

Date: Thursday, February 26
Lewis & Clark College Alum Adam Bradley will be returning to Portland to discuss his new book Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop. Bradley argues that by understanding the language and rhythm of rap and hip hop, we can better understand the modern poetry of our generation. His book explores this new poetry and uncovers the complexity of this unique art form.
When: 7pm
Where: Lewis & Clark College, John R. Howard Hall, Room 102
Cost: Free
For more information, contact Rosie Ayala at the Lewis & Clark Office of Multicultural Affairs at 503-768-7743 or www.lclark.edu/dept/ethnic

Date: Thursday, February 26
Miriam Gershow, whose work has appeared in the 2008 Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories anthology, the Quarterly West, Gulf Coast, the Nimrod International Journal, and Black Warrior Review, will be at Powell's on Hawthorne reading from her book The Local News.
When: 7:30pm
Where: Powell’s on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Cost: Free
For more information, visit www.powells.com

Photo Story Prompt: Oh, These Photographers!

This week's photo story writing prompt:

Write whatever comes to you--short or long, fiction or truth.

We'd love to see what you come up with! Send your writing in to photostory@indigoediting.com to be posted on our blog with other stories based on the same photo. If you'd like your name, Web site, and contact info to be posted with your story, be sure to include that too. Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Photo: "Oh, These Photographers!" by Joanna Margueritte

Editorial Tip of the Week: Oh Snap! The Exclamation Point!

Let’s face it. Exclamation points are fun! Exciting! Stimulating! Over used! Distracting! Using too many takes away from the emotions you’re trying to convey or the extreme situations your characters are in. However, when used properly, the exclamation point is a great way to bring attention to an outcry or ironic remark, especially in dialogue.

It can be used in rhetorical questions that are essentially exclamations, such as “How can you possibly believe that!” or “When will I ever learn!” It can also be used for sound, like “grr!” or “meow!” but if you're writing something a little more academic, minimal use of the exclamation point is highly recommended.

Using it at the end of an interjection or insistent remark is a good start, but be warned to use it sparingly. Too many exclamation points, like using too many all-capitalized words, will definitely make your writing appear either over dramatic or even a little intimidating to your reader. Unless you’re trying to scare your reader away from your work and out of the room, use caution! Check out the Chicago Manual of Style at www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.

Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Tuesday, February 17
Celebrating their 25th year, Portland Arts & Lectures will be commemorating their milestone with reporter, humorist, poet, and longtime supporter Calvin Trillin who had the honor of being Portland Arts & Lectures' first speaker back in 1984. He is a former reporter for the Times as well as the New Yorker, a current columnist and weekly poet for the Nation, and author of a wide variety of books. This event is sponsored by The Oregonian.
When: 7:30
Where: Newmark Theater
Cost: $25, $35, $55 through PCPA box office or Ticketmaster
For more information, visit www.literary-arts.org

Date: Thursday, February 19
It’s that time again! The Third Thursday Community Writing Workshop hosted by HOTLIPS Pizza and Write Around Portland is back. Breakfast pastries, coffee, and tea will be served as you experience the joy of community writing!
When: 9am-11am
Where: HOTLIPS Pizza, 2211 SE Hawthorne
Cost: $25 suggested donation. Proceeds go directly toward funding Write Around Portland workshops and programs for people affected by HIV/AIDS, veterans living with PTSD, survivors of domestic violence, people living with mental illness, homeless youth, and many others. Pre-registration is encouraged, so please email hotlips@writearound.org with your name, phone number, and date of the workshop you would like to attend.
For more information, please visit www.writearound.org or hotlipspizza.com

Date: Thursday, February 19
Come support a local novelist and journalist! Katherine Dunn, author of Shadow Boxers and Geek Love will be having a fiction reading at Lewis & Clark College. One Ring Circus, a collection of her essays on boxing, will appear in May of this year. This event is co-sponsored by Watzek Library Special Collections and the Lewis & Clark English Department. Refreshments will be served!
When: 7pm
Where: Lewis & Clark College, Manor House, Armstrong Lounge
Cost: Free
For more information, please contact Dyann Alkire at 503-768-7405 or visit the Lewis & Clark English Department Web site.

Photo Story: Promenade

I took this picture last year, about this time. Frankly, it's from a roll of film that was one of so many. Luckily there's snow in the picture, that tells me roughly when I took it. Eight months I was in England, taking classes during the week and going anywhere to take pictures and soak up European vibes before I had to go back to University. Not having any big career plans, not even having a job waiting for me, graduating in the worst job market ever, these pictures don't mean a whole lot now.

Still, I learned something when I was away for a year. I learned about how small the world was and how small my goals had been before. You can see dreams that were built by people who had a vision, nations that were forged and have to continually defend their right to hang their flag. You can see monuments that were built twenty, thirty times as many years ago as my ivy-covered university. It makes you wonder what mark you can make.

I put this picture above my desk where I write my essays and papers. It's not a picture I'd mind losing, I haven't framed it. But, I printed it and stuck it up because more than any other picture, it seems to suggest that there's something more important than monuments and flags. That at the center of it all is a love that breathes and walks. I remember looking all over England and hoping to find something, and now I'm envious of this bloke who walks step by step with his lifelong love.

Do I watch my step when I should be taking in the view? Do I gaze in wonder when I should pay more attention underfoot? Will I reach my palace some day or am I walking in the wrong direction. Is she there for me? or will the music end and there's only one chair? Is this scrabble of words worth saving like that picture? or is it too obvious that I'm avoiding my SoAn paper?

Jean, I'm sending you this picture because it's dawning on me that that this Valentine's day may be the first of so many... take a walk with me and we'll see where the path may lead. I don't have a castle, but I'll let you have the chair if you like.

Love, Cy

Photo Story Prompt: Promenade

This week's photo story writing prompt:


Write whatever comes to you--short or long, fiction or truth.

We'd love to see what you come up with! Send your writing in to photostory@indigoediting.com to be posted on our blog with other stories based on the same photo. If you'd like your name, Web site, and contact info to be posted with your story, be sure to include that too. Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Photo: "Promenade" by Claudia Meyer

Making a Splash

This year's Ink Splash youth writing workshop was another great success. We examined culture and traditions in their various forms and discussed how they can be added to a piece of writing to add depth. They're also a great tool for showing the reader details about character and setting.


Our participants this year rocked! We had fourteen young writers, grades six through twelve, and they seemed to bond almost immediately. Before the workshop even began, they were standing in a circle--in true teenage fashion--and laughing about their various school experiences. The facilitators looked over from our mini discussion in the corner and just went, "Wow!"

The writing was just as awesome as the participants. We're hoping all the participants will submit their writing to be considered for publication in Ink-Filled Page. We'll have our work cut out for us in choosing the top four, though!


At the end of the workshop, the participants went home with goodie bags worth over $100 each, thanks to donations from Portland's amazingly supportive publishing community. This year's sponsors included: Amber Lotus, Dark Horse Comics, Ink & Paper Group, Oni Press, Ooligan Press, Pastrycat, St. Johns Bookstore, and the Writers' Dojo. Teen Ink was also a great supporter and donated a few issues for each teen to take home.



I'd also like to send out a huge thank you to our facilitators Jan Underwood, Kristin Thiel, and Jeff Selin for their generosity in donating their time to make this event happen.

Stay tuned for more workshops in the future. We're considering expanding Ink Splash to occur more often, perhaps quarterly or even weekly during a semester or summer program. What would work best for you? We want to hear it! Please take a moment to complete the poll in the sidebar.

Thanks again to all our participants, sponsors, and facilitators!

Editorial Tip of the Week: How To Avoid the Misplaced Comma

I am a comma-happy person. I place commas wherever I can in my writing, usually causing my sentences to go on and on for lines at a time. In longer works my commas make an appearance in almost every sentence on the page. Unfortunately, in the end my writing looks messy and disorganized with too many pauses to really understand what the original topic was to begin with. Surprisingly, this is a common problem for most writers.

Normally, the comma is the indication of a break or pause in the sentence. It is used after introductory phrases or words, such as however or therefore, which call for a slight break in the sentence. This pausing method can be, and usually is, abused. In The King’s English, H. W. Fowler points out that writers “have an occasional feeling that here or hereabouts is the place for a comma.” Writers beware! Too many commas are distracting to the reader and lead to wordy and unnecessary phrasing.

How can we avoid this problem? When re-reading your work, take each pause into consideration and meditate on its importance. Will the pause have more of an impact here or later on? Do I need this pause at all? Are six commas really necessary in this one sentence? If you’re still not sure, check out the more black-and-white rules in The Chicago Manual of Style and The King’s English. Your sentences will thank you.

Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Monday, February 9th
Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of 16 novels including Firefly Lane and Home Again, will be reading and signing copies of her newly released novel True Colors. True Colors explores the bonds of sisterhood through the different trials and tribulations that threaten to break it and, ultimately, what it really means to be a family.
Where: Borders Books & Music, 687 NW 12th, Gresham
When: 7pm
Cost: Free
For more information, visit www.borders.com

Date: Tuesday, February 10th
Our very own Ink-Filled Page author Kessa Shipley will be sharing her travel stories, painting vivid pictures of Mexico, America, and more. Come share in this literary experience and indulge your sweet-tooth as we will be creating our own candy shop for the occasion.
When: 7pm
Where: St. Johns Bookstore, 8822 N. Lombard, Portland
Cost: Free
For more information, visit indigoediting.com

Date: Tuesday, February 10th
A couple of years ago, authors Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Gilbert met during a writers’ conference and through a series of letters became fast friends. They will be at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, discussing topics ranging from their literary works to their friendship to their own unique creative processes. Patchett is the author of such works as Truth and Beauty and Run while Gilbert’s legacy includes The Last American Man and her bestselling Eat, Pray, Love.
Where: Portland Center for Performing Arts
When: 7:30pm
Cost: $12-28*
For more information, visit www.pcpa.com
*currently, this event is sold out, but I wanted to post it anyway. How great is it when two talented writers want to share their experiences and the stage at the same time? Sounds amazing!

Photo Story: Bike

Here's the thing, the last time I saw you, you had the delivery job, you had that tricky riding between the cones, you talked about the circus, the triathalon, the possibility of adding a baby seat. And now, I can't imagine that any of that is possible. You're a lawn ornament!

Can I just say that that that delivery job was not going anywhere...

Compared to right now it was, compared to right now, I should say that a delivery job has everything to do with going somewhere, coming back, going somewhere new...

But it was not my dream...

So, you had a dream of hanging out with Mr. Rusty here by the old brick wall on every day of the week that ends with a "Y"?

You don't understand.

I don't understand, I don't understand why you have a sturdy seat, a fresh coat of oil on your chains, enough air in your tires to take you to Snake River and over, but you're just leaning and that excuse for a bouquet of flowers that you carry is starting to take root on the surface of the very same wall you're so attached to. I see bikes at thrift stores getting a new lease on life, I see bikes that are handed down generation after generation. I see bicycles that are transformed into merry-go-rounds. And I see you in a race with a lone, rusty wagon wheel, and quite frankly, I think he's gaining on you.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do...

Your grandmother had a wooden seat, wooden wheels, and no brakes. They simply had to stop pedaling to stop. Pedaling backwards actually made her go backwards.

I'm half crazy all for the love of you...

You know what? I think you might make your name as a lawn ornament! There might be an imminent mudslide, you're preserved in your present condition, and civilization a thousand years from now will unearth you and they will receive your message of passive, nature-embracing, inertia-fighting, resistance to employment and their aggressive, over-worked, commercialistic totalitarianism will snap deep inside and a change, lordy lordy, a change will come over them that will return all of the universe into a more pleasant configuration.

It won't be a stylish marriage.

I can't afford a carriage.

May I say something now? I can tell that you're very concerned with my plans, my future. I wouldn't want your friends to look down on you for the state of my spokes. I get the irony of my situation, being a vehicle that's not in motion. Still, I don't get the vibe. Are you comparing me to a wheel that I just happen to be standing next to? Is my character dictated by speed, distance, velocity and direction? All bikes have a kickstand, all that I've ever seen. If you have a kickstand, doesn't that mean they stand still from time to time? You complimented my chain, my seat, you're not afraid of building me up a little, but is there some great threat that a couple of flowers is presenting. We're not growing younger, but don't we have time to stop and smell the flowers?

I do like white flowers.

See, that was a small compliment...

They could use some water.

Sheesh!

Ink-Filled Page Reading & Chocolate Tasting

Ink-Filled Page author Kessa Shipley will share her varied travel stories about Mexico, America, and beyond. Through her words, we'll visit candy shops, hot dog stands, and plazas full of demonstrators.

Meanwhile, we'll make an ad lib candy shop stocked with international dulces so you can feed your sweet cravings while feeding your literary yearnings.

Join us!

Tuesday, February 10, 7 p.m.
St. Johns Bookstore

8622 N. Lombard
Portland
Free

Photo: "Chocolate Cookies" by Teodora Vlaicu

Photo Story Prompt: Flower Box Bike

For your inspiration, here's the writing prompt of the week:


Write whatever comes to you--short or long, fiction or truth.

If you feel so inclined, send your writing in to photostory@indigoediting.com to be posted on our blog with other stories based on the same photo. If you'd like your name, Web site, and contact info to be posted with your story, be sure to include that too. Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Everybody Reads 2009: Stubborn Twig

What if an entire city read the same book? According to Multnomah County Library, "We'd talk to each other about issues that matter and we'd celebrate the power of books in creating a stronger community." That's the premise behind Everybody Reads 2009, the seventh annual Everybody Reads Project for the library. This year's featured book is the Oregon Book Award winner Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler. Originally published in 1993, Stubborn Twig is the true story of three generations of a Japanese-American family living in the Pacific Northwest.

Pick up a free copy of the book to borrow at any Multnomah County Library or purchase one at participating bookstores like Broadway Books and Powells.

There are a variety of discussion groups, events, lectures, and activities happening through February. You can also take a survey to give feedback on book ideas for Everybody Reads 2010. Learn more at http://www.multcolib.org/reads/.

Photo Story: Grunge Car

I clearly had been rather upset at the time, my memory can still trace the lines I followed and the lines I crossed. Still, there weren't so many bricks at the time, the walls seemed lower, there appeared to be an alley through which I saw daylight. You ask me if I was drunk or on drugs or if I was trying to hurt someone, myself maybe. You weren't there. I can't admit everything to you. The dents will not stop me from moving on. They shouldn't stop me, but I fear the drive is over. Someone has left me here and I still have a lot of miles left in me, miles I will never get to enjoy. There're going to haul me away backwards and I'm just going to rust somewhere. I put a lot of work into going somewhere and now I have to hope someone robs a piece of me and carries me away, uses me to help them go forth and find a wall to crash into. Take me.