THIS YEAR, Wordstock has no shortage of opportunities for Portlanders to gaze adoringly at their city. Viewed through the lens of Wordstock's offerings, Portland seems like a dynamic and, dare we say it, cultured place. Some highlights:
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Saturday, October 13
Local Historians!
Jewel Lansing's Portland: People, Politics, and Power is a pretty good single volume history of Portland. Lansing and co-author Fred Leeson have a new book Multnomah: The Tumultuous Story of Oregon's Most Populous County. OCT Stage, noon
Local Book That Chuck Palahniuk Liked!
Chuck Palahniuk called James Bernard Frosts' A Very Minor Prophet "the best novel, ever, about [Portland's] strange underground world of misfits and heroes." We have heroes? Work for Art Stage, 1 pm
Local Coffee!
Hanna Neuschwander's Left Coast Roast is all about coffee roasting on the West Coast. It's a book that will inevitably mention Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which, in all probability, you are consuming at this precise moment. Work for Art Stage, 1 pm
Local Self-Published Phenomenon!
If you're going to read one book by an anonymous writer about dating an alcoholic and also doing battle with a horde of ravenous space ants, read
Love Is Not Constantly Wondering if You Are Making the Biggest Mistake of Your Life. It is lovely and heartbreaking, and the second half happens in Portland. OCT Stage, 5 pm
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Sunday, October 14
Local Pulitzer-Havers!
Three local Pulitzer-winning journalists, Tom Hallman Jr., Nigel Jaquiss, and Richard Read, will discuss just what it was they did to win big shiny newspaper trophies. Comcast Stage, noon
Local Book About a Dog!
John Skewes' Larry Gets Lost in Portland is a kids' book about a dog who gets lost in Portland. Presumably, the pooch is found snout-deep in Voodoo Doughnuts. KinderCare Stage, noon
Local Science-Fiction Guy!
Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse got snapped up to be a Spielberg-backed film before it even reached paperback. Gaze upon him with envy, aspiring fiction-makers. McMenamins Stage, 2 pm
Local Literary Journal!
Tin House's latest issue is all about twin homes, Portland and Brooklyn. The very juxtaposition of the two places invites eyerolls, but a preliminary review (okay, Mercury Arts Editor Alison Hallett's) underscores the difference between the two places. Work for Art Stage, 4 pm
Local Kevin Sampsell!
Kevin Sampsell is some guy who works at Powell's. He wrote a book. He'll probably sign it for you. OCT Stage, 4 pm
Local Decemberist!
Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis' Under Wildwood is, naturally, their follow-up to their first book Wildwood, a delightful fantasy book about a girl from Portland. Do not pretend you're too cool to like this. Comcast Stage, 5 pm
