It’s Risk/Reward, Portland’s West Coast micro-performance fest.
Alison Hallett
Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Posted inMovies & TV
Mating Rituals of the Millennial
Abortion Gets Rom-Comical in Obvious Child
Obvious Child will forever be “the abortion movie”—but it’s also a great romcom.
Posted inEvents
It’s Happening Tonight!
SCIENCE—Like a bright torch shining into Portland’s anti-fluoride, anti-vaccine, anti-GMO darkness, NPR’s Science Friday comes to town with a live taping focusing on current science—with charming, whip-smart host Ira Flatow welcoming both local experts and an audience Q&A. Behold! Science Wednesday! EHOMSI, 1945 SE Water, 7 pm, $20-25, all agesMUSIC—With notable exceptions (Crimson, Louis XIV, […]
Posted inBooks
Cory Doctorow’s Coming to Washington County Libraries
Earlier this month, Cory Doctorow’s book Little Brother was pulled from a school-wide summer reading program at Booker T Washington High in Pensacola, Florida—for “questioning authority” and “lauding ‘hacker culture,’” according to Doctorow. In response, the novelist and Boing Boing editor arranged for 200 copies of the book to be sent to students. That sort […]
Posted inEvents
It’s Happening Tonight!
MUSIC—Singer/songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield can do whatever she wants, from heartland country-folk to damaged post-blues confessionals. Her third album, Make My Head Sing, is her most extreme yet, pairing the Ohio native’s blue-moon vocals with crunching, grungy rock. NLw/Israel Nash; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12-14BLUME—Judy Blume is a goddamn national treasure, and […]
Posted inEvents
It’s Happening Tonight!
MUSIC—When Mississippi Studios started, it was a tiny li’l spot. Now it’s a grownup venue with a great big showroom, but as a throwback to the old days, they’re hosting intimate Monday performances in Radar Restaurant next door. This week’s guest for “Under the Radar” is the always-amazing local folk luminary Laura Gibson, who recently […]
Posted inEvents
What Are You Doing this Weekend?
Courtney Ferguson: “I’m going to go eat some BBQ at Clay’s tonight… because mmmm. Saturday I’m going stand-up paddleboarding (SUP, dawg) in the Willamette before heading to the Rose City Rollers Championships roller derby games at Memorial Coliseum. Then Sunday, I’m roller skating through the rainbow-colored streets for the Pride Parade. Come throw candy at […]
Posted inEvents
Win Tickets to Russian Roulette
Back Fence PDX: Russian Roulette is a storytelling series that asks participants to spin a giant wheel full of story prompts, and gives them five minutes to come up with a true story based on the prompt they receive. This weekend’s installment of the popular series sees the return of previous winners Jessica Lee Williamson […]
Posted inBooks
Local Zinester Explains How to Have Those Tough Conversations (With Your Cat)
Tonight at LitHop PDX, Zach Auburn will debut his new zine “How to Talk to Your Cat About Evolution.” It’s the followup to “How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety” read more about that one here. I just thought you should know. Zach’ll have copies of the zine at his reading at Ampersand […]
Posted inEvents
It’s Happening Tonight!
COMICS—It’s been three years, but to the earth every last beautiful thing must go. The Mercury’s Erik Henriksen and Alison Hallett are pulling the plug on their co-produced, fantastically fun Comics Underground, and they’re going out with a bang with comics readings from favorites Benjamin Dewey, Joëlle Jones, Jeff Parker, Matt Fraction, and more. Hot […]
Posted inBooks
Plan Your LitHop: A Quick Guide to Portland’s Literary Pub Crawl
LitHop PDX is Portland’s own literary pub crawl, putting a local spin on the national LitCrawl model. The series debuted at last year’s Wordstock; it was a “qualified success,” I wrote at the time, featuring tons of great performers and a few logistical issues that came with trying to cram readings into places readings don’t […]
Posted inBooks
Righting the Wrongs
Local Smith Henderson’s Must-Read Debut
Smith Henderson’s debut is a must-read for fans of local fiction.