Graywolf Press The 2014 National Book Awards were a shitshow—yes, there was Ursula K. Le Guin’s beautiful tirade against Amazon, but then there was Daniel Handler’s pretty racist “joke,” and a huge snub in the poetry category. Rather than awarding Claudia Rankine’s incredibly timely, structurally innovative, literally I can’t say anything bad about it book […]
Megan Burbank
Posted inBooks
This Week in Art: Big Ed! Badass Antiheroines! Old-Timey Gangsters! And… Daniel Handler
Danielle Mathias COMEDY HAUL Big Ed Barnham’s got some great finds. BIG ED BARNHAM’S ONE OF A KIND BIG FIND OF THE WEEK—Temple Lentz wrote a delightful preview of Big Ed Barnham’s One of a Kind Big Find webseries, which returns to your computer screen next week. If you have no idea who Big Ed […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Ferguson Update, A Triumph for Anti-Vaxxers, and Some Shitty News for Ohio
In case you missed it, Nick Caleb, Concordia University professor and onetime challenger to Commissioner Dan Saltzman, says he’ll run against Commissioner Steve Novick in the upcoming city council race. Oh hey, the Columbia Building cost $11.5 million to build and now it’s killing birds. Oregon could have been the third state in the union […]
Posted inBooks
The Antiheroine You’ve Been Waiting For
Welcome to the Winter of Elisa Albert’s Discontent
Welcome to the winter of Elisa Albert’s discontent.
Posted inArtsy
Make Your Text Messages Even More Cryptic—with Cindy Sherman Emojis!
Earlier this week, I received a text message from an art-loving friend that caused me such delight, the only way I can express its brilliance is to simply reproduce it here: Megan Burbank THE STUFF OF TEXT MESSAGE DREAMS. Do you see that? WHY, IT’S THE MANY FACES OF RENOWNED AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER CINDY SHERMAN. Inside […]
Posted inBooks
Know Your City’s Know Your Rights: Don’t Get Evicted Gets a Release Date
Know Your City If you’ve ever dealt with a corrupt landlord or any housing-related emergency, you’ve probably sought out a tenants’ rights handbook. These are generally helpful resources, but they can be difficult to find if you don’t know where to look, and they’re occasionally stuffed with legalese to the point of uselessness. Enter Know […]
Posted inBooks
Go Do Some Art: Poetry Press Week Wants You!
Poetry Press Week Designing poetry readings that aren’t sleep-inducingly dry but also aren’t delivered in a hammy, annoying performance style is QUITE A TASK, but also a noble one, which is why Portland’s Poetry Press Week is a very good idea. The seasonal showcase features poetry, but not as you usually hear it—instead of simply […]
Posted inArtsy
Portland’s Olivia Darlings Just Say No to America’s Got Talent
Well, here’s something lovely to brighten your Friday afternoon: Portland’s own land-based synchronized swimming team, the Olivia Darlings, were invited to take part in America’s Got Talent, but had some qualms about the contract AGT would be making them sign—and no wonder, the contract has raised concerns about performers’ privacy and decision-making about their acts. […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
This Week in Art: The Boatmaker, Outsider Art at Adams & Ollman, and The Night Alive
Adams and Ollman ARNOLD JOSEPH KEMP’S “What Actually Happens (See Black Say Red),” at Adams and Ollman. JOHN BENDITT, THE BOATMAKER—Joe Streckert plunged into John Benditt’s spare and true prose in The Boatmaker: The unadorned prose gives the entire reading experience a blank, strange feeling; without descriptive language, Benditt creates the kind of eeriness evoked […]
Posted inContest
Win a Pair of VIP Tickets to Saturday’s Back Fence PDX!
In a town that’s crawling with live storytelling events, Back Fence PDX is one of Portland’s warmest and funniest, and you could go this weekend! For free! And even better, you can impress your bookish date with VIP tickets, because we’re raffling off four pairs of ’em for Saturday’s show. The night’s theme is “Something […]
Posted inNewsblast!
Good Morning, News: Fruit Knife Attacks, Superbugs, and Workers’ Comp
First things first. Yes, they’re keeping the damn sign! In case you missed it yesterday, here’s what’s happening to the Sandy Hut. In Seoul, US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was attacked by an assailant wielding “a small fruit knife” and some horrible ideas. Lippert’s been hospitalized. The DOJ Report on Ferguson: Just as […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
So Damsel! Much Distress! Wow!
Don’t Mistake The Night Alive for a Love Story
Don’t mistake The Night Alive for a love story.