THURSDAY 3/6

Jack Gilbert
Ho-hum, another Pulitzer-Prize-nominated poet breezes through town. PSU, Smith Memorial Center, 1620 SW Park, 725-5666, 7:30 pm, $8

Roy Parvin
Parvin writes stories about loners on the edge of... something. Madness? Discovery? He examines these people with a style like that of a fable. "He was a big man who looked like trouble," begins his new book, In the Snow Forest. Reed College, Vollum Lecture Hall, 3203 SE Woodstock, 777-7755, 7 pm, free

Matt Ruff
From futuristic political satire to schizophrenia expose, Ruff follows his Sewer, Gas & Electric with Set This House in Order, the story of a young man with multiple personality disorder as a result of abuse from his stepfather. Twenty-Third Avenue Books, 1015 NW 23rd Ave, 224-6203, 7:30 pm, free


FRIDAY 3/7

Susan Powter
All right, fatties! Time to get in line to get in shape! Queen of the fitness nazi infomercials Susan Powter is here to trim your blubber and work your mind with her new book, The Politics of Stupid. Barnes & Nobel, 1317 Lloyd Center, 249-0800, 7 pm, free


MONDAY 3/10

James Patterson
Patterson is a human assembly line of potboilers ready-made for screen adaptation. He's also a lot of fun. See My What A Busy Week. Barnes & Nobel, Lloyd Center, 1317 Lloyd Center, 249-0800, noon, free

Welfare Ranching
The latest addition to a long tradition of books about our government's ravaging of the environment. Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm, free

Lidia Yuknavitch & Lance Olsen
In Yuknavitch's latest short story collection, Real to Reel, ingenuity arm wrestles with an over studied tendency towards overly descriptive, intangible writing, leaving the impression that this creative writing teacher is flexing her literary license with the subtlty of a tree trunk. MS Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free


TUESDAY 3/11

Phillip Margolin
Portland lawyer-turned-author Margolin revisits his defense attorney heroine, Amanda Jaffe, in his new novel, Wild Justice. Is he the next John Irving? You be the judge. Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 246-0053, 7:30 pm, free

Watching Sex: How Men Respond to Pornography
David Loftus' controversial new book propagates the notion that porn is "no big deal" and that exposing children to it will do little to no permanent damage. So sit little Billy in front of the telly, pop in Caught From Behind IV and let him go nuts! Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free

Robert Steven Rhine
Comic book writer Rhine presents his new collection of short stories that walk the line between horror and humor. Twenty-Third Avenue Books, 1015 NW 23rd Ave, 224-6203, 7:30 pm, free