A Blistered Kind of Love
Angela and Duffy Ballard tested the limits of their relationship over a grueling 132-mile hike along the entire Pacific Crest Trail. A Blistered Kind of Love is an account of their travels. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne , 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm
Steve Katz
Though he hasn’t published much recently, Katz’s trippy 1970s novel Creamy and Delicious, and his more recent Saw (1998), are both well worth a second glance. Blackfish Gallery , 420 NW 9th Ave, 224-2634, 4 pm, free
Jodi Picoult
The very popular women’s lit. author Picoult presents her latest drama, Vanishing Acts. Annie Bloom’s Books , 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 246-0053, 5 pm
Chelsea Cain
Local writer Cain presents her new book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, a parody of the Nancy Drew books that recently received a rave review in The New York Times. Watch for the Mercury‘s much more influential and well-written review in next week’s issue. Murder By the Book , 3210 SE Hawthorne, 232-9995, 5 pm
Patricia Reilly Giff
Got kids? Got kids who love books? (You better, God help you.) Then bring ’em to hear Patricia Reilly Giff, presenter of Multnomah Library’s 2005 Children’s Author Lecture, and writer of the Newberry Award-winning book Pictures of Hollis Woods. First Congregational Church , 1126 SW Park Ave, 227-2719, 7 pm
David G. Campbell
Campbell reads from A Land of Ghosts, an account of his 30-plus years spent exploring the Amazon Rainforest. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne , 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm Ed Conlon See “My, What A Busy Week!” Pg 19. Powell’s City of Books , 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651, 7:30 pm
Philip Beard
In Beard’s novel Dear Zoe, 15-year-old Tess writes an extended letter to her deceased little sister, Zoe–killed on 9/11–to come to grips with her overturned world. Powell’s City of Books , 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651, 7:30 pm
Maxine Kumin
The Portland Arts & Lectures Poetry Downtown series continues with Kumin, an acclaimed Jewish/New England poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for Up Country. Wieden & Kennedy , 224 NW 13th, 227-2583, 7:30 pm, $5-18
WEDNESDAY 4/13
Gobnights: “The Taxman Cometh”
The onward-marching Gobshite Quarterly lit. rag presents another installment in its series of cabaret nights. Tonight has a “taxes are due” theme and features music by DJ Romo, poets Chris Cotrell and Magdalen Powers, band the Watery Graves, and whoever else isn’t working on their taxes. Noir , 203 SE Grand Ave, 231-2925, 9 pm
Up & Coming Queer Writers
Softskull presents three cool queer writers: Tennessee Jones (Deliver Me from Nowhere, a collection of short stories based on Springsteen’s Nebraska), Charlie Anders (Choir Boy, a novel on growing up transsexual), Andrew Hewitt (author of The Flow Chronicles, about coming out amidst “nightmare hippies”), and Carolyn Connelly (an NYC performance poet and sex educator). Powell’s City of Books , 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651, 7:30 pm