THURSDAY 9/15

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer
Alabama University's Crimson Tide football team is the eye of Warren St. John's Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, and fans of the Tide are the storm surrounding it, an obsessive group of rooters that follow the team around the country in a parade of RVs. St. John, a New York-based writer, returned to his home state to join the crazed fans, buying his own RV and crossing the line from objective observer to eager participant. But what could have turned into a fawning tribute or a mocking chronicle is instead a fun and charming romp across the South. St. John is an engaging and self-effacing tour guide—the type of host who turns quirky details into memorable stories, such as the Hot Food Man who provides spicy pickled foods "so hot they'll make you wanna slap yo mamma." You don't need to care a lick about football to enjoy Rammer Jammer; you just need to find people and their obsessions fascinating. PB Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne, 238-1668, 7:30 pm

Jean Shinoda Bolen
Activist author Bolen presents her newest book, Urgent Message from Mother, a call to the women of the world to pull their collective head out of their ass and start doing what all us stubborn, egocentric, violent men can't: implement positive change. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

FRIDAY 9/16

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald
In Looking Like the Enemy, Gruenewald recounts life as a 16-year-old Japanese girl in a U.S. internment camp, circa 1941. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

SATURDAY 9/17

Inappropriate!
This'll be entertaining enough: performances by novelist/monologue-ist Paul Ash, "freestyle fictionist" Mike Daily, and spoken worder Nora McCrea. Plus, a reading by Daniel Scott Buck from his new book The Greatest Show on Earth. Borders (Downtown), 708 SW 3rd, 221-9814, 7 pm

Xtra Tuf #5
Moe Bowstern's latest issue of his zine about fishing in Alaska is devoted to labor struggles in the crab and salmon industries. It's 192 pages long—more than enough reason to celebrate tonight with the likes of fellow zinester Erick Lyle, storyteller Pat Dixon, and more. Liberty Hall, 311 N Ivy, 310-8430, 7 pm, free

SUNDAY 9/18

Guadalupe Rivera Marin
Public art advocate and Mexican diplomat Marin is now approaching 80, but seems to be going strong. She'll read from her book Diego Rivera the Red. Or catch the Spanish version tomorrow, Sept. 19, at St. Andrew's Catholic Church, 4925 NE 9th, 7 pm, free. First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave, 239-4991, 7 pm, $10-25

Craig Lesley
One of Portland's most successful novelists presents a memoir, Burning Fence, based around his alcohol-damaged Indian foster son, whose violent antics compelled Lesley to seek out his own father, and the remnants of his own difficult past. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

MONDAY 9/19

Annie Duke
See My, What A Busy Week, pg. 15. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

TUESDAY 9/20

Jim Moore
Minnesota poet Moore reads from his new collection, Lightning at Dinner. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 284-1726, 7 pm

Baxter Black
NPR commentator Black presents Hey, Cowgirl, Need a Ride?, the follow-up to his novel, Hey, Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky?. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm

WEDNESDAY 9/21

Jim Lynch
Former Oregonian reporter Lynch presents his debut novel, The Highest Tide, about "one boy's wonder with the sea during the summer that will change his life, and the lives around him." Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 228-4651, 7:30 pm