In August, WordFest takes a summer break–more time for you to read a good book, or write one!
WordFest’s 2019 fall season begins Tuesday, September 10, 6:00-8:00 pm, at Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway, in Longview.
WordFest on summer break
Yearly Archives: 2019
Local businessman Leroy Nelson explores “Where do we go from here?” at next WordFest
Local businessman and former high school coach Leroy Nelson will be discussing his book, Where Do We Go From Here? at the next WordFest on Tuesday, July 9, beginning at 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.
The book is subtitled “How to Prepare in This Life for the Next.” In his late seventies, Leroy began a serious study of the end-of-life. An uncanny experience accompanying the death of a dear friend prompted him to explore the literature and accounts of death and the possibility of personal consciousness surviving the physical demise of the body.
Now 84, he has produced a book of his research and thoughts. The result is not a religious book, he says, nor is it anti-religious. It reflects different spiritual traditions, East and West, as well as findings from the psychological and sociological disciplines.
Through his studies, he hopes that others will benefit from what he has learned. “It’s all about calming unsettled souls and dealing with unhealthy fears,” says Leroy. At WordFest, he will read and discuss his personal explorations that resulted in the book and take questions from the audience.
Steve Anderson will be reading from the third book of his trilogy, Book of Hours, which centers on the modern restoration of a fourteenth-century prayer book that has been mysteriously hidden away since its creation.
In this final volume, the Book of Hours is complete and sent for binding and presentation to Pope Gregory, but Brother Alphaios is summarily locked out of the scriptorium where he has done his master work. He finds himself exiled to the cold, colorless monastery that lies at the center of the cacophonous, irrepressible city he has come to love.
Steve “wages his battles with sentence construction and sequence” in Longview.
Tania Spaulding, a teacher and writer who has worked in public education and law enforcement, will be reading a selection of her poetry and memoirs, recounting her spiritual journey and struggles. She enjoys art, music, gardening, cooking, and water sports.
There will be an open mic period following the presentations.
The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.
Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.
For more information, contact Alan Rose at www. Alan-rose.com.
Portland before “Portlandia” at June WordFest
The next WordFest explores Portland’s lesser known history on Tuesday, June 11, beginning at 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.
Portland historian and novelist JD Chandler has written four books of local history, published by the History Press, with a new one, JD Chandler’s Portland Rogues Gallery, due in 2020.
Long before it was the funky, liberal, layback “Portlandia” we know, the city had a much darker reputation as being the most racist city outside of the South, where corruption was so common, it was considered just part of city government’s operation, and where, during Prohibition and the distribution of illegal liquor, organized crime and the Portland Police Bureau were often indistinguishable.
JD will be telling some of these stories from the city’s past as captured in two of his books, Murder & Scandal in Prohibition Portland and Hidden History of Portland.
More information is available at http://www.patreon.com/jdchandler
Novelist Jeff Stookey has written a trilogy, titled Medicine for the Blues, set in Portland of the 1920s. The story centers on Dr. Carl Holman, a veteran of the Great War, who is establishing his medical practice as well as a romantic friendship with a young jazz musician named Jimmy Harper. Both, his professional practice and his relationship, are threatened by the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and their virulent anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic influence.
Jeff read from the first book of his trilogy, Acquaintance, at WordFest in 2018. He returns on June 11 to complete the series with the second and third volumes, Chicago Blues and Dangerous Medicine.
Growing up in a small town in rural Washington State, Jeff studied literature, history, and cinema at Occidental College and later earned a BFA in Theater from Fort Wright College. Trained in the medical field, he worked for many years with pathologists, trauma surgeons, and emergency room staff, experience that gives his trilogy added authenticity.
In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, he will be facilitating a panel discussion about Portland’s history of LGBTQ activism on June 24, 2019, Monday, from 7-9 p.m. The panel is part of McMenamins History Pub series at their Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
More information is available at medicinefortheblues.com.
There will be an open mic period following the presentations.
The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.
Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.
For more information, contact Alan Rose at www. Alan-rose.com.
May WordFest combines myth, whimsy, ale and food
Next Tuesday, May 14, WordFest dives into folklore and food, beginning at 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.
Stevan Allred reads from his second novel, The Alehouse at the End of the World, published by Portland’s Forest Avenue Press in November 2018.
When a fisherman receives a mysterious letter about his beloved’s death, he sets off in his skiff to find her. A whale swallows him, then deposits him on the Isle of the Dead, which is ruled by a trio of giant bird gods. The fisherman must negotiate with the self-proclaimed leader—a narcissistic, bullying crow—to return his beloved to physical form. This is an epic comedy set in the sixteenth century, involving bawdy Shakespearean love triangles, shapeshifting avian demigods, and a fertility goddess who’s into bio-dynamic gardening. Stevan’s book is a juicy farce as well as a hopeful fable for our troubled times.
Stevan wowed the WordFest audience several years ago when he read from his first novel, A Simplified Map of the Real World. He teaches creative writing at the Pinewood Table in Portland and his stories have appeared in various literary journals.
Local poet Carolyn Caines has written seven books of verse on topics close to her heart and funny bone, about travel, teaching and family. Her latest collection, The Obstinate Apple, focuses on food as “both the pleasure and bane of our existence.” The title poem is about an apple that would not let someone eat it. Carolyn explains, “True story. Many of these silly poems come from experiences with children who are prone to playing with their food.”
A popular presenter at WordFest, Carolyn is a retired teacher living in Southwest Washington. More than 200 of her poems have appeared in magazines, journals, and newsletters, and have been dramatized on radio and on video.
There will be an open mic period following the presentations.
The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.
Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.
For more information, contact Alan Rose at www. Alan-rose.com.
April WordFest focuses on poets and presidents
Next Tuesday, April 9, WordFest will celebrate poetry as a performance art and also will play with the idea of choosing the U.S. president by lottery. The event begins at 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.
Poet Karen Bonaudi will introduce and demonstrate the “poetry slam” as a popular way to present and experience poems. More performance art than a typical poetry reading, the slam emphasizes dramatic presentation. People are invited to bring their favorite poems, speeches, soliloquies and rants, and Karen will work with them in revealing the full dramatic potential of their words.
Karen, a published poet and past president of the Washington Poets Association, conducts poetry workshops around the state.
The 2016 U.S. presidential election caused many Americans to question once again the partisan mechanisms and machinations by which the nation’s highest office is filled every four years, especially where a candidate can win the Electoral College’s votes while losing the popular vote. In David A. Devine’s speculative political novel, Lottery President, another way is proposed that resonates with the American people, where the president and vice president are chosen by lottery. It becomes a resistance to politics-as-usual. For the first time, regular American citizens without wealth or pedigree can become president and vice president. Lottery President explores what could happen if an election wasn’t decided by red states and blue states, but by the draw of a lottery ticket.
David is the local author of Growing Food God’s Way. He has also written a novel for young adults called Heidi the Hydrator, a health “coming of age” story. He has been an adjunct community college instructor, a trainer in state government, and a real estate broker before becoming an author.
There will be an open mic period following the presentations.
The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.
Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.
For more information, contact Alan Rose at www. Alan-rose.com.