Hoffman Center Blog

Cheryl Strayed to read from her novel Torch

Cheryl Strayed will read from her novel Torch at the Manzanita Writers’ Series at 7 pm on Saturday, March 20, at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita.

Torch was a finalist for the Great Lakes Book Award and was selected by The Oregonian as one of the top ten books by Pacific Northwest authors.

Strayed shows a deep appreciation for the rhythms of small-town life, capturing the sense of community, the struggle to earn a living, and also the disdain for “city apes.” In addition, she discerns within one family’s crisis the painful, shifting nature of familial relationships.

— Booklist

Strayed’s award-winning stories and essays have appeared in over a dozen magazines, journals, and anthologies. Her personal essays, “Heroin/e” and “The Love of My Life,” were both selected for inclusion in the prestigious Best American Essays collections and she has published in magazines such as the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, Allure and The Sun. She has her MFA in Fiction Writing.

She has sold her upcoming memoir Wild,to Alfred A. Knopf in a mid-six figure deal.

 Strayed lives in Portland, Oregon with her filmmaker husband, Brian Lindstrom, and their two children.

 Following the author reading and Q&A, the popular Open Mic session will provide opportunities for the audience to hear nine local writers read from their original work. Interested writers sign up at the door to read; first come, first to read.

Writers interested in reading should check out the Open Mic guidelines and come prepared to read your original piece of work in five minutes or less.

Jennie Shortridge at the first Manzanita Writers' Series event in June 2008

Get ready for another fascinating line-up for the Manzanita Writers’ Series in 2010.  We’re welcoming back Jennie Shortridge to kick off the year on January 16 with her new book–When She Flew.  It’s a suspenseful and heartwarming story inspired by the true story of a man and his daughter who were living in Portland’s Forest Park.

On February 20, we’ll feature three finalists from the Oregon Book Awards.  Gina Ochsner will be reading from her novel The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight; Bonnie Henderson will read from her non-fiction work Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris; and Carmen Bernier-Grand will be reading from her young adult book Diego: Bigger Than Life.

On March 20, Seattle author Stephanie Kallos will be reading from her new book, Sing Them Home.  Her first novel, Broken For You, was a big hit with Northwest book clubs.

Click on the Manzanita Writers’ Series 2010 Schedule to see the other authors we have coming this year.  If you’re a writer, be sure to check out the wide array of writers’ workshops we’re offering.

Karen Karbo shared her extensive research on fashion icon Coco Chanel

Prior to Karen Karbo’s presentation on November 21st, I hadn’t thought much about Coco Chanel.  I had equated the designer with those little suits that Nancy Reagan wore.  But after the evening was over, I had a whole new picture of Coco Chanel.  She was a resourceful, innovative, and determined woman, whose story is an inspiration to anyone with an ‘impossible’ dream.

Karbo’s new book, The Gospel according Coco Chanel–Life Lessons From the World’s Most Elegant Woman, takes an unusual approach.  It’s not a biography, although you’ll learn all sorts of things about Coco’s life, but rather a sort of philosophy book.  On Style:  ”Anything that’s got simple lines, skims the body, is easy to move in, and affords the loading on of a lot of jewelry is Chanel.” Nothing quirky or trendy or cheesy.  And it doesn’t have to cost a lot.  I guess I can finally get rid of those uncomfortable, low-cut, acid-washed designer jeans.

On Self-Invention: “Chanel had several things going for her–not the least of which was the sting of necessity, which forced her to inventory her modest advantages and figure out how to leverage them.  Her list was short, but would serve her in good stead for the rest of her life:  a. Her looks, b. Her mind, including her powers of observation, c.  Her ability to gallop a horse through the forest.”

Okay, so maybe Chanel’s list was a little longer, but it was great fun listening to Karbo weave her tale.  Everybody loves to hear someone’s path from literal poorhouse to the glamorous world of Paris and fashion.  It certainly did a lot more for me than watching one of those horrible reality shows.  Not that I do.  Hey, I don’t even have cable.

Matt Love read from his collection --Super Sunday in Newport-- and quizzed the audience on Oregon facts.

The highlight of the Dark & Stormy Book Weekend was Saturday night’s evening author reading.   Author and publisher, Matt Love read from his new book Super Sunday in Newport and was followed by the Open Mic.  Over 70 people came to listen and/or to read.

Love engaged the audience immediately with his “true Oregonian” contest and prize. He started the group standing up, telling people to sit down when they could not answer yes to one of his questions.

“Have you visited Crater Lake?’

“Have you sat on the beach by a bonfire?”

“Have you been to the Country Fair?”

The questions continued until only one person was still standing.

Sharlene Hanlon of Olympia won the True Oregonian prize.

Local audience member Karen Reddick Yurka was quick to point out that Hanlon was raised in Klamath Falls and lived in Portland for a long time before moving to Olympia to care for her dad, so the rumor that a Washingtonian won the prize isn’t quite true.

Love is founder and publisher of Nestucca Spit Press, an independent press that exclusively publishes books about Oregon. He has published several hundred Oregon writers in his anthologies, as well as Old Nehalem Road, a collection of poems by Manzanita’s Travis Champ. This year Oregon Literary Arts presented Love with the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award, “in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary community.”

It was appropriate that he was the featured author for the first literary weekend and that he read from his new book, Super Sunday in Newport, because that book evolved from pieces he wrote and read weekly at an Open Mic at Café Mundo in Nye Beach.

Love drew extra applause when he mentioned a recent conversation he had with a writer from a certain publication.

“He asked me what was the best book town along the Oregon Coast,” Love said, “I told him it was Manzanita — the community supports two independent bookstores and they support Open Mic evenings like this one, in force. Other towns have events but they are not as well-attended.”

After Love’s readings, the Open Mic session triggered lots of laughter and applause, with writers from as far as Astoria reading their pieces.

The event continued past that evening into the rest of the weekend, in at least one instance.

Tobi Nason of Overboard read to much delight at the Open Mic. On Sunday, she had two different people walk into her store to ask her to read her piece to them because they’d missed it.

“Then I closed my shop and stopped in at Vino,” she adds, “Sarah asked me to read it again since Dixie had to miss the reading.”

Nason and another local writer who read at the event, Holly Lorincz, said they were inspired by their experience reading to commit to writing a piece for every monthly Open Mic.

We look forward to it!

Diana Abu-Jaber signs books at the intermission

At the last Manzanita Writers’ Series event, Diana Abu-Jaber read excerpts from her latest book, Origins.  ”I never planned to write a mystery,” she confessed.  ”I just couldn’t get this character out of my mind.”  In her previous works, Ms. Abu-Jaber primarily wrote on the theme of immigration and how the cultures of homeland and newly chosen home can clash.  Her protagonists had been of Middle Eastern descent and Origin’s main character, Lena, also struggles with where she came from (in entirely unexpected way–but we won’t spoil it for you.)

Locals agree with the reviews that Abu-Jaber successfully blends a gripping mystery with a style and language that will satisfy the literary fiction reader as well.

Between readings, Abu-Jaber charmed the audience with anecdotes of being a writer and a new parent.  ”I had this idea that I’d be holding my baby on my lap, while typing along on my next chapter.”  Parents and grandparents in the audience had a good laugh about that.  She also cited some of the benefits of living in two places–Miami and Portland.  ”I find the Northwest in winter is the perfect place to write.”  We couldn’t agree more.

Brian Doyle, essayist and editor of Portland, the University of Portland’s magazine, prefers not to read from his published books.  ”I like to read you things that you can’t find in books already,” he told the audience at the Hoffman Center on September 19.

And so he did.  Stories he’s picked up from his own experiences as husband, father, brother, and son, as well as from other people.  Like the story he captured from a nurse about naming babies who are stillborn or died shortly after birth.

After moments that brought tears to both audience and storyteller–from laughter as well as a heartbreaking tale– he closed his part of the evening with a story about his encounter with the Dalai Lama.  They argued about sports, of all things.  With an ending that’s too great to mention here, because that would just spoil it.   The next time he’s in town be sure to make a point of going.

On August 22, authors Lauren Kessler and Tom Hager (who also happen to be married), read from their work.  Both are non-fiction authors with some 16 books between them.

Author Tom Hager reads from his new book The Alchemy of Air

Tom Hager started the hour reading from his new book The Alchemy of Air, which tells the surprising story of how nitrogen came to be the widely used fertilizer today.  He read excerpts from the most thought-provoking sections of his book–illustrating that while without nitrogen, the world would have faced widespread starvation, it is now a major pollutant changing the earth’s ecosystem.

Author Lauren Kessler reads from her book Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's

Lauren Kessler’s book brought the conversation to a more personal level.  Her book, out in paperback as Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer’s, tells the story of when she took a job in an assisted living facility as a resident aide.  For 5 months, Lauren did the hard work of caring for her ‘neighborhood’ of residents.  It’s a fascinating book that will change how you look at Alzheimer’s and the people who live with it.