Use library equipment for learning about digital and analog music creation! Whether you come for Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) or ukuleles, you're welcome here! Play, demo equipment, and ask questions to our knowledgeable staff. Get answers about creating music at the library!
Drop-In and learn about 3D printing file design, troubleshoot challenges, and ensure successful prints. Age 10+ children under 12 must attend with an adult.
Meet Rover, the Lake Oswego Public Library’s bookmobile, as it brings library materials, services, and staff to the Mary's Woods campus! Browse and check out items for all ages, get a library card, learn about library resources, receive tech help with library apps, and return your library materials!
This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome. Visit us from 10-11 AM at the Provincial House parking lot (17400 Holy Names Drive), and from 11 AM-12 PM at the the Dunn Community Center parking lot (17520 Mesnard Street). Check out a map of the Mary's Woods campus.
Rover returns to these locations at Mary's Woods on the second Thursdays (1-3 PM) and fourth Saturdays (10 AM-12 PM) of every month. We look forward to seeing you there!
For more information, please contact Library Outreach Services at [email protected] or 503-675-3996.
This fall, Portland welcomes an extraordinary celebration of classical ballet as PRIMA Ballet Gala brings together artists of the Grand Kyiv Ballet and international guest performers for one unforgettable night.
More than a performance, PRIMA Ballet Gala is a night of elevated artistry – where timeless classics meet contemporary expression, and the stage becomes a space of beauty, power, and emotion.
The program features iconic highlights from world-renowned ballets including Don Quixote, Spartacus, and The Dying Swan, alongside vibrant national dance such as the thrilling Hopak, set to music by legendary composers including Tchaikovsky.
Begin your evening on the red carpet, then step inside for a celebration of artistic excellence and international cultural connection.
Guests are warmly encouraged to attend in the evening attire, helping create an atmosphere of elegance worthy of this special occasion.
Join us for a rare opportunity to experience world-class dancers, timeless choreography, and a night filled with beauty and inspiration.
Seats are limited. Be part of PRIMA Ballet Gala — where ballet speaks from the heart.
Featuring special guest Gary Hershberger (Mike Nelson) in person!
Joins us for the complete Twin Peaks series on the big screen for the first time in history! We continue our year-long celebration of the greatest TV show of all time The Missing Pieces. Rarely shown in theaters, this feature film presents deleted scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me assembled together as an untold portion of the story’s prequel. Following a Q&A, we’ll then begin The Return with episodes “My Log Has a Message for You” and “The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself.”
Gary Hershberger will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans for an additional fee at the event.
What’s Up, Doc? (1972) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. 1hr 34min. Rated G. 35mm.
Join Film School x PAM CUT @ The Whitsell for What’s Up, Doc (1972) in 35mm. The 1972 screwball comedy, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, follows a wild and eccentric mix-up of plaid luggage through 70’s San Francisco. This portrait is tailored to showcase Barbra Streisand’s unique and distinct comedic persona and the chaotic magnetism she brings to the screen—echoing the screwball heroines that came before her.
Film School is a community film club hosting monthly screenings, discussions, and a blog. They celebrate cinema, spark conversation, and connect film lovers—on and off the screen.
We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.
Meet Rover, the Lake Oswego Public Library’s bookmobile, as it brings library materials, services, and staff to the Mary's Woods campus! Browse and check out items for all ages, get a library card, learn about library resources, receive tech help with library apps, and return your library materials!
This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome. Visit us from 10-11 AM at the Provincial House parking lot (17400 Holy Names Drive), and from 11 AM-12 PM at the the Dunn Community Center parking lot (17520 Mesnard Street). Check out a map of the Mary's Woods campus.
Rover returns to these locations at Mary's Woods on the second Thursdays (1-3 PM) and fourth Saturdays (10 AM-12 PM) of every month. We look forward to seeing you there!
For more information, please contact Library Outreach Services at [email protected] or 503-675-3996.
Meet at 4:00PM, Walk at 4:15PM, the walk is 1.5 mile total out-and-back hike. Plan to meet at Lower Macleay Park - 2960 NW Upshur St, Portland, OR 97210.
Join Third Angle and World Forestry Center for an immersive All-Saints Day soundwalk to Witch’s Castle, featuring a spooky, site-specific soundscape created by local composer Bora Yoon. Grab your headphones, download the soundwalk, and join us under the bridge at Lower Macleay Park as we excavate memory, and bring to life place-based storytelling along the wooded path.
REGISTER FOR THE SOUND WALKNovember 4, 2026
Powaqqatsi: Live with The Philip Glass EnsembleSpecial Concerts
OverviewThe Philip Glass Ensemble returns to Portland for Powaqqatsi, an artful cinematic experience that speaks to the impact of modernization and industrialization on traditional ways of living. Seen through the lens of communities across the globe, the narrative is amplified by compositions from Philip Glass that feature native, classical, and electronic instruments. Enjoyed alone or as the second in The Qatsi Trilogy, you won’t want to miss this thought-provoking performance from The Philip Glass Ensemble and conductor Michael Riesman.
po.waq.qa.tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life) n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life.
About the ShowThis concert is part of the Special Concerts series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only). Concert length is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes. No intermission.
Concert begins promptly at the time listed.
Loading... Select a Date Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Wed, Nov 4, 2026, 7:30 PM Promo Code Buy TicketsJoin an essential lecture by the acclaimed Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath. Jared Cooney Horvath (PhD, MEd) is a neuroscientist, educator, best-selling author and expert in the field of human learning. His new book, The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kid's Learning - And How to Help Them Thrive Again, pulls back the EdTech curtain and explains the research showing how digital tools in the classroom consistently undermine learning. It also explains how parents, teachers and schools can push back with purpose.
As a leading expert in learning and technology, Jared testified before the US Senate on EdTech and is an internationally sought-after speaker.
Sponsored by the Institute for Families and Technology and OR Unplugged.
Doomsday is an MF Doom-themed group art exhibition celebrating the life, legacy, music, and unmistakable visual identity of one of hip-hop’s most influential and mysterious artists. Presented in partnership with Unspoken and More Than February Art Gallery, the exhibition brings together a diverse group of artists working across painting, illustration, sculpture, design, fashion, and mixed media to reinterpret the world of MF Doom through their own creative lens.
Timed around the anniversary of Doom's passing, Doomsday is both a tribute and a celebration—honoring an artist whose impact extended far beyond music. From the iconic metal mask and comic-book-inspired mythology to his intricate lyricism, production, and independent spirit, MF Doom created a universe that continues to inspire artists, musicians, designers, and fans around the world.
The exhibition will feature original artwork and special installations inspired by Doom, including sculpture, collectible objects, apparel, prints, collaborative pieces, and one-of-a-kind interpretations of the mask and character. Guests will also be able to experience interactive elements including an MF Doom-inspired photo booth, music, merchandise, raffles, and special collaborations created specifically for the exhibition. At its core, Doomsday is about bringing together art, hip-hop, community, and independent creativity while giving artists a space to celebrate a cultural figure whose influence remains deeply present.
Opening Reception: Thursday 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
One Last Gathering of the Crows. Join Darcelle XV Plaza for the Wildwood: Follow the Crows Farewell Weekend. After soaring across Portland all season, all 30 spectacular crow sculptures are coming together for one final celebration. This free, family-friendly event is your last chance to see the crows in Portland—and the only opportunity to experience the entire flock in one place.
Meet some of the talented artists behind the crows, collect autographs, take plenty of photos and support OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital through optional donations.
Costumes are highly encouraged. At 2 p.m. on Halloween Day, costumed guests can strut, flap or swoop through the plaza in a festive Costume Parade. Prizes will be awarded in both Adult and Under-18 divisions for:
Admission is free, and all ages are welcome. Bring your family, gather your flock and help give Portland’s beloved crows a send-off to remember.
Internationally renowned artist Pipilotti Rist presents her major installation 4th Floor to Mildness in a West Coast premiere and only second exhibition in the U.S.
Pipilotti Rist dissolves exhibition spaces through luminous color, moving imagery, and melodic sound. 4th Floor to Mildness immerses the viewer in a soft, aquatically inspired environment, where a film shot underwater plays across two biomorphic-shaped screens hanging from the ceiling. A soundtrack by experimental musician Soap&Skin/Anja Plaschg adds to the ambience with lyrics about dreams, love, and memories as the camera catches glimpses of floating bodies. Two projected light circles move across the room, enlightening it with visceral hues. For Rist, this light represents a “desire to turn yourself inside out.”
Rist creates conditions for visitors to come together in unconventional ways so that they might better understand their relationships to one another, their own bodies, and nature. In the gallery, raft-like beds provide a place or visitors to rest and share social space as they watch the projection overhead. She asks: “What happens to our perceptions when we don’t have to stand or fight gravity?” The sensation of floating may evoke a sense of returning to an elemental state. For the artist, the work “describes the fantasy of [ourselves] being an organic plant . . . and simulates our dissolution into water, mud, slime, molecules and atoms.”
Originally created for the fourth floor of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, PAM adapted the work to the Crumpacker Center with the assistance of the artist’s team at Atelier Rist; production partner Portland Garment Factory, a woman-owned B-corp and zero-waste creative factory, created the curtains, beds, and bed coverings, and Figure Plant engineered and fabricated the hanging screens.
Broadway Books is thrilled to welcome Anthea Kreston with her debut memoir Crescendo: Chronicles of an Adventurous Violinist (Paul Dry Books, 2026). She will be joined in conversation with Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty and Immaculate Conception.
When American violinist Anthea Kreston, called “An Indomitable Spirit” by Yo-Yo Ma, is selected as the fourth member of Germany’s Artemis Quartet, it is the culmination of decades of dedication. In Crescendo, her enchanting and deeply personal memoir, Kreston writes about growing up in a well-to-do but difficult family in Chicago, leaving home at age sixteen, studying at the ultracompetitive Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (Hilary Hahn was a classmate), then burning out and leaving it all behind for a commune in Oregon.
Join a screening of Union County, starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo alongside a cast of non-actors from central Ohio. Set in the shadow of the opioid epidemic, this hopeful drama follows two brothers navigating court-mandated recovery and the community that helps them imagine a different future.
Ohio-born filmmaker Adam Meeks drew inspiration from the real-life recovery community he encountered in his hometown, full of people healing and rebuilding their lives. Some of them were cast in the film, and the result is an intimate, compassionate portrait of people rebuilding their lives and finding solidarity and hope in the aftermath of a devastating drug crisis.
A Dia de Los Muertos celebration hosted by La Perlita featuring local art, pan de muerto, café de olla, and a nostalgic ode to Brown homes. Local vendors include @panaderiadedonageo, @cositaspdx, @novaarts.psd, @good444fortune, and @bleachedbyjosh.
Singer, rapper, and author Dessa will join the Oregon Symphony for an evening of soaring ballads, writerly pop songs, and rap anthems. The concert will also include a series of new monologues, crafted in Dessa’s signature style—true stories told with intellectual rigor, tenderness, candor, and wit. Don’t miss this landmark performance, presented in collaboration with Literary Arts as an extension of the Portland Book Festival.
Sarah Hicks, Conductor
Dessa, Vocals
Oregon Symphony
Celebrate Día de los Muertos at M&M Marketplace with two days of culture, music, food, and family fun. Join us on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1 from 2 PM to 7 PM for a free community celebration in Hillsboro.
Enjoy live music, traditional altars, Calenda, Calaveritas Literarias, a Concurso de Catrinas, food, shopping, and family entertainment. Bring your family and friends as we come together to honor loved ones and celebrate Día de los Muertos traditions.
Dates: Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1
Time: 2 PM to 7 PM
Location: M&M Marketplace, 346 SW Walnut St., Hillsboro, OR 97123
Admission: Free
¡Acompáñanos con toda la familia para celebrar nuestras tradiciones, recordar a nuestros seres queridos y disfrutar un fin de semana especial en comunidad!
Parallel Worlds Bookshop and the Hollywood Theatre present a special author conversation with Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu, celebrating the release of Jane’s debut novel, Public Access Afterworld, followed by a screening of Schoenbrun’s acclaimed film I Saw the TV Glow.
When: November 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Where: Hollywood Theatre 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
Tickets: $18 sold via Hollywood Theatre
Ticket price does not include a copy of the book. Preorder Here!
A mysterious realm waits on the other side of our screens. A dark force draws victims into its static. An unlikely hero must save them, and herself, from an electric hell.
Spanning decades and realities, Public Access Afterworld follows an unforgettable ensemble of outcasts and obsessive television viewers whose lives become entangled with a surreal pirate network. At the center is Bethany Peters, a trans content moderator working the night shift at a sprawling tech corporation. When a young streamer begins appearing in her feed and calling out to Public Access Afterworld, Bethany is pulled into a conspiracy stretching across screens, timelines, and realities.
A mesmerizing collision of speculative fiction, horror, conspiracy, and queer transformation, Public Access Afterworld marks the literary debut of the celebrated filmmaker behind I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.
About Jane SchoenbrunJane Schoenbrun is an award-winning filmmaker and writer. Their films include I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Their newest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder, releases in 2026. Public Access Afterworld is their first novel.
Event and Pre-Signing InformationTickets for the screening and conversation are sold through the Hollywood Theatre. Copies of Public Access Afterworld will be available for purchase onsite from Parallel Worlds Bookshop.
Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu will not be signing books. Pre-ordered books or books purchased at event will be pre-signed.
Still photography is permitted. Audio and video recording are not permitted unless approved in advance.
Pre-Order Books HerePublic Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun - Signed Edition
(Pub Date: October 27, 2026)
A mysterious realm on the other side of our screens. A dark force that draws victims into its static. The unlikely hero called to save them and herself from this electric hell. Public Access Afterworld is the profound, binge-all-night, headrush of a novel by the celebrated filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Alchemised by Senlinyu 3 Volume Deluxe Boxset(Pub Date: October 13)
In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.
Music is more than just an aural language – it is a multitude of communication modes and literacies. Sight Reading features world-renowned songwriters translating between dialects in real time: the written language of music (usually expressed on staff), oral / aural traditions and “playing by ear” come together to work with Oregon Symphony musicians as they perform newly-created arrangements of songs by musicians who write their music in a variety of ways.
FRIDAY NOV. 6Jimmie Herrod
Jimmie Herrod is a singer, songwriter, and performer celebrated for his radiant tone and emotional depth. Hailed by The Seattle Times as “a voice like a beacon of hope,” Herrod brings striking expressivity to performances across stage and screen.
He rose to international prominence as a finalist on America’s Got Talent, where he earned the coveted Golden Buzzer from Sofía Vergara. He later returned to compete on AGT: All-Stars, further expanding his global audience.
Since 2017, Herrod has toured extensively with Pink Martini, performing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is also a frequent guest with major orchestras across the United States and has collaborated with artists including Renée Fleming, Lalah Hathaway, Brian Blade, and Vince Mendoza.
Equally at home across genres, Herrod is known for performances that combine technical precision with warmth, clarity, and a powerful sense of connection.
Katherine Paul
This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home.When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.
It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home.The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.
There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something.
Chord progressions born out of moments of sadness and solitude transform into the islands that sit blue along the horizon. The Salish Sea curves along her homelands, and when the singer is close to this water she is reminded of her grandmother, how she looked out at these same islands, and she’s held by spirit and memory.
The Land, The Water, The Sky rises and falls, in darkness and in light, but even in its most melancholy moments it is never despairing. That is the beauty of returning home. When you stand on ancestral lands it is impossible to be alone. You feel the arms and hands that hold you up, unwilling to let you fall into sorrow or abandonment. In her songs Katherine Paul has channeled that feeling of being held. In every note she has written a love letter to indigenous strength and healing.
There is a joy present here, a fierce blissfulness that comes with walking the trails along the river, feeling the sand and the stones beneath her feet. It is the pride and the certainty that comes with knowing her ancestors walked along the same land, dipped their hands into the water, and ran their fingertips along the same bark of cedar trees.
This is a story of hope, as it details the joy of returning. Katherine Paul’s journey home wasn’t made alone, and the songs are crowded with loved ones and relatives, like a really good party. And as the songs walk us through the land it is important we hover over the images and the beauty, the moments that mark this album as site specific. The power of this land is woven throughout, telling the story of narrow waterways, brushstrokes, salmon stinta, and above all healing. Let it take you. Move through the story and see the land through her eyes, because it is a gift, awelcomedsʔabadəb.
**The word “gift” in Lushootseed, the language of the Coast Salish people“
Nick Jaina
Nick Jaina is a Portland-based musician and writer whose work bridges music, literature, and performance. Originally from Sacramento, he has lived and worked in Portland, New York, and New Orleans, shaping a multidisciplinary creative career.
Jaina is the author of the memoir Get It While You Can, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award and now in its third printing. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, and Oregon Humanities.
As a musician, he has released numerous albums under his own name, including 2025’s The Monster Mash, blending literary sensibility with adventurous songwriting. His work often crosses artistic boundaries, reflecting a deep engagement with narrative and form.
He co-founded and served as music director for the New York-based ballet company Satellite, collaborating with dancers from Juilliard School and New York City Ballet, with performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Jaina has also composed scores for films and documentaries including All Sorts, Cement Suitcase, and Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire.
45th Parallel Universe45th Parallel Universe is a collective of musicians dedicated to celebrating great chamber music through intimate, imaginative performances. Comprised primarily of musicians from the Oregon Symphony, the ensemble brings exceptional artistry and a spirit of collaboration to every project.
Since 2009, 45th Parallel has blurred boundaries between old and new, classical and contemporary, bluegrass and jazz, fiddle and folk. Their programming reflects Portland’s vibrant creative community, drawing together diverse audiences through unexpected and thoughtfully curated musical experiences.
Known for its “360-degree” approach to programming, the ensemble seamlessly weaves Bach and Beethoven alongside adventurous repertoire and cross-genre collaborations. These projects often feature artists from a wide range of traditions, embracing the richness and diversity of the region.
At its core, 45th Parallel Universe believes in music as a powerful and shared human experience—one that is both timeless and ever-evolving.
The second night of 'Sight Reading - Musical Dialects' at the Portland Book Festival features world-renowned songwriters Anna Tivel, Willy Vlautin, and Wonderly collaborating in real time. Performers are accompanied by new arrangements from 45th Parallel Universe.
Hannah Lillith Assadi reads from her new novel Paradiso 17 at Portland Art Museum in the Northwest Art gallery (Level 4, Room 402), paired with Esther Podemski, In the Desert. Presented by the National Book Foundation.
About Paradiso 17:FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE
The intimate, sweeping tale of one Palestinian man’s restless search for home the world over, as the pendulum of fate swings between loss and life, grief and euphoria, regret and hope.
All his life, exile has been the shadow stitched to the sole of Sufien’s shoe.
Born in Palestine on the precipice of 1948’s Nakba, Sufien is forced to leave the only home he’s ever known, the one on the hill with a beautiful blue door. This is the precise moment when time stops making sense. He spends the rest of his life propelled forward, always on the way—although in search of what, he is never quite sure. In the dusty, oil-rich desert of Kuwait, he meets his first love and decides he must leave his family. In a small Italian university town, he spends his youth wrapped up in the sweet promise of the West and the forgetful assurance of wine. When life takes him to a gritty New York, he discovers his true vocation and falls for a Jewish woman born into a wholly different world. Finally, he finds himself recalled to the wild, vast open skies of the desert, in Arizona.
Sufien’s life spans friendships lost and maintained, a stint selling leathers at a tanner’s stall, the ineffable company of cats, and the freedom of the open road, the glowing pride of fatherhood, Sufi myths, prophetic dreams, and visions of the afterlife—and always, always, no matter how far he chases joy, the sweet, treacherous song of a balcony urging him to fly, to fall, to fall. The lyrical pages of Paradiso 17 weave in and out of time and space, beginning at the end and ending at the beginning. They are haunting, haunted with grief, struck through, as Dante once wrote, with “the arrow that the bow of exile / shoots first,” and yet they throb with light—not just the light that Sufien sees as he approaches his own end, but the brilliant light of a life lived.
Like all of our dead, Sufien still speaks, the book begins. Listen, this is his story.
“With stunning intimacy, Hannah Lillith Assadi has crafted an unforgettable story about the many stunted afterlives of hyphenated belonging. In this book live some of the most complex characters I’ve read in a long time, and a deeply nuanced exploration of exile as both event and inheritance.” —Omar El Akkad, author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
“Suffused with tenderness.” —The New York Times
Portland Art Museum invites the community to join a Free First Thursday event, offering free admission to the museum for all, plus a Live Wire event as part of the Literary Arts Portland Book Festival. Visitors can take in the afternoon gallery pop-ups, the evening show, or both!
Free First Thursday + Museum pop-ups4:30 – 6 p.m. — Free, pre-show, pop-up performances will take place throughout the Museum’s galleries. Performers are poet and rapper Dessa, bestselling children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle.
Free First Thursday tickets can be reserved online one week in advance and are also available at the door.
tickets for free first thursday Live Wire Evening Recording7 p.m. — Enjoy a fully seated, ticketed Live Wire taping hosted by Luke Burbank with announcer Elena Passarello, featuring a blend of interviews, comedy, and music performed live for the audience, then edited into an episode for broadcast to over 200 public radio stations nationwide. Performers are poet and rapper Dessa, bestselling children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle. Doors will open at 6:30pm.
GA Tickets are $15. Preferred Seating is $40. Discounts available to Portland Book Festival passholders.
Dessa is a singer, rapper, and writer who fell in love with language as a toddler—and just never got over it. Now, she works in fields that traffic in words: she’s recorded rap bangers as part of the fiercely independent Doomtree collective, released a live album with the Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra; contributed to The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler; delivered a TED Talk on the intersection of romance and neuroscience that’s notched more than 4 million views; hosted 2 seasons of behavioral science podcast Deeply Human (BBC/American Public Media); and published a memoir recounting most of the above called My Own Devices (Penguin Random House).
Mac Barnett, the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is a New York Times bestselling author of stories for children. Mac’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, three E. B. White Read Aloud Awards and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, as well as several international prizes. He lives in Oakland, California. His latest book, illustrated by X. Fang, is Tom Nancy: The Sheep Who Swapped Brains with a Boy. From two of the most exciting picture book makers today comes a hilarious trickster tale and Freaky Friday switcheroo story: a sneaky, cheeky sheep named Tom Nancy has a brain swap proposal for an innocent farm boy named Felix that will change both of their lives forever. Laugh-out-loud, subversive, and totally unexpected.
Ed Park is the author of the novels Personal Days and Same Bed Different Dreams. He is a founding editor of The Believer, and has worked in newspapers, book publishing, and academia. His writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Profound, wily, and beautifully wrought, his new book Three Tenses: A Transmission from the Nineties is a meeting of memory and myth, confession and obfuscation, coalescing to offer a singular picture of creativity in action.
The princess of Portland comedy, best known for her breakout performance on the popular Netflix special Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda, Mx. Dahlia Belle has been compared to a Swiss Army knife—different tools to extract sharpness, softness, vulnerability, hope, and wicked wit. She’s been declared one of “11 Trans Comedians… Funnier Than Dave Chappelle” by Out Magazine, repeatedly featured on NPR, and has written for Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Guardian, The Stranger, and Portland Mercury. Her live performances have included NW Black Comedy Festival, Upper Left Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, and an awkward conversation with John Waters and Piers Morgan. In the upcoming live taping of her comedy special Affirmed at Polaris Hall on November 22nd, Mx. Dahlia Belle delivers 60 new minutes of stand-up to celebrate and affirm being human in the modern world through a combination of the wholesome and mundane, anecdotes about house cats, liscivious foibles of the LGBT community, and an unapologetic account of her personal journey with gender-affirming care, all delivered with her trademark free form wit.
About Free First ThursdaysFree First Thursdays at the Museum and PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater aligns with the revitalization of the long-standing Portland art galleries’ tradition of opening their doors for openings, receptions, and events on the first Thursday of each month. In recent months art and culture organizations have joined to bring back this popular activity, including the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in the North Park Blocks.
Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
Learn more about other discounted and free opportunities.In Smith Claudel's third solo exhibition with Carnation Contemporary, the yard is both a symbol and a physical source material, juxtaposing the enclosure of nature and its display with the control of the body. In this exhibition, temporary sculptures of raw clay, harvested from the artist’s yard, will soon return to the earth. A series of botanical drawings was made with the artist's menstrual blood. And a site-specific installation displays a collection of yard work specimens: a small patch of grass unnaturally maintained, nail enamel coating unfired pinch pots, and plant clippings caught in resin.
Yard Work examines the absurdity and care of maintaining one's landscape, and the tension between being kept and being desired.
Kim Smith Claudel is an artist and visual designer based in Portland, Oregon. Working across painting, sculpture, and installation, Smith Claudel creates work that exists in deliberate flux. Her process-driven approach embraces the ephemeral, the decaying, and the mundane, building visual systems that resist completion. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including a recent solo exhibition (End Cycle) at The Vestibule in Seattle. Other recent solo exhibitions include The Arts Center (Corvallis, OR), The Painting Center (NYC), Mt. Hood Community College (OR), and KyotoBA (Japan). Recent residencies include Building 5 in Portland and the Boston Center for the Arts. She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She received an MS in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab, where she was a Learning Innovation Fellow. She is a member of Carnation Contemporary Gallery and the WAVE artist collective.
Opening Saturday, October 03, 5–8 p.m.
Young adult authors, Maggie Stiefvater (The Dream Thieves) and Isabel Cañas (The House of Gardenias) come together for a conversation on the hauntingly enchanted worlds in their latest releases. In the newest installment of the graphic novel iteration of The Raven Cycle, Stiefvater and adapter Sas Milledge bring the original text to life with rich illustrations and suspenseful panels. Like Stiefvater, Cañas expertly constructs a gothic world threatened by an unimaginable ancient power. Moderated by Alicia Tate, these authors discuss the mythical worlds they built and the characters that try to understand them.
About The Dream Thieves:The second book in Maggie Stiefvater‘s #1 NYT bestselling series The Raven Cycle, now gorgeously illustrated as a graphic novel!
Ronan Lynch is made of secrets. His longest kept one? He can pull impossible things out of dreams. It’s a secret that’s nearly killed him more than once. Waking the corpse road should have led Blue and the Raven Boys straight to Glendower, the Whelsh king rumored to be sleeping beneath the mountains of Henrietta. But instead, the forest of Cabeswater has disappeared, energy hums and sputters beneath the town, and the Raven Boys’ search is at a dead end.
Ronan’s dreams may be the key to finding Glendower, but none of the Raven Boys are prepared for what will be unleashed in Ronan’s desperate attempt to finally control his power. Reimagined as a stunning full-color graphic novel adapted and illustrated by Sas Milledge, Dream Thieves blurs the line between reality and nightmare until they are one and the same.
About The Houses of Gardenias:A debut gothic YA from the USA Today bestselling author of The Hacienda and The Possession of Alba Díaz Sixteen-year-old Minerva has endured hunger, violence, and unrest in a capital city inspired by colonial Mexico.
Determined to escape her father’s cruelty, she reinvents herself in a wealthy loyalist enclave, becoming lady’s maid to the formidable widow Encarnación del Valle.
For the first time, Minerva knows stability with regular meals, warm light powered by magical chispa, and a measure of protection. When a ruthless regime rises to power, the household withdraws to the del Valle family’s secluded estate, Casa de las Gardenias. There, amid resentful heirs and rigid social hierarchies, something far older than the nation’s turmoil waits in the shadows.
It’s a haunting, timely gothic novel that weaves Mexican history, class tension, and supernatural dread.
Each year, Milagro observes Día de Muertos with the premiere of a new production, altar displays, and community events with the Día de Muertos Festival. The Centerpiece event of the 31st Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration is Marigolds y Memorias, an original devised production inspired by the traveling carpa tradition, in which humor, music, and storytelling come together in a vibrant theatrical journey. Guided by an elder, a younger generation learns o build an altart, the heart of Día de Muertos, discovering the meaning behind each of its elements, from candles and marigolds to photographs, ofrendas, and cherished recuerdos. Through song, dance, and short theatrical vignettes, the altar gradually takes shape as an act of remembrance and cultural inheritance, inviting audiences to consider how traditions are taught, how memory is kept alive, and what is carried forward when we share rituals across generations.
Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a long-honored tradition with roots in Indigenous Mexican culture. Día de Muertos is observed annually in Mexican and other Latin American cultures on November 1st and 2nd as a remembrance of those who have passed. Individuals and families who honor this day set up ofrendas (altars) with offerings to their departed loved ones. Typical offerings include marigolds, calaveras, photos of the dead, and traditional food like “pan de muerto.”
Alexis Nikole Nelson, best known to millions of fans as Black Forager, invites you on an adventure to discover the delicious and wild foods hiding in plain sight. Alexis captivates people with her joyful enthusiasm and deep knowledge of foraging and inspires them to explore the bounty of their own backyards, parks, and trails, and now she does the same in her eagerly awaited first book.
Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! is a one-of-a-kind collection of recipes and foraging wisdom that teaches you how to turn common plants, flowers, and fungi into yummy, plant-based meals. This unique work is almost like two books in one—foraging plant guide and vegan cookbook—organized by season to guide you through a year of appetizing discoveries. In spring, you’ll learn to pickle Magnolia flowers and turn Japanese Knotweed into a refreshing granita. Summer is for frying up Milkweed Buds, making Juneberry Hand Pies, and crafting Rosewater Baklava. When fall arrives, you’ll be making savory mushroom dishes (a.k.a. chicken of the woods) like Maitake steak and bacon. And in winter, cozy up with Pine Shortbread Cookies and Oyster Mushroom Chowdah.
Wildwood is a handcrafted epic fantasy that transports audiences into a secret, dangerously alive world. A girl’s desperate quest to save her baby brother unfolds into a spectacular, high-stakes adventure through a forbidden forest full of enchanted creatures, endearing allies, and formidable adversaries — where an entire hidden realm hangs in the balance. In an era of automation, LAIKA delivers its most ambitious and globally accessible film yet — a bold fusion of human-crafted artistry and cinematic storytelling from the makers of Coraline.
Duration: 2h 19m | Rating: PG-13 | CC and AD Available | Accessible Entrance Available
$9 Adults, $8 Seniors, $7 Youth | OMSI Members receive 50% admission for this screening
Member Empirical vouchers are not applicable.
DATES:
Saturday, October 24 at 12pm, 2:45pm
Sunday, October 25 at 1pm, 3:45pm, 6:30pm
Tuesday, October 27 at 4pm, 6:45pm
Wednesday, October 28 at 3:30pm
Thursday, October 29 at 4pm, 6:45pm
Friday, October 30 at 5pm, 7:45pm
Saturday, October 31 at 2pm, 4:45pm, 7:30pm
Sunday, November 1 at 1pm, 3:45pm, 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 3 at 4pm, 6:45pm
Wednesday, November 4 at 4pm, 6:45pm
Thursday, November 5 at 4pm, 6:45pm
Poets Victoria Chang (Tree of Knowledge) and Beth Piatote (distant waters) sit down for a conversation on their recent publications andtheir evocative use of nature throughout their poems. Moderated by writer and editor Alyssa Ogi, this discussion promises a rumination on our shared home, oppressive efforts of erasure, and the art and language that we use to understand our world and ourselves.
About Tree of Knowledge:FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
A poet watches the limbs of a eucalyptus tree get sawed off: the image persists, refracting and recurring across poems of art, language, selfhood, memory, and loss.
Joan Mitchell said, When I talk about love, I mean loving a tree. When I talk about love, I mean loving where a tree used to be.
Men assess the eucalyptus tree growing on the poet’s street; a crane arrives. The sound of a chainsaw rings in the air and branches begin to fall. This tree-cutting haunts the poet and becomes the locus from which the rest of the collection spirals. It refracts across works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Mitchell, and Hilma af Klint, whose painting series lends the collection its title and who becomes a model for engaging with the world. At the core of the collection, the long poem “Eureka” examines the violent 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from the eponymous California town. Roving, evocative, and intricate, Tree of Knowledge is rooted in Victoria Chang’s crystalline voice and generous, probing gaze, and by certain images —trees, a hanging figure, a branch, fingertips, a briefcase—that resurface like apparitions.
About distant water:As a scholar of Native American literature and law, Beth Piatote focuses on the endangerment of Indigenous languages. As an activist, she moves against the current of English-language colonization, working to rescue and revitalize the language of her people. Language, she posits, is an expression of land, a means through which we can travel great distances.
distant water brings the reader into the language of our shared home, North America, revealing a sonic world and grammar governed by rivers, kinship, and ancestral knowledge. “In our homes and homelands,” she writes, “we share the language with the plants and animals and waters and rocks and sky.” Inventive and playful, these poems explore the sounds, structure, and wisdom of the Nez Perce language, illuminating its vitality and capacity to organize relationships to time and place. Braiding aural, linguistic, and spiritual ecologies, distant water conveys an understanding that to be in language is to be in place. To be at home.
Annam's 3-year anniversary dinner featuring a collaborative kitchen takeover with uncle Peter from @havl.noodles (Hà VL). The evening includes deep-cut à la carte Việt food, cognac, live jazz by Brian's Blade (featuring @chochu_local members @cmlgsn, @Aidan.jacobs._, and grateful_marcus), and a custom jade jewelry pop-up by Le Petit Hoa. Menu to be announced closer to the date; available until sold out.
Join Dr. Mas Subramanian, the inventor of YInMn Blue—the first new blue pigment discovered in more than 200 years—for a fascinating lecture on the science, history, and future of color. Dr. Subramanian will share the story behind this accidental discovery and explore the role of pigments in art, design, technology, and everyday life, offering a unique perspective at the intersection of scientific innovation and creative practice.
This is a virtual program held via Zoom Webinar. The webinar will also be screened inside the new building for the Jordan Schnitzer School for Art + Art History + Design on 1981 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201. Attendees can also join remotely.
Started in 1999 and organized by writer Willa Schneberg, this annual event features readings by prominent Oregon Jewish poets and writers. The writers in the 2026 program span a range of genres, including fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and essays. Each author will share selections from their work.
Join the Farewell Weekend at Darcelle XV Plaza. See the entire flock gathered together for the first—and final—time before the sculptures head to auction in support of OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less, showcases his wit, sophistication, and deep knowledge of focaccia in this tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills. Interviewed by Lucy Feldman (TIME).
Limited guaranteed seat tickets with book included available; most of the theatre will be first-come first-served with a PBF GA pass. About Villa Coco:An aspiring archivist determined to begin a “serious” life after an undistinguished undergraduate career takes up residence in the Italian countryside. Here, he becomes the all-purpose assistant to the Baronessa, known to her friends as Coco, a defiantly youthful and naturally flamboyant woman of ninety-two. Amid a chaotic and colorful milieu of gin-swilling princesses, incomprehensible handymen, roaming boarhunters, nuns, and other local wildlife, our young man does his best to catalog the villa’s extensive collection of art and antiques—although he notices that things seem to go missing from right under his nose.
Despite himself, he tumbles into an affair with a married man, complicating his future plans considerably. And when the Baronessa loses someone close to her, he becomes an unwitting accomplice in the acceleration of Coco’s great and final plan: to locate the love of her life and be reunited before it’s too late. Told with the signature wit, charm, and humanity that made Less an international phenomenon, Villa Coco is a dazzling, sun-soaked ode to life itself, a meditation on how seriously we ought to take ourselves, and a bawdy Mediterranean ballad about becoming who we’ve always wanted to be.
Hands on 3D printing orientation covering basic printer use and file creations.
Age 10+. Children under 12 must attend with an adult.
#Collaboratory
In this lecture demonstration, members of Hung Dance will provide an introduction to Taiwanese dance company Hung Dance’s movement language, including how their acclaimed work Birdy blends traditional Chinese exercises and materials with contemporary dance. The company will also delve into the inspiration and concepts behind Birdy, followed by a short excerpt of the work. Guests will have the opportunity to have their questions about the dance answered by members of the company. This lecture demonstration will be delivered primarily in Mandarin, with live translation between Mandarin and English.
Under the direction of Dr. Abbie Brown, the Pacific University Symphonic Band will present its fall concert program, “City Trees: Urban and Natural Landscapes.” This concert program allows the ensemble and audience members to be in conversation about the way natural and urban landscapes interact with one another and features music that speaks to these two themes. The concert is presented in collaboration with the Pacific University Art Department as students in Drawing and Painting classes depict one piece in particular, Planet B by Catherine Likhuta. Other pieces on this program include Flaxen Tresses by James M. David, Shenandoah by Omar Thomas, and Under Pines and Stars by local Washington composer Megan Vinther.
Ticket Prices: $11 general admission, $8 for seniors, military and non-Pacific students. Free for Pacific students, faculty and staff. Online ticket sales only. Purchase tickets at https://www.pacificu.edu/musictickets.
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026) Directed by Sasha Waters Freyer. 1hr 31min. Not Rated.
If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Best-selling poet and Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, queer and out but intensely private—Oliver’s poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites. She was America’s unlikely, contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself—and us, her readers—to the known and unknowable world. Sasha Waters’ beguiling portrait features poems read by Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Jesse Welles, and Oprah Winfrey.
This film is featured as part of Portland Book Festival’s Cover to Cover.
We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.
Screening of Cronos, Guillermo del Toro's debut feature film, as part of the Portland Latin American Film Festival's 20th anniversary season (September 23 – November 18). $10 tickets.
Join us for an afternoon with Grammy Award-winning soprano and PSU alum Audrey Luna! Audrey will give a masterclass with L&C and PSU students and present a lecture titled "The Business of Singing."
Learn more about the School of Music & Theater Voice Area.
Based on the novel by Maurice Renard, this is the tale of Orlac (Conrad Veidt), a famous concert pianist, who is severely injured in a train wreck that fractures his skull and mutilates his hands. The supervising surgeon, however, decides to amputate Orlac’s ruined hands and replace them with the hands of a recently executed prisoner who was serving time for murder. Once the pianist recovers and realizes that his hands are those of a killer, he becomes too distraught to resume his career and begins to question his sanity. Who is that strange man who is shadowing him? Why do his hands seem to have a life of their own? Limited number of discount passes to see all the films in the Weimar Germany: Queer Visions series while supplies last. Director: Robert Wiene Year: 1924 Country: Germany, Austria Runtime: 92 minutes
Join us for an evening of conversation, laughter, and stories of the human spirit featuring The Omnibus Project with John Roderick and Special Guest. Presented by Papertrees Creative in partnership with the 2026 Portland Book Festival and Literary Arts. This event will be recorded.
The Omnibus Project
The Omnibus Project is a podcast founded in 2017 by Ken Jennings and John Roderick as a repository for the lesser-known stories of our collected human experience that, in the event of a cataclysm, may not survive to be retold. It is an effort to save our own Library of Alexandria to disk, a project to preserve not just what made us great but what made us human.
The show has diligently researched and compiled the knowledge AROUND the knowledge, building a compendium not of obvious and commonly cited data—the Roman Empire and World War II are widely reported elsewhere—but of the esoteric and sublime wonders that might otherwise be lost.
The Omnibus Project weathered many upheavals: leaving iHeart Media to become an independent, listener-supported program; switching formats from biweekly to weekly; enduring storms, controversies and multiple breathless articles in the Hollywood Reporter. Both hosts were the subject of controversy, but in all the years never missed an episode. Throughout it all, the show grew into a thriving archive of wonder, with millions of annual listeners and a vast community of devoted fans who gather under the banner of “Futurelings.”
In 2025, due to his duties hosting Jeopardy!, Ken stepped back into an emeritus role as executive producer, occasional contributor, and spiritual lodestar, entrusting the continued production of The Omnibus Project to his colleague and partner, storyteller John Roderick. Unencumbered by fame or fortune, John carries on their good works with a weekly rotating cast of friends, authors, comedians and, most importantly, the Futurelings community.
As the show marches toward its first decade, the archive continues to expand, escaping the confines of the podcast feed for live appearances at such venerable institutions of knowledge as the Library of Congress and beyond. And with each new week, each new entry, each new show, we’re granted a blessed postponement of the apocalypse—one we hope will never come—as another overlooked, forgotten, or improbable tale is added to … the Omnibus.
John Roderick is a Seattle-based musician, writer, and podcaster celebrated for his sharp wit and distinctive voice. Beyond co-creating The Omnibus Project, he also co-hosts Roderick on the Line. His essays have appeared in Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Seattle Weekly, alongside his published book of short prose, Electric Aphorisms. Best known as the frontman of The Long Winters, Roderick will return with a highly anticipated new album soon.
Jeff VanderMeer's internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed Southern Reach series has been translated into over 37 languages. The first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson awards, and was made into a movie by Alex Garland in 2018. Called "the weird Thoreau" by The New Yorker, VanderMeer’s nonfiction has appeared in Time, The Nation, the Los Angeles Times, and Esquire, among other publications.
A.L. Goldfuss writes speculative fiction which reviewers have called “rich,” “intense,” “complex,” and “rather grim.” Recent work has won the Brave New Weird award and appeared in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Goldfuss lives in the Pacific Northwest with stacks of tea and carnivorous plants.
The Fall Author Series is co-sponsored by Spoke & Word Books. Special thanks to the Friends of the Ledding Library for providing the funding that makes this program possible.
Each year, Milagro observes Día de Muertos with the premiere of a new production, altar displays, and community events with the Día de Muertos Festival.
Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a long-honored tradition with roots in Indigenous Mexican culture. Día de Muertos is observed annually in Mexican and other Latin American cultures on November 1st and 2nd as a remembrance of those who have passed. Individuals and families who honor this day set up ofrendas (altars) with offerings to their departed loved ones. Typical offerings include marigolds, calaveras, photos of the dead, and traditional food like “pan de muerto.”
Join Dr. Mas Subramanian, the inventor of YInMn Blue—the first new blue pigment discovered in more than 200 years—for a fascinating lecture on the science, history, and future of color. Dr. Subramanian will share the story behind this accidental discovery and explore the role of pigments in art, design, technology, and everyday life, offering a unique perspective at the intersection of scientific innovation and creative practice.
This lecture is now a virutal event.
This program is offered as part of the programming for Anish Kapoor: Dissolving Margins, From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. This exhibition will be on view at the JSMA at PSU through December 5, 2026.
Portland Book Festival welcomes Molly and Meherwan Irani, the husband-and-wife team behind Asheville’s nationally celebrated Chai Pani Restaurant Group. Their flagship restaurant, Chai Pani, was named Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation in 2022.
This year, Molly and Meherwan each bring a new book to the table. Meherwan has written No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World: At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India. Molly’s Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality was published earlier this year. Together, the books offer two very different—and deeply connected—perspectives on food, restaurants, and hospitality.
In celebration of Diwali—the Hindu festival of lights, marked by food, gathering, and celebration—Molly and Meherwan will join their longtime friend Chef Troy MacLarty at Bollywood Theater on Alberta Street for a collaboration. Bollywood Theater will serve a special menu inspired by recipes from Meherwan’s book alongside its own Diwali-inspired menu. It’s a gathering of longtime friends, great food, and two books that reflect different sides of a shared life in restaurants.
Both books will be featured at Portland Book Festival, and Molly and Meherwan will be on hand at Bollywood to meet guests and sign copies.
Wildwood is the first book in the New York Times best-selling fantasy series full of magic, wonder, and danger from Colin Meloy, lead singer of the highly celebrated band the Decemberists, and Carson Ellis, the award-winning illustrator of Du Iz Tak and Home. Soon to be a major motion picture from LAIKA, the studio behind Coraline. Look for it on October 23, 2026! Moderated by Andrew Proctor.
About Wildwood:Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where it rains a lot. She has a mother and a father and a baby brother. Ordinary. At least until her brother is abducted by a flock of crows. And then things get really weird.
You see, on every map of Portland there is a big splotch of green in the center of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in — or at least returned to tell of it.
And this is where the crows take her brother.
So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness.
A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.
WILDWOOD is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis, WILDWOOD is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.