Upcoming Events

 

 

Recent Events

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Kesey fellow Ed McClanahan is in town Wed. November 5 at 7:30 pm to read from his new book O Clear the Moment at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 West Burnside. Please join OCHC at a post-reading reception /no-host bar for Ed at Cassidy’s, 1331 SW Washington, just 5 blocks walk from Powell’s. It begins around 8:30 pm and will continue until we all crumble in post-election frazzle. Of O Clear the Moment, the Oregonian’s Jeff Baker says: “…the yarns McClanahan spins start as truth and get stretched into something wilder and funnier.” Allison Hallett in the Portland Mercury writes: “McClanahan’s skills as a humorist are predicated on a deep respect for the language, and the book’s best moments come when McClanahan indulges in the rhetorical flourishes that make his lowbrow subject matter all the funnier.” Ed McClanahan was last with us for our November 2003 Ken Kesey events. He served as editor of the 7th and final edition of the Kesey-founded magazine Spit in the Ocean. Please welcome Ed to our fair city once again.

 

Sunday, November 23, 2008 – 2 pm

He Gave Us His Heart: Portland Opera’s Maestro Herbert Weiskopf

 with Christopher Mattaliano, Doug & Marta Weiskopf, Dory Hylton, David Hedges et al

In his brief but historically significant years as the second director of Portland Opera, Maestro Herbert Weiskopf [1903-1970] married a rare mix of professionalism and passion. A native of Austria, and long-time musical figure in St. Louis and Los Angeles, between 1966 and 1970 Weiskopf transformed the Portland Opera into a professional community organization that attracted international stars while grooming local and regional talent. He worked hard to bring local singers up to the standards of talented performers from California, the East Coast, and Europe, establishing what the Oregon Journal called, “a first-rate opera company.”

At the conclusion of Lucia de Lammermoor in his 4th season,  Weiskopf took an unprecedented solo curtain call and retired to his dressing room. Within a few hours his heart stopped beating. This program will examine Maestro Weiskopf’s contributions to Portland musical culture and link those early years with the state of Portland Opera today. Wanda Weiskopf, his widow, biographer, and a talented poet will also be invoked.

Produced in conjunction with Portland Opera

 

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 – 7:30 pm                                

Metaphors of Dissent – Mr. Cogito Brings Us Voices from Beyond our Borders

with John M. Gogol, Charles Seluzicki and Walt Curtis

All too few know of the remarkable links between dissident poets of Eastern Europe and nations worldwide and several enlightened publishers here in Oregon. For some two decades Mr. Cogito, a press based at Pacific University in Forest Grove, co-edited by John M. Gogol and Robert A. Davies, published exceptional poets in translation whose voices were being stifled in their own lands. These writers’ delight at being read beyond their borders stiffened their resolve to speak boldly about their own situations and perceptions. Charles Seluzicki, in several publications, including his Trace Press edition of Zbigniew Herbert of then East Germany, joined Mr. Cogito in this effort.

Poems they printed from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and the U.S will be read. The publishers will discuss their motives and enthusiasm, the value of translating and presenting authors from other lands, and how such efforts can go forward.

&& 6:00 pm Presidential Debate – Join us before the program for the final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, live with a lively audience. Metaphors of Dissent will follow immediately.

 

www.ochcom.org
encanto@ochcom.org
PO Box 3588, Portland, OR 97208

Thanks for your interest in the Discovering Oregon Originals series. We look forward to your attendance.
Please announce to all parties you feel might be interested