Three Authors Come for the 10th Annual Newport Reads!

The tenth annual Newport Reads! community reading program will present a triple header on April 9 at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Oregon authors Jane Kirkpatrick, Phillip Margolin and Gregory Nokes will discuss their recent books on the roles of African Americans in settling Oregon. Doors open at 6:30 and the program begins at 7:00 in the Alice Silverman Theater. Sponsored by the Newport Public Library Foundation, the program is free to all readers. 

“Often, when slavery is mentioned, or discrimination,” says Patti Littlehales, Chair of the Newport Reads! Committee, “the reaction is to think of the South. But Oregon played a role, too. These authors believe that a part of Oregon’s history has been forgotten and should be remembered.” 

Nokes’ and Margolin’s books feature the groundbreaking court case, Holmes versus Ford. Nokes wrote Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory, a nonfiction account, and Margolin gave us Worthy Brown’s Daughter. Kirkpatrick’s latest book, A Light in the Wilderness, is the story of a woman of color traveling on the Oregon Trail and also features a significant court case. Together these books give a real feeling for living in the Oregon Territory before the Civil War. “These books were among my first glimpses into Black history in Oregon, which is only recently being talked about and published,” says Wyma Rogers, one of the organizers of Newport Reads! 

Phillip Margolin grew up in New York City and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. He came to Oregon to practice criminal law before becoming a full-time writer of mystery and detective novels. His books have received numerous awards and appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List. 

Jane Kirkpatrick is a popular Oregon writer, speaker and teacher. Her books have won several awards, including the Oregon Book Award. Kirkpatrick began as a social worker after graduating from the University of Wisconsin. In her retirement she homesteaded land on the John Day River in a remote part of Oregon known as Starvation Point. 

Gregory Nokes is a former reporter and editor for the Associated Press and the Oregonian. He is a Portland native who attended Willamette and Harvard Universities. Nokes is known for his work in uncovering details of the 1887 massacre of 34 Chinese gold miners in Hells Canyon. 

The Newport Public Library has multiple copies of each book for lending, and there will be an opportunity to buy the books at the program and get them signed by the authors. The idea of a community reads program started in Seattle in 1998 to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion and create a community connection. For more information on Newport Reads!, call 541-265-2153.

Bob Welch's Cascade Summer

Oregon author Bob Welch will be in Newport to discuss this year’s Newport Reads! selection Cascade Summer: My Adventure on Oregon’s Pacific Crest Trail.  Welch will answer questions and sign books after his presentation. He will also debut his latest children’s book, Keyboard Kitten 2, which features elements of Newport. Welch speaks Thursday evening, April 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Bob Welch is the award-winning writer of nearly 2000 columns for The Register-Guard, author of 15 books and of articles published in anthologies and leading magazines, founder of the popular Beachside Writers Workshop in Yachats, and head of Pebble in the Water Inspiration. Cascade Summer was released to rave reviews in 2012.  Jay Bowerman, Principal Research at Sunriver Nature Center says, “This is no travelogue of a trail, but a human adventure that brings into play unexpected challenges, unexpected heroes, and an unexpected ending. A gold-star read.”

Over 90 readers have checked out copies of Cascade Summer in the two months since the Newport Public Library Foundation announced it as this year’s Newport Reads! Many copies of the book are still available to be checked out from the library, local bookstores have the book on sale, and additional copies will be on sale at the author event.

 Earlier in the day, Welch will talk about the craft of writing to students at Newport High School. In the afternoon he will read from his children’s book, Keyboard Kitten to students at Sam Case Elementary School.

The Newport Public Library Foundation hosts Newport Reads 2014! with support from the Sylvia Beach Hotel and the Elizabeth Street Inn. For more information, check with the Newport Public Library, 35 NW Nye, 541-265-2153, www.newportlibrary.org.

~ Wyma Rogers

Hiking and History

Cascade Summer: My Adventure on Oregon’s Pacific Crest Trail by Bob Welch is the Newport Public Library's Community Read for 2014.  Programs for learning more about the Pacific Crest Trail and its history take place this coming weekend.

Local naturalist Linda Brodeur will lead a short and easy family hike through Mike Miller Park on Sunday, April 13, at 1:00 p.m. Meet where the park adjoins the Community College parking lot; the hike ends at the Community Room of Oregon Coast Community College with trail mix, hot cocoa, and cookies.

After refreshments, National Park Service historian Stephen R. Mark presents “John Breckenridge Waldo – Oregon’s Own Thoreau.” Waldo hiked the Cascades in the early 20th century. Pages from his hiking journal are featured in Cascade Summer. That’s at 2:30 p.m. on April 13 in the OCCC Community Room. Newport Reads Cascade Summer! is sponsored by the Sylvia Beach Hotel, the Elizabeth Street Inn, and the Newport Public Library Foundation.

For more information, contact the Newport Public Library at 541-265-2153 or go to www.newportlibrary.org.

Adventures on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail

The Newport Public Library Foundation announces Cascade Summer: My Adventure on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail, by Oregon author Bob Welch, as the community read for 2014.

People have two months to read the book and be ready to participate in events scheduled for April. Copies of Cascade Summer are available at the library and in local book stores. This year's program includes something for everyone: kids, families, hikers, history buffs, and cocoa drinkers.

On Tuesday, April 8, at noon in the library's McEntee Room, the Reading Circle will discuss Cascade Summer and compare it to Cheryl Strayed's Wild, another book by an Oregon author on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Bring your lunch and share your thoughts.

On Sunday, April 13, at 1 p.m. at Mike Miller Park, local naturalist Linda Brodeur will lead a short and easy family hike, enlivened with fun and educational facts. The hike will end at the Community Room of Oregon Coast Community College with trail mix, hot cocoa, and cookies.

At 2:30 p.m. on April 13 in the OCCC Community Room, hikers and history buffs will enjoy a presentation by Stephen R. Mark, National Park Service historian, titled "John Breckenridge Waldo Oregon's Own Thoreau." Judge Waldo was an early preservationist who hiked most of the mountains and trails of the Cascades in the early 20th century. Pages from his hiking diary are featured in Cascade Summer.

On Thursday, April 24, Bob Welch will speak at three venues: 

• He will begin the morning with a writing workshop with Newport High School students. 
• At 2:00 p.m., he'll share his picture book, The Keyboard Kitten : An Oregon Children's Story, with students at Sam Case Elementary. This event is hosted by the library foundation and the Sam Case Booster Club. 
• At 7 p.m., in the auditorium of the Hatfield Marine Science Center, Welch will discuss Cascade Summer and highlights of his trek. Copies of the book will be on sale. A question-and-answer session and a book signing will follow his presentation.

Bob Welch, the award-winning writer of 15 books and nearly 2,000 columns for The Register-Guard, is Oregon's storyteller extraordinaire. Cascade Summer was released to rave reviews in 2012. Principal Researcher at Sunriver Nature Center says, "This is no travelogue of a trail, but a human adventure that brings into play unexpected challenges, unexpected heroes, and an unexpected ending. A gold-star read."

The Newport Public Library Foundation supports community programs for the Newport Public Library, 35 NW Nye. More information is available by calling 541-265-2153 or going online at www.newportlibrary.org.

Post-Neawanaka Blues

Newport Reads is over for another year, but the pleasure of reading Mink River, viewing the Readers Theater program, and attending Brian Doyle’s high-energy conversation lingers on. I am especially tuned in to Brian’s talk, because I just finished splicing a recording of it into eight segments, which I uploaded to YouTube.

I laughed along with the audience as I reviewed the footage, and felt a chill in my heart as he talked about the bombing in Boston (Brian’s talk was just three days after the Marathon) and the tragic, necessary stories that arose out of the events of September 11.



Brian shared so much with us in the space of 90 minutes, that it’s hard to encapsulate his talk in a sentence or two. We learned that he comes from a large, Catholic family; he learned Gaelic from his grandmother; he believes in miracles (people came out of his wife!); and he cries in public. We also learned that he didn’t write his book, his characters did, and he was just as surprised as his readers were that a crow spoke English and Cedar could talk to bears.



If you could not attend this memorable Newport Reads event, or even if you did, join us in the wonder of an evening spent with the lyrical, inventive mind of Brian Doyle. He doesn’t disappoint. - Sheryl

Newport Reads!

Newport Reads! kicks off its eighth annual reading program this week. This community reads program is sponsored by the Newport Public Library Foundation.

The idea of a community reads program started in Seattle in 1998 to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion – if everyone in the community read the same book there would be many discussions in many places, a community connection.

Mink River by Brian Doyle is the book selected this year for Newport Reads. The novel is set in a fictional Oregon Coastal town, Neawananka, at the mouth of the Mink River. It weaves together the stories of dozens of characters. Doyle’s style is inventive and might take a few pages to get used to, but it is reminiscent of ancient storytellers.

The book was described on a Newport Library blog as “a weird and charming novel that tells the tale of Neawananka. Skipping from character to character, it explores the town's geography and its wildlife, its myths and tales, its dark woods and flashing streams.” It is a portrait of one summer in the life of the town.

Two programs will be presented to foster discussion of the book. The first is a Readers Theater on April 11 at the Newport Performing Arts Center. This will be a cabaret style setting and will feature actors taking on the persona of characters in the book.

Brian Doyle will present an authors talk on April 18 at 7 p.m. in the McEntee Room at the Newport Library for the second program. He will discuss his book, take questions and autographs.

Doyle is a Portland author, the editor of Portland Magazine at University of Portland. He is the author of 10 books. His background in nature writing and humor is woven into Mink River.

This is an Oregonian Top Ten Northwest Book, which says: “The greatest gift of Mink River is that it provides every reason in the world to see your own village, neighborhood and life in a deeper and more nuanced and connected way.” What a perfect review for a community reads book!

Local bookstores have copies of the book, should you want to have your own copy autographed, or the library has many copies available to be checked out.

The Reading Circle at the library will be discussing Mink River on April 9, 2013 in the McEntee Room at the library from noon until 1:30 p.m. Bring your lunch and join the discussion. Mark your calendars now for all of the programs. - courtesy of Carol Ruggeri, Newport Public Library Foundation Board

Come to our party!

The Newport Library Foundation has selected Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to be the book for this year's Newport Reads! celebration.

Newport Reads! kicks off this Tuesday at 6:30 here at the library. We'll be talking about the book, the movie, and about Ken Kesey himself. There will be snacks and a trivia game.

Come join us!

Maybe the earth is trying to tell us something

Miles O'Mally is a precocious 13-year old with a passion for Puget Sound, Rachel Carson, and marine life. Like a young Doc Ricketts, he wanders the mudflats near his home in Olympia, collecting sea creatures to sell to aquariums and private collectors. One night he finds a dying giant squid, and afterwards his life is never the same.

Miles is the protagonist of Jim Lynch's novel, The Highest Tide, which is this year's selection for NEWPORT READS! He has a crush on Angie, the older girl next door, and is close friends with Florence, an elderly neighbor who is the local psychic. His best friend, Phelps is obsessed with sex, and his parents are always fighting. The novel is both a coming-of-age story and a cautionary tale about the fragility of our planet.

The Newport Library Foundation has planned a series of events around the book. The kick-off, which will introduce the book and include a marine life scavenger hunt, takes place on April 8 at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Attendance will be limited to 100 attendees, so free tickets will be available at the library starting on March 22.

Jim Lynch, the author, will give a talk at the Oregon Coast Community College on April 15, and the final program will be a panel of marine scientists on April 22 at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. All programs will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Read the book, join the discussions, and we hope to see you at one or more of the events!