The Archive Project

This week we have a conversation featuring Naomi Alderman, who joined us for Portland Book Festival in November 2023 for the very first event for her new novel, The Future . Alderman is the author of the mega best-seller, Barack Obama-endorsed, Margaret Atwood-mentored novel The Power . She talks with interviewer Omar El Akkad about the pressure she felt writing this follow-up, about a handful of...

In this episode of The Archive Project , we feature Viet Thanh Nguyen in conversation with author Tommy Orange from the 2023 Portland Book Festival. Viet Than Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for his debut novel The Sympathizer , which sold more than one million copies worldwide, catapulted him to national fame. Since then, Nguyen has gone on to publish two more books of fiction, and a work o...

This episode is a celebration of the life of writer and teacher Tom Spanbauer, who passed away on September 21, 2024.       Born in rural Idaho in 1946, Spanbauer spent time in Kenya in the Peace Corps after attending Idaho State University. He returned to the United States in 1978 and moved several times before landing in New York City, where he earned an MFA from Columbia University 1988. He pub...

To close out the celebration of National Poetry Month, this episode featured poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil at the final event of the 2023-24 season of Portland Arts & Lectures.      Nezhukumatathil is an accomplished poet: Literally every one of her four published poetry collections is prize-winning, and she is the first-ever poetry editor of Sierra magazine, the story-telling arm of...

This week, we continue to celebrate National Poetry Month with a conversation from the 2023 Portland Book Festival. Jane Hirshfield is one of our most important living poets, and last year she released The Asking , a new and selected volume. Hirshfield has published ten volumes of poetry, two now-classic essay collections on the craft of poetry, and she has co-translated four books presenting worl...

As part of 2023 Portland Book Festival Cover to Cover, a weeklong event series with bookish events happening all over the Portland area, local bookstore Broadway Books hosted an evening honoring the late Oregon writer Barry Lopez. Broadway declared 2023 the “year of reading Barry Lopez,” and we gathered three writers to share their memories of Barry and what his work meant to them, centered on his...

We continue to celebrate National Poetry Month with a deep dive into Verselandia!, the annual city-wide high school poetry slam championship. In this week’s episode of The Archive Project, we’ll hear from some of the 2023 competitors, and we’ll follow a few 2024 hopefuls as they compete in their school slams.     Verselandia! was founded by a visionary team of Portland public high school librarian...

On this episode of  The Archive Project , we feature Barbara Kingsolver in conversation with Jess Walter. Barbara Kingsovler is the author of seventeen books, including nonfiction, short stories, poetry, and novels. Her novels include modern classics like  The Poisonwood Bible  and  The Lacuna . Kingsolver is known for socially engaged writing that embraces the psychological and emotional. As she...

This episode features Charles Yu at Portland Arts & Lectures on February 29, 2024.    Charles Yu first rose to national prominence in 2007 when his debut collection, Third Class Superhero was recognized by the National Book Foundation’s prestigious “Five under 35” program.      Yu has published three more books of fiction, including Interior Chinatown , which won the National Book Award in 202...

In this episode, we bring you a talk from Ruth Ozeki. It was the culminating event of the 2023 Everybody Reads program. Every year, the Multnomah County Library chooses one book they hope the whole city will read. Between January and April, the Library, and their partner organizations, host events based around the themes of the book, and they distribute thousands of free copies—thanks to the Libra...

This episode is a conversation from the 2023 Portland Book Festival on food, cooking, family, traditions, and storytelling. And like some of the best meals, it just happens to be … vegetarian.   Portland’s superstar chef Gregory Gourdet, chef/owner at  kann , which was awarded “Best New Restaurant 2023” from multiple outlets, including the James Beard Awards, is also the author of a wonderful cook...

In this episode of  The Archive Project , we feature renowned author, Mary Beard. Probably the most famous classicist in the world, Mary Beard is best known for her international bestsellers  SPQR , about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and  Women & Power: A Manifesto,  a study of ancient and modern attitudes toward female speech. She joined us in the fall of 2023 to talk about her late...

In this episode of The Archive Project , we reach back deep into the archive for a lecture by Caryl Phillips from Portland Arts and Lectures in 1999. It’s a fascinating talk about the tragic life of singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye.     Caryl Phillips was born on the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts in 1958 and was raised in Leeds, England. His career began in the 1980s British theater and quickly e...

In this episode of  The Archive Project , we feature a conversation with Michael Lewis from the 2023 Portland Book Festival. Lewis is the author of 17 books of nonfiction including  Liar’s Poker , Moneyball , The Big Short  and  Flashboys . His books are about unconventional people doing extraordinary things, usually behind the scenes. Lewis joined Portland Book Festival to talk about his new book...

In this episode of  The Archive Project , we have an event from the 2023 Portland Book Festival featuring two wonderful poets, whose friendship and fandom shines through in their conversation. Major Jackson, author of  Razzle Dazzle  and host of  The Slowdown  poetry podcast and newsletter interviews fellow poet Tracy K. Smith about her latest book,  To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American S...

In this episode of  The Archive Project , we feature nonfiction writer David Grann on the release of his new book,  The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder . Grann’s literary journalism combines archival research with in-person interviews and on-the-ground investigation, and it’s said that he’s obsessed with stories and how they are told. Grann has said, “Stories and narratives are alway...

In this episode of  The Archive Project , we feature legendary actor, filmmaker, and writer, Tom Hanks. Hanks was joined on stage at the Keller auditorium in May 2023 by fiction and screenwriter Jon Raymond. What’s great about this conversation is that the through line involves Tom Hanks’s longtime make-up artist Danny Stripeke; because in many ways it reveals why Hanks is such an incredible story...

In this episode of The Archive Project , we feature best-selling, award-winning novelist Ann Patchett, who discusses her latest novel, Tom Lake , with Portland’s own Cheryl Strayed. Ann Patchett is one of our most beloved contemporary authors. She is the author of two children’s books, four books of nonfiction, and nine novels. The New York Times Book Review has said “expect miracles when you read...

In this episode of The Archive Project , we feature Zadie Smith in conversation with New Yorker staff writer Parul Sehgal from the 2023 Portland Arts & Lectures series. Smith is one of the preeminent fiction writers of our age. She burst onto the stage in the year 2000 with her debut novel, White Teeth . It was a huge bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic, and signaled a bold new talent had...

As part of 2023 Portland Book Festival Cover to Cover, a weeklong event series with bookish events happening all over the Portland area, local bookstore Broadway Books hosted an evening honoring the late Oregon writer Barry Lopez. Broadway declared 2023 the “year of reading Barry Lopez,” and we gathered three writers to share their memories of Barry and what his work meant to them, centered on his...

In this episode of The Archive Project, we revisit a lecture from the Multnomah County Library’s 2020 Everybody Reads program featuring Tommy Orange. The Everybody Reads program an annual shared reading experience that includes city-wide events for readers of all ages. In his lecture, Orange details his experience as a Native American growing up and working in Oakland, California. He didn’t always...

This episode features a timely, difficult, yet hopeful conversation featuring journalist Eli Saslow.      Saslow lives in Portland and is a writer at large for the New York Times. He travels the country to write in-depth stories about the impact of major national issues on individual lives. He has twice been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting, as well as the Dayton Literary Peace Prize a...

This episode features Charles Yu at Portland Arts & Lectures on February 29, 2024.    Charles Yu first rose to national prominence in 2007 when his debut collection, Third Class Superhero was recognized by the National Book Foundation’s prestigious “Five under 35” program.      Yu has published three more books of fiction, including Interior Chinatown , which won the National Book Award in 202...

This episode features a great event from the 2023 Portland Book Festival on the relationships between humans and animals, and on our ideas about the meaning of animals.    Erica Berry is the author of Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear , winner of the 2024 Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction. Erica is based in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, and teaches in Literary Arts...

To close out the celebration of National Poetry Month, this episode features poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil at the final event of the 2023-24 season of Portland Arts & Lectures.      Nezhukumatathil is an accomplished poet: Literally every one of her four published poetry collections is prize-winning, and she is the first-ever poetry editor of Sierra magazine, the story-telling arm of...