New Oregon Interview Series: BOOKS August 26, 2009

THE NEW OREGON INTERVIEW SERIES:
ARTISTS AND OTHER INSTIGATORS LOOK AT OREGON'S EVOLVING CREATIVE CULTURE WITH HOST NORA ROBERTSON

UP NEXT: LIVE INTERVIEW AND DISCUSSION WITH JON RAYMOND, BEN MOORAD, AND MONICA DRAKE. URBAN GRIND EAST, AUGUST 26TH, 7PM, MORE INFO HERE.

"Portland is on everybody's mind these days. Portland's a drawing card."

Sound familiar? Over the last decade, Portland has bloomed into a top destination for creative culture. Media from the New York Times to MTV tout our city's creativity, sustainability, and livability. Yet the Beats thought Portland was about to "blow up" in the 1960s and Raymond Carver wrote the above words back in 1984. Where are we heading now?

The New Oregon Interview Series investigates with the help of Michael Brophy, Naomi Pomeroy, Diana Abu-Jaber, Randy Gragg, and forty others. Live public events occur monthly at Urban Grind East, and online interviews are published regularly at www.2GQ.org. Nora Robertson and friends conduct candid, intimate conversations with natives and newcomers alike for their unique perspectives on the creative process and Oregon's ongoing transformation. “A lot has changed in the past decade,” Robertson says. “The best perspective comes from the artists themselves—and the designers, writers, chefs, and venues who make things happen here.” The Oregonian's Barry Johnson remarked in Portland Art Watch "at this point, we don't know whether we're headed back where we left off 18 months ago or whether we're going somewhere completely new. That question is at the center of the New Oregon Interview Series." Presented by 2GQ/New Oregon Arts & Letters.

Official Website: http://www.2gq.org/neworegon.html