Grief & Grace: A Reading Showcase

Join writers Krystle May Statler, Tina Tau, and Moe Bowstern by the fire (or in the garden if it's nice) of The Grief House to hear their narratives of love, loss, resilience, and the transformative power we unearth when we share dreams and tell our stories. 

About The Work:

Prayer For Relief, by Krystle May Statler-

Prayer for Relief exemplifies what Toni Morrison called the "reach toward the ineffable," the power of attempting to mourn through language, even when language is insufficient. In this collection, Statler responds to her brother's death-and to the ongoing record of fatal shootings by police officers-by posing to us the question of how we might transform bare facts into poetry. Through formal constraints and clever reinventions of familiar texts, Statler talks back to the banalities of legal procedures, autopsy reports, prayers, and everyday speech, and invites playfulness into even this unfathomable loss. Prayer for Relief is not only a record of a grief practice but also a call to action, asking us to imagine, to plan, to carry out the healing that real justice requires, and to "repeat until the shootings stop."

-Jennifer Perrine, author of Again and No Confession, No Mass

Ask For Horses, by Tina Tau

Ask for Horses is an initiation into the alchemies of wonder. As we accompany this speaker on her epic, dream-guided journey of discovery, her dance with destiny becomes our own. We enter a chorus of deep wisdom. We are illuminated by poetic grace. We are awakened by awe. We are called home to our own deep soul knowing. Reading this book, you will remember that you love it here. You will rediscover dreaming as a path of personal power and healing. And as you follow Tina Tau’s astonishment into the great wilderness of human experience, you will inherit your belonging to this world.  -Sage Cohen, Author of Fierce on the Page

It Did Happen Here; An Antifascist People's History, by Moe Bowstern and others

“It Did Happen Here is a necessary read for this moment. The need for effective antifascist organizing is as urgent as it has been in decades, yet far too many of us don’t know the history of groups who successfully pushed back against neo- Nazis in cities like Portland in the ’90s, even though a number of those organizers are still active today. Utilizing extensive interviews, IDHH connects the dots by providing context for this current wave of white supremacist organizing, highlighting the rich history of Portland antiracist organizations in the ’90s and exploring how they navigated many of the same struggles, both external and internal, that we’re dealing with in real time today.” —Bruce Poinsette, writer, organizer, educator, and host of The Blacktastic Adventure

Together, we'll create a space where personal and communal grief finds solace and grace finds voice.

Timeline for The Evening:

4:00-4:30 - We'll open our doors. Come get settled, say hello, make yourself at home.

4:30-5:30 - Reading & q&a. The authors will share their work - we'll leave time for questions at the end.

5:30-6:00 - Mingle, connect, continue conversations, be in community 

Books will be available for purchase at the house on the night of our gathering and in the weeks before. You can order books online here:

Prayer For Relief

Ask For Horses

It Did Happen Here; An Antifasciest People's History

This is a free event. Donations are welcomed and appreciated.