Note sull'episodio
Iris and Cricket recorded this one smack in the middle of Banned Books Week, so they start there, then bring it home to the festivals, readings, and launches filling the city as literary season begins.
Cricket explains how Banned Books Week began in 1982 through the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the difference between a challenge and a ban. The ALA tracked 4,235 unique challenged titles in the 2025 to 2026 reporting period, and most challenges came from organized pressure groups rather than individual parents. Cricket shares why the year's most challenged book, Sold by Patricia McCormick, hits close to home after her years working in sexual assault and domestic violence services. For a lighter listen, they recommend the audiobook of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller, a funny, cozy, satirical read you can borrow through the Multnomah County Library app.
Next, two events to put on your calendar. The Portland Book Festival runs November 2 to 8 and is now a multi-day, multi-venue event with more than 100 authors, plus music, art, and food. Iris shares its history, from Larry Colton founding Wordstock in 2005 to Literary Arts reviving it in 2015. The free, masked Portland Zine Symposium takes over the PSU Smith Memorial Student Union October 17 and 18, and Cricket explains why zine culture is so welcoming and fast-moving.
Then a roundup of what they've been up to:
- The Portland Poetry Confluence, where they heard a long-form reading of Muriel Rukeyser's The Book of the Dead, plus a zine turned into a toss-and-read poetry globe from the Chautauqua Poetry Gathering
- The Endless Wonders Book Fest near Hawthorne, followed by the inevitable stop at Powell's and the Fresh Pot
- The release party for the Buckman Journal's 16th issue, Shed, at the PALS building, where Up Up Books celebrated its grand reopening and Cat Scratch Bakery kept everyone fed
They also look ahead to November with a conversation about NaNoWriMo's closure, the grassroots volunteer-run successor, and NaPoWriMo in April.
Know about an event we missed? Write to us at dear@prosecity.org, and we'll share it on the website, the newsletter, or the next episode. Links to everything mentioned are in the show notes at prosecity.org. If you like the show, share it with a friend.