Reading Frenzy ~ An Independent Press Emporium

The New Oregon Interview Series will pick up again February 22nd! This month they'll be sitting down Mayor Sam Adams, Portland Monthly editor Randy Gragg and architect Brad Cloepfil to discuss how our urban spaces are evolving.

The host and creator, Nora Robertson has done eight previous interview installments so far with a diverse group of artists, chefs, designers and politicians bringing unique perspective to urban growth.

Monday, February 22nd, at Urban Grind East, 2214 NE Oregon St., from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., doors open at 6:30 pm. Beer, wine, coffee, and light snacks will be available for purchase. Admission is $5 at the door.

February 04, 2010:

In anticipation for Death Magazine's Feb. 17th release party here in our shop, I chatted with the man propelling it all, Forrest Martin, about the origins of the magazine, steering clear of Edgar Allen Poe, and his own personal relationship with death.

You might have cornered the magazine market on death, what led you to this project?

5 years ago I was living in rural Tennessee and discovered that an old friend I'd lost touch with from Olympia was going to school in Nashville, getting his Masters in Education from Peabody College at Vanderbilt (Nathan Cearley; he wrote an awesome Holden Caulfield-esque essay about 9-11 for this issue). Soon after we realized we were both sort of randomly in TN, he contacted me and asked if I would contribute something to this magazine he was thinking of starting, called Death: a magazine for the enthusiast and non-enthusiast alike. I gave him an earlier version of the cover that the magazine has now and a really bad piece of writing, but nothing ever came of the project. Fast forward to Fall of 2009 when I asked him if I could revive the project and turn it into something. He hadn't planned to pick it up again and agreed.

I emailed him about what initially led HIM to the project, and he said this, "...the question of death was an educational question...what can we learn from it? I am inspired to write about death because I feel like the whole artifice of our delusional and superficial society is built around our rejection of deaths finality and our ultimate mortality. Being unable to grasp our end in death means being unable to really live. So, ultimately, a magazine on death was somehow going to be a magazine about life...about learning how to live."

Disjecta has announced the artists for this year's Portland2010 Biennial! Out of over 300 visual and performance artists considered, only 18 will show, including 5 artists who have previously donned the walls of Reading Frenzy! John Brodie, Marne Lucas, Sean Healy, Melody Owen, and Stephen Slappe have all graced our shop, and we look forward to seeing new work!

Set to open March 13th, it looks to be a great Biennial, with shows going up, not only in Disjecta, but across the city, at the Art Gym, Rock's Box, Alpern Gallery and The Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

To find out more about the upcoming exhibition, click here!

Our good friend over at Future Tense Books and keeper of Powell's Small Press section, Kevin Sampsell, will be giving a reading there tonight, Feb. 2nd, at 7:30! He promises an entertaining show complete with a powerpoint presentation. Sampsell's book A Common Pornography recently hit the streets via Harper Perennial. He has also launched a new website chock full of videos, reviews and upcoming tour dates, conveniently, kevinsampsell.com!

The illustrious Carye Bye, author and printmaker over at Red Bat Press, will be hosting another Museum by Bikes tour! Bye is the author of Hidden Portland and is a great expert to pedal around town with.

Starting with the ol' stand-by Voodoo Donut, you'll traverse a vast array of historic restaurants, breweries and even the Hellenic-American Cultural Center & Museum where they'll be celebrating their exhibition 'Savor the Flavors of Greece" with free samples!

Voodoo Doughnuts Too, 1501 NE Davis St (Right off Sandy Blvd at Davis) 12:45pm, Aprox 4 hours

For those of you brave enough to bare the cold this past Sunday to see the launch of a brand new magazine, Prism Index, we commend you! For those who missed the opening, fear not! Reading Frenzy is now carrying the first issue boasting over 50 artists. A true multi-media collaboration the handmade book is straight up brimming with art, comics, short fiction, non-fiction, interviews, you name it; and includes a dvd and cd!

Check 'em out at their website!

The next Stumptown Comics Fest has been announced! The shindig will go down on April 24th and 25th for a full weekend of parties, panels and workshops. Begun in 2004, the Stumptown Comic folks have been successfully shifting the focus from dealers and publishers to the artists themselves. Visit their website for more updates and registration information as it comes in!