The end-of-summer season has brought extreme drought in the Sonoran desert, hurricanes to San Diego, seismic activity across the San Andreas fault, boiling seas to Florida, and fires spanning British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, with effects felt throughout Oregon. As the warm seasons get warmer, summer extends later, and weather patterns become generally more unpredictable, more literature is available about climate change, the eco-responsibility of large corporate entities, and what individuals can do to reduce their carbon footprints.

M Jackson — geographer, adventurer, environmental educator, 2018 TED Fellow, and National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer — has written a book, The Secret Lives of Glaciers, about the devastating impact that changing temperatures have on glaciers. Jackson narrowed her subject — there are more than 400,000 glaciers and ice caps across the planet — to focus on the cultural and social connection between glaciers and people in Iceland. By speaking to glacier-adjacent Icelanders and gathering their stories, Jackson seeks to understand the high-stakes threat posed by the likely disappearance of ice. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14 , Jackson will appear at Roundabout Books in Bend to read from her book and discuss her findings. Tickets are $5.

Another new release, Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest, by Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate of the Cascadia Times, takes on the environment from a different angle. Noting that forests store one-quarter of the world’s carbon emissions and have the capacity to stabilize the climate, the authors aim to educate readers about not only the treatment of Oregon’s old-growth forests, but also the effect on wildlife, and also the challenges faced by Native Americans. While Oregon’s lush natural landscape begins to decline — fewer spawning salmon, more dying trees, and disappearing beavers — logging and development are more prominent than ever. Accompanied by 18 pages of nature photos, Applegate and Koberstein ask what state and national legislators are willing to do to save natural areas and offer suggestions for attracting attention to their cause. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, they will be at Tsunami Books in Eugene for a reading from the book.

Besides these readings, September is filled with Portland-based literary happenings including workshops, author talks, poetry readings, conversations, and more. Don’t miss Chuck Palahniuk, Ann Patchett, Cheryl Strayed, and others when they come to the city of roses.

Week 1: Sept. 1-7

Chuck Palahniuk: Not Forever, But for Now
Presented by Powell’s Books
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5
Revolution Hall
1300 S.E. Stark St., No. 203, Portland
$37, includes a copy of the book

Portland’s own Chuck Palahniuk, author of cult hit book-turned-movie Fight Club, will read from his new release Not Forever, But for Now. The horror satire story follows brothers Otto and Cecil, who are part of a family business revolving around murder. Dismemberment, mummies, and a missing dad all play a part in this bizarre new fiction. Tickets for the event include one copy of the book.

Sponsor

Poetry Reading: Pattie Palmer-Baker, Sherri Levine, Victoria Wyttenberg
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Join artists and poets Pattie Palmer-Baker, Sherri Levine, and Victoria Wyttenberg as they read from their newest collections. Palmer-Baker will read from Five Fundamental Forces, in which she collages with poetry using calligraphy and paste paper; Levine will read from Stealing Flowers from the Neighbors, a debut collection full of celebration and paradox; and Wyttenberg will read from A Bird Watching, a collection about comfort, longing, and desire.

An Evening with Ann Patchett in Conversation with Cheryl Strayed
Presented by Literary Arts
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 S.W. Broadway, Portland
$30-$85

Bestselling author Ann Patchett, “one of our greatest living chroniclers of love and marriage” according to Elle Magazine, will appear at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to talk about her new novel, Tom Lake. Patchett will be joined onstage by Cheryl Strayed, Portland local and author of Wild. Tickets for the event are on a sliding scale. Free and reduced ticket prices are available through the community tickets program.

Casey Parks: Author of Diary of a Misfit
Presented by Writer’s Guild of Astoria and Literary Arts
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8
Peace First Lutheran Church
565 12th St., Astoria
Free

Portland author Casey Parks, Oregon Book Award Winner, author of Diary of a Misfit, former reporter for The Oregonian, and current reporter for The Washington Post, will be at Peace First Lutheran Church in Astoria as part of the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour. Parks will read from her book following a reading by Astoria-based writer Alyssa Graybeal.

Week 2: Sept. 8-14

Sponsor

Alissa Hattman in Conversation with Leni Zumas
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Portland poet Alissa Hattman will read from her newest collection, Sift, in which two women travel changing terrain to find their evolving connection to each other. Hattman will be joined in conversation by Leni Zumas, author of Red Clocks. Signed copies of Sift are available for pre-order to pick up at the event.

Dian Greenwood in Conversation with Laura Stanfill
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Dian Greenwood will discuss her newest release, About the Carleton Sisters, a story about a Las Vegas showgirl, a diner waitress, and a heartbroken alcoholic, all related by blood. During the late 1990s, a death in the family brings the three women back to California’s Central Valley, where they must reckon with their bonds. Greenwood will appear with Laura Stanfill, founder and publisher of Forest Avenue Press.

Poetry Reading: Paulann Petersen and Amy Baskin
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Tuesday, September 12
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita, will read from My Kindred, a poetic cacophony of nature, self-reflection, beauty, curiosity, and surprise. She will be joined by author Amy Baskin, Pushcart Prize nominee, Oregon Literary Arts Fellow, and Oregon Poetry Association prize winner, to discuss Baskin’s latest poetry book, Night Hag.

Week 3: Sept. 15-21

Sponsor

Prompt: Fall into Fall! Writing Workshop
Presented by Write Around Portland
Eight sessions, starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19
Held virtually on Zoom; registration due Sept. 8
$195-$395

Recommit to your writing practice this fall. Prompt is an 8-week series of connected workshops full of free writing, listening, and strengths-based feedback. With accountability and community built in, participants can bundle up summer memories and turn them into art. Leader Jeremy Resnick has volunteered with Write Around Portland since 2015. He’s the author of the novel The Hardship Bazaar, and his writing has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Nervous Breakdown, and The Texas Review.

Reading: Joanne Greene: By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books and Mittleman Jewish Community Center
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

California-based podcast host and essayist Joanne Green will read from her memoir, By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go. After she experienced a sudden trauma, Greene’s life was turned upside down. In her vulnerability, she had to learn many lessons — most of them about the beauty of letting go and relinquishing control. She shares her wisdom and story with the world in her new release.

Week 4: Sept. 22-30

Three Poets: Brittney Corrigan, Jessica Pierce, Charity Yoro
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway, Portland
Free

Brittney Corrigan, Portland author of Daughters, Breaking, Navigation, and 40 Weeks, will read from her newest collection, Solastagia. She will be joined by Charity Yoro, Pushcart Prize and Orison Anthology nominee, reading from Ten-Cent Flower & Other Territories; and Jessica Pierce, Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets nominee, reading from Consider the Body, Winged.

Sponsor

Poetry in the Pasture Reading: Anis Mojgani with Nick Jaina
Presented by A Greater Applegate
5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22
Plaisance Ranch
16955 Water Gap Road, Williams
Free

Anis Mojgani, a two-time champion of the National Poetry Slam, winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, and Poet Laureate of Oregon, will read at the Plaisance Ranch wine-tasting sponsored by A Greater Applegate. Mojgani will be joined by author, musician, and Oregon Book Award finalist Nick Jaina; and artist and community elder Dot Fisher-Smith. The poetry reading is free; the tasting will offer wines by the glass and bottle, as well as beer. — Kristin Thiel