The lit crowd
By Leslie O’Donnell
For the TODAY
Where does a writer’s inspiration come from? Historic photographs and a great-grandmother’s memories? Girlfriends talking around the dinner table? What led to a writer’s change in direction from marine biology to science fiction?
Diverse writing styles and subjects — and more — will be the topic of a first-ever literary event at Newport’s Pacific Maritime Heritage Center this Saturday, March 9.
Get Lit at the Maritime Center, with nine writers speaking about their work, is a collaboration between museum director Susan Tissot and Newport writer Carla Perry.
The program is free with museum admission. Guests are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch and a water bottle. Seating is first come, first served. Books by the featured authors will be available for purchase.
The keynote speaker is Erin Litteken, a second generation Ukrainian American who weaves stories she heard from her great-grandmother into historical fiction about the Ukrainian people. At 11:30 am, she will discuss her novels “The Lost Daughters of Ukraine” and “The Memory Keeper of Kyiv,” Litteken is the recipient of the 2022 She Reads Best Historical Fiction Award and the 2023 Women Fiction Writers Association Star Award.
Other participants are:
• Dr. Candice Goucher of Portland, Professor Emerita of history at Washington State University, lead author of 28 films and author of 15 books on African history, archaeology and food studies. She will speak on her upcoming publication of “Politics, Porcupines and Photographs: My Grandmother’s Picnic in 1911,” inspired by her research into historical photographs.
• Dr. Brian Tissot of Depoe Bay, is Professor Emeritus of biological sciences at California Poly Humboldt and a marine biologist and surfer. He will discuss his move from scientific writing to science fiction. He is currently at work on the “Songs of the Universe” trilogy.
• Leanne Grabel of Portland, is a writer, teacher, illustrator and spoken word performance artist. She will present her newest project “Old with Jokes,” with a slideshow and backup vocalist. She won the 2020 Bread & Roses Award for contributions to women’s literature in the Pacific Northwest.
• Kerry Newberry of Portland, is a writer and journalist and is co-author of “Oregon Food + Wine: The Cookbook.” She is a contributing writer for 1859 magazine.
• Dr. David Lewis of Salem is assistant professor of anthropology and indigenous studies at Oregon State University and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. He has written tribal histories of the peoples of Oregon and Caifornia.
• Amy Leona Havin is a poet, essayist, arts journalist, filmmaker and performance artist based in Portland. She is a staff writer for The Oregonian/Oregon Live, writes for Oregon Arts Watch and is artistic director of Portland-based dance performance company, The Holding Project. She will discuss Oregon literature.
• Carla Perry of Newport is founder and director of Writers on the Edge and the Nye Beach Writers’ Series, and is author of books of poetry and the novel “Riva Beside Me.” Together with her friends Jess Bondy and Sara Heimlich, she wrote “The Jew Girls Adventure Series,” partially set in Newport. The authors wrote the book after conversations around the dinner table during COVID, in an effort to put more joy in their lives. Perry is the recipient of the Stewart Holbrook Oregon Book Award, the Oregon Governor’s Art Award and the 2022 Soapstone Bread & Roses Award for decades of service to Oregon’s literary community.
She is at work on her second novel, “The Crone’s Boy” set in 14th-Century Italy during the Black Plague.
Years ago, Perry took a class in past life regression. “I wanted to find out why I was so interested in herbs,” she said. “I went to Italy about eight years ago, and what I saw there and in my past life regression was the same.”
• Jess Bondy traces her family roots to Russian and Eastern European Jews who emigrated to Manhattan in the late 1800s. She recently retired as Lincoln County senior planner.
She and Perry will read from their Adventure Series.
A chance meeting at the maritime center’s holiday open house brought Tissot and Perry together.
“Carla and I talked about people we thought would be fun to bring here and we reached out to them,” Tissot said. “The literary series was something I’d done elsewhere and I’d always wanted to do it here.”
Tissot noted that, as a second generation Ukrainian American, she shares a similar background with keynote speaker Erin Litteken.
“And I thought Erin’s books were really timely,” Tissot said. “Most people in the US have no clue about Ukraine. What’s happening there is not a new thing — Ukraine has been targeted over and over.”
Saturday’s event runs from 10 am to 5 pm at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, located at 333 SE Bay Blvd. For more information, go to oregoncoasthistory.org or call 541-265-7509.