Sat, Nov 9, 2019 at 7:30pm

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Ross Gay is coming to delight and dazzle, challenge and provoke you with his poetic new work, “The Book of Delights: Essays.” Gay is also the author of three books of poetry, including “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” winner of the 2015 National Books Critics Circle Award. His 2015 poem, “A Small Needful Fact,” about the death of Eric Garner in New York, has crisscrossed the internet, causing people to stop and read - and moving them to tears with just fifteen lines of poetry. In his new book, Gay expands this power of his to create emotion and feeling in the reader to the form of short lyric essays (or “essayettes”) that celebrate the simple and profound joys of daily living. His positive, yet complex writing illuminates the world we live in funny, poetic, and philosophical ways that will stay with you.

Mira Jacob wants to talk to you. The author of illustrator of the critically acclaimed “Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations,” Jacob’s writing and drawings have appeared in The New York Times, Electric Literature, Tin House, Literary Hub, Guernica, Vogue, the Telegraph, and Buzzfeed, and she has a drawn column on Shondaland. “Good Talk” is a vibrant graphic novel memoir that explores identity, interracial families, and the difficult conversations we need to be having. If you’re ready to listen, then Jacob is ready to give you a very good talking to.

Tim O’Brien is full of maybe’s these days. The acclaimed novelist is back with “Dad’s Maybe Book,” a collection of letters, advice, and emotional recollections that he began writing to his two sons fifteen years ago. As an older father, he wanted his sons to know him and his life – the up, the downs, and the things he came to understand about himself and the world. He spoke to his sons as if they were adults, and wrote what he believed they might want/need to hear from a father. The bestselling author of “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien was interviewed for Ken Burns; 2017 documentary series, “The Vietnam War,” and recently served as the co-writer on the Vietnam episodes of the NBC series “This is Us.” Tim O’Brien may be working with maybe’s, but there’s no doubt that this tender, expressive book about a father’s love will affect you deeply.

Edna Vazquez is all about boundary pushing. The fearless singer, songwriter, and guitarist writes and performs original compositions that cross the genres of alternative rock, folk, pop, and R&B seamlessly. She’s worked and performed with the Bravo Youth Orchestras at the MGM in Las Vegas, and at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. She is also currently touring with musical supergroup Pink Martini, sharing a special version of her son “Sola Soy.” Edna Vazquez’s powerful voice and musical talent delivers a message of light, love, and cultural healing that will convince you some boundaries are arbitrary.

Alberta Rose Theatre

3000 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211