Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (left, photo by Wani Olatunde), Ross Gay (center, photo by Natasha Komoda), Mitchell S. Jackson (right, photo by John Ricard)
Wani Olatunde / OPB
On this episode of “Literary Arts: The Archive Project,” we celebrate the twentieth year of Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads program. Each year, the Library chooses one book that they hope everyone in Multnomah County will read and talk about. As part of the program, the Library and their partner organizations host events based on the themes of the book, and they distribute thousands of free copies to readers of all ages thanks to support from The Library Foundation. Literary Arts has been a proud partner of Everybody Reads for over a decade, by bringing the featured author to Portland to culminate the program with a live event at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
In the episode, we join Vailey Oehlke, who has been director of Multnomah County Library since 2009. Vailey is in conversation with Literary Arts’ executive director, Andrew Proctor. They discuss the inspiration and beginnings of the program at the Library, reflect on the role of public libraries as important and unique cultural resources, share favorite moments from past author visits, and go behind the scenes of how the books are selected. We also hear from previous Everybody Reads authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of 2019′s selections “Americanah” and “We Should All Be Feminists;” Portland-native Mitchell S. Jackson, author of 2015′s selection “The Residue Years;” and Ross Gay, author of 2021′s selection “The Book of Delights.”
This year’s 2022 Everybody Reads selection is “Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations” by Mira Jacob. Written with humor and vulnerability, this deeply relatable graphic memoir is a love letter to the art of conversation, and to the hope that hovers in our most difficult questions. For more information about the event, visit literary-arts.org.