The daily Astorian., March 09, 2017, Page 15, Image 24

MARCH 9, 2017 // 15
Cannon Beach Library
Ever wanted to hike from Portland to the coast?
hosts author Ellen Urbani Author James Thayer can show you the way
CANNON BEACH — The
Cannon Beach Library
will welcome author Ellen
Urbani for its next North-
west Author Series event at
2 p.m. Saturday, March 11.
Admission is free, and the
public is welcome.
Urbani will read from her
novel “Landfall,” which is
set in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina, and sign books.
In “Landfall,” Rosebud
Howard almost survives.
She charges through the
Lower Ninth Ward, beating
the wall of floodwater by a
half-block. She clambers out
of an attic, onto a roof, into
a rowboat. But her grueling
trek to Tuscaloosa, in search
of help for her family, ends
when she’s hit and killed
by a car laden with sup-
plies for Hurricane Katrina
victims. Passenger Rose
Aikens, orphaned by the
crash, climbs away from
the wreck after lacing the
dead girl’s sneakers onto
her own feet. When she
discovers they share not
only shoes but a name and
a birth year, Rose embarks
on a guilt-assuaging odys-
sey to retrace Rosebud’s
last steps and locate her
remaining kin. The stories
and destinies of these two
teenagers — one black,
one white — converge in
“Landfall,” giving voice to
the dead and demonstrating
how strangers, with perse-
verance and forgiveness,
can unite to reconstruct
each other’s shattered fam-
ily histories.
Though she now lives
on a working farm near
Portland, Urbani spent
her formative years living
in Alabama and Virginia.
As a former mental health
specialist for the U.S. De-
partment of Homeland Se-
curity and advisory board
member at the Annenberg
Center for Health Science
Research, she focused on
addressing the emotional
Astoria Public
Library hosts
author event
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Author Ellen Urbani will be
featured at the Cannon Beach
Library on March 11.
ASTORIA — For its next
Meet the Author event at
6 p.m. Friday, March 10,
Astoria Public Library will
present Portland author
James Thayer, who will
give a presentation based
on his new book, “Hiking
from Portland to the Coast:
An Interpretive Guide to 30
Trails.” The event will take
place at the Astoria Public
Library, located at 450 10th
St. Admission is free.
Thayer promises an
entertaining and educational
romp though Oregon’s Coast
Range as he shares stories
of his seven-year efforts to
survey a walking route from
Portland to the coast.
His book and presentation
are as much about the re-
gion’s legends, yarns, family
histories and folklore as they
are about hiking trails. Thay-
er has paired each trail with
a local story that helps hikers
understand the nature of the
places through which their
travels take them. Hear about
SUBMITTED PHOTO
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Hiking from Portland to the
Coast” by James D. Thayer.
welter of peaks and valleys
that make up Oregon’s Coast
Range.
A guidebook for both
experienced and casual
hikers, “Hiking from Portland
to the Coast” explores the
many trails and logging roads
that crisscross the northern
portion of the Coast Range.
While showcasing convenient
looped routes, the book also
describes complete through-
ways connecting Portland to
the coastal communities of
Seaside and Tillamook.
While suitable for hikers,
equestrians, and bikers,
many of the 30 trails in the
book had never before been
surveyed for recreational use.
All are meticulously surveyed
and described in Thayer’s
book, alongside detailed and
annotated maps — as well as
a “backstory” highlighting the
rich histories of Native Amer-
icans, white settlers, loggers
and railroad operators. Some
trails are located on private
timber holdings, accessible
only by paid permit, while
access to others is free. In
most cases vehicular traffic
is not permitted; neither is
camping, littering, or making
fires. From time to time,
access may be restricted due
to fire danger or commercial
activity.
Meet the Author is a free
series readings and presenta-
tions by Oregon authors. For
more information about li-
brary programs and services,
contact library staff at 503-
325-7323 or comments@
astorialibrary, or visit www.
astorialibrary.org
The Coaster Theatre Playhouse Presents
Crossword Answer
“Landfall” by Ellen Urbani.
repercussions of disease
and disaster. This therapeu-
tic perspective informs her
characterization of the vic-
tims of Hurricane Katrina
in “Landfall,” allowing for
a nuanced fictional inter-
pretation of historic events.
Urbani is also author
of the memoir “When
I Was Elena,” a Book
Sense Notable selection
documenting her life in
Guatemala during the final
years of that country’s civil
war. Her autobiographical
essays and short stories
have appeared in a variety
of bestselling pop-culture
anthologies as well as The
New York Times.
how the Native Americans
related to the Coast Range,
how pioneers penetrated this
convoluted wilderness, and
about the exploits of loggers
and their railroading partners.
Thayer grew up in a
hamlet on the Austrian-Ger-
man border until returning
to the U.S. at age 12. His
father, Charles W. Thayer,
was a U.S. diplomat known
for his memoirs about the
early years of the Foreign
Service. Thayer graduat-
ed from Reed College in
1975, at which point he was
smitten by Oregon’s vast
beauty. He currently teaches
international marketing at
Portland State University and
writes historical accounts and
hiking guides about the many
beautiful and isolated places
hidden in the Oregon Coast
Range.
Thayer’s first book, “Port-
land’s Forest Hikes” (Timber
Press, 2007) explores Forest
Park and the wooded slopes
leading almost to Scappoose.
“Hiking from Portland to the
Coast” (OSU Press, 2016) is
the extension of that book,
beginning above Scappoose
and penetrating through the
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March 3 - April 15, 2017
Tickets $20 or $25
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday shows at 3:00p.m.
Sponsored by Coaster Construction
Tickets: 503-436-1242 or coastertheatre.com
108 N Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR