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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2017)
November 15, 2017 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment Local Author Visits North Portland Library Renee Watson teaches students and educators about power of writing By Kirby McCurtis For The Skanner News W riter Renée Watson spent time at North Portland Li- brary last week week hosting two programs. Watson is on a fall book tour promoting her latest novel for young adults, Piecing Me To- gether. On Nov. 7, the Oregon Writing Project sponsored a two-hour writing workshop. The room was packed with participants, primari- ly educators, eager to learn about teaching writing and making time for their own creative works. The next morning, Watson returned to the library with fellow writ- ers Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds for what we hope is the first in a regular series of author visits for students, in col- laboration with Jefferson High School. This past summer, I approached Watson at a conference, and we discussed the lack of author events for teens in the North Portland area. Knowing Watson is a Jefferson High School alumna, I asked her if there was a way we could get groups of students all reading the same book to come to the library to meet the author of that book. She was excited by the idea and made it happen. Half of the freshman English classes at Jeffer- son read “All American Boys” by Kiely and Reyn- olds. In this raw and hon- est book, the two authors present a story of police brutality. Reynolds voic- es Rashad, the innocent Black victim of a police Film cont’d from pg 6 ulously managed to pre- vail against the best in an event he hadn’t trained for. “Chariots of Fire” was a critically acclaimed crowd-pleaser which landed a quartet of Acad- emy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. However, it took 36 years for someone to mount a sequel showing what became of the Olympic great in the wake of his glory days. Co-directed by Stephen Shin and Michael Park- er, “On Wings of Eagles” stars BAFTA-nominee Jo- seph Fiennes (for Shake- speare in Love) as Eric Liddell. At the point of ‘On Wings of Eagles’ picks up where ‘Chariots of Fire’ left off departure, we learn that the unassuming athlete eschewed fame and for- tune in favor of return- ing to China, the country of his birth, in 1925, to follow his calling to do missionary work. He would settle down in Asia and start a fami- ly with the woman of his dreams, Florence Mack- enzie (Elizabeth Arends). However, their marital bliss would be irrevers- ibly altered by the Japa- nese invasion of China in 1937. During the occupation, the Liddells were afford- ed a brief opportunity to leave the country. The beating; Kiely writes Quinn, a horrified White witness. The other half of the freshman class read This Side of Home, Ms. Watson’s 2015 book about two twin sisters growing up in North Portland and experiencing gentrifica- tion of their neighbor- hood. Watson’s nuanced portrayal of changes to the city and the impact it is having on the sisters’ community is both mov- ing and a necessary read for anyone living in Port- land right now. During the event, the authors read from the dedicated minister de- cided to not abandon his flock, though he did send his pregnant wife and daughters, Patricia (Lau- ra Justine Friis Lodahl) and Heather (Asta Friis Lodahl), to live with his in-laws in Canada. Sad- ly, he was subsequently interned in a concen- tration camp where he would suffer terribly before passing away in 1945, just months before Japan’s surrender. A bittersweet tribute to a man of great faith who always opted to follow humbly in the footsteps of his Lord and Savior Je- sus Christ. Very Good HHH Rated In English, Mandarin and Japanese with sub- titles Running time: 96 min. Brendan Kiely (left), poses with Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds at a Nov. 7 event at the North Portland Library. books and took questions from students about their writing processes, inspirations, and how they talk about what is happening in the world. Many of the students, ea- ger to improve their own writing, asked how to See AUTHOR on page 8
