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Friends of the Oregon City Library Bookstore to host Hannah Gildea for its first author reading

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Hannah Gildea has been asked to give Friends of the Oregon City Public Library Bookstore’s first-ever author reading at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 10, at 502 Seventh St.

PHOTO BY: RAYMOND RENDLEMAN - Hannah Gildea reads her work at the Aug. 5 groundbreaking-themed reading at the Oregon City Public Library. Her reading at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, two blocks away from the library at 502 Seventh St. is a benefit for the library's expansion and renovation.Gildea is becoming well-known around her hometown of Oregon City for delighting audiences with more than just her stories.

Attendees of a groundbreaking-themed reading that Library Director Maureen Cole organized on Aug. 5 were asked to bring a “literary hard hat” so they’d know to be prepared for cutting-edge, visionary writing. Gildea’s short story “Cottonmouth” had just been published in “Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley” after winning the Mighty River Short Story Contest.

Along with Portland authors Trevor Dodge and Margaret Malone, Gildea packed the Oregon City Carnegie Library just before the Aug. 8 groundbreaking of the building’s expansion and renovation, and all three authors drew loud rounds of applause from the audience for their readings. But the crowd screamed in delight on seeing Gildea don the now-infamous “literary hard hat” made from souvenirs she brought back from her recent studies in Prague. Gildea festooned the “Kafka-kitsch” yellow hard hat with a passport photo of Czech-born author Franz Kafka, a turkey feather, a stop sign, and other curiosities.

“I’m not afraid of looking ridiculous in public — I think it’s all the theater I did from junior high through college,” Gildea said. “I like to give a performance, and I think that makes for an exciting reading.”

As a recipient of national and international honors, Gildea read stories that ranged in topics from the snake feared in the southern United States, to a meditation on what a story is not, to an irate co-worker’s internal memo about a holiday party. Friends Board Secretary Janice Gunderson was in attendance and went to the Friends Bookstore’s management team to advocate for Friends Board chair Lynda Orzen to host the bookstore’s first local author reading.

Thinking the first author reading in the 17-year history of the Friends Bookstore would be an Oregon City milestone worth celebrating, the team enthusiastically agreed to set this Saturday’s date for Gildea’s reading.

“Hannah comes across as being very personable and humorous, and her great sense of humor was a big part of everyone walking away from that groundbreaking reading thinking she is a good speaker whose excellent writing is able to hold her audience’s interest,” Gunderson said.

If lots of people come to this reading, Gildea said, it would send a message that the community values local voices.

“Hopefully there will be more events like this in future,” she said. “Readings are a chance to meet a writer, ask questions, hear some interesting tales, and just be a part of a moment that will never happen again. It’s free, so take a chance and come.”

Gildea will read a section from “Cottonmouth” and will be bringing some other material as well.

“I like to keep myself on my toes, so I haven’t decided yet, but since the reading is in October, I might add something spooky to the mix,” she said. “Rumor has it there will be refreshments, too, so it’s shaping up to be a great way to spend an afternoon.”

Since the reading will start promptly at 1:30 p.m., Gildea plans to arrive early at the used bookstore to browse, and she encourages others to make purchases at the bookstore as well. All purchases at Friends, including signed $10 copies of Big Muddy (the journal in which “Cottonmouth” appears), go to support the OC library.

“I’m a big fan of the rare/collectible section. Where else can I find a gorgeous, illustrated edition of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ next to old medical texts and a reading primer in German?” Gildea said. “They might have sold all those already, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed they still have a book called something like ‘Three Ingredient Recipes.’ That’s a problem-solver, right there. I never know what I’ll find at Friends, but I never walk away empty-handed.”

When Gildea was in Prague, people would ask about her hometown of Oregon City, and she usually started with the fact that the library was expanding. “People were just floored when I told them that,” Gildea said. “Maybe it was that I was mostly among writers, but I think there’s more to it. A place that values libraries is a place that values free thought and creativity, community involvement, history and culture. It’s a place that makes space for everybody. Who wouldn’t want to live there? I could see people mentally plotting how they might come visit us here. So if the town is overrun with writers, I apologize.”


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