Portland writer Reuben Nisenfeld has put together a reading to benefit the family of Marty Kruse, and I'm excited to be in the lineup. Here's what Reuben says about the event:

There will be featured readings and an open mic. People can read their own work or work they feel inclined to share in homage to Marty. 100% of proceeds go to the family.

Marty Kruse served literary communities from San Francisco to Seattle; promoted poetry slam locally and nationwide; and was a founding organizer of ILWU Local 5, the Powell's booksellers' union. we're inviting all his communities to show their appreciation and support at a special reading and open mic. Featured readers include Kevin Sampsell, Leanne Grabel, Ritah Parrish, Gigi Little, B. Frayn Masters, and many more.

Please join us as the creative community pays tribute and celebrates a powerful torch who gave light to us all.

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 · 7:30pm

An Ode To Marty: Poems (Original and Procured), Toasts, and Miscellany in tribute to the passionate spirit of Marty Kruse.

Jack London Bar (inside and then downstairs at the Rialto Pool Hall)

529 SW 4th Avenue, Portland

Facebook event page is here.

I had a lot of fun reading at the Portland [PANK] Invasion alongside Domi Shoemaker, Monica Drake, Hobie Anthony, Ryan Bradley, Ryley Michael Parker, Rebecca Olson, Chloe Caldwell, Kevin Sampsell and M. Bartley Seigel.

Great crowd and great readers. Domi made her public fiction reading debut with her first published story "Green Man." You can check out [PANK] and "Green Man" here.

Also, check out this very cute video the [PANK] gurus put together after this and the Seattle event... below. Thanks to M. Bartley Siegel.

SongStory turned out great. Big thanks to all the readers, to the mysterious Cymbalman, to Someday Lounge, and to Bob Priest and March Music Moderne.

A blog post wrap up, with pictures and excerpts from the readings, is here.

Check out MMM's website to read about the many varying music events that happened around the city the entire month of March. They'll be doing it again next year, and I hope to be among the festivities. A link to the website is here.

Editor Colin Farstad describes The Frozen Moment as an anthology of, "fiction, poetry, essays and narrative non-fiction by emerging and established writers exploring the pivotal moments and choices that change the direction of our lives. Published by Publication Studio, it features twenty-seven contributions from authors such as award winning novelist Tom Spanbauer, Push Cart Prize winning essayist Akhim Yuseff Cabey, Push Cart nominated writers Liz Prato and Nora Robertson, Literary Fellowship recipients David Hernandez, Margaret Malone and David Ciminello, along with writers Gigi Little, Judy Reeves, Mitchell Jackson, Tori Malcangio and Michael Sage Ricci whose work has appeared in multiple literary journals both in print and online."

Publication date was December 17th, and the book launch kicked off with a reading at The Woods. The second Portland event took place Sunday, January 15th, 5:00 PM, at Crow Arts Manor, and Gigi read from her story "The Book Club."  

Books are available online at Publication Studio here and offline at Publication Studios in Portland, Oregon, Berkeley, California, Vancouver, BC, Toronto, Ontario, and someplace the Publication Studio website calls the Midwest Radical Culture Corridor.

Gigi Little’s work has appeared in the books Portland Noir, The Pacific Northwest Reader and The Frozen Moment, as well as Thumbnail Magazine and  the Ne’er-do-Well Literary Magazine. She also wrote and illustrated two children’s picture books, Wright Vs. Wrong and The Magical Trunk. 

She is a member of Tom Spanbauer’s Dangerous Writing community, whose alumni include Monica Drake, Jennifer Lauck, and Chuck Palahniuk. By day, she works as Lead Visual Merchandiser for Powell’s Books. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, artist Stephen O’Donnell.

Before moving to Portland, Gigi spent fifteen years in the circus, as a lighting director and professional circus clown. She has disappeared into many magic baskets, and she can spin a mean lasso.