A Novel Idea 2012 - Events

Times, dates, & locations are subject to change.





A Novel Idea Kick-Off

A Novel Idea 2012 kicks off with an overview of events, followed by a presentation from COCC professor of English Stacey Donohue on this year’s featured book, Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, and an exhibit of quilts by the members of QuiltWorks.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Saturday, April 14, 2:00 p.m.


Second (Third) Sunday: New York Poets of the 1930s

A panel of local poets and writers discuss and read works from New York poets of the 1930s. An open mic follows the presentation.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Sunday, April 15, 2:00 p.m.


Rules of Civility Book Discussions

If you’ve never gone to a book discussion before, you’re not alone. Each of us has a different opinion due to personal experiences, choices, and frames of reference. There are no right or wrong answers.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Thursday, April 12, 12:00 noon

  Redmond Public Library
  Thursday, April 12, 12:00 noon

  East Bend Public Library
  Tuesday, April 17, 10:00 a.m.

  La Pine Public Library
  Thursday, April 19, 12:00 noon

  Sunriver Area Public Library
  Tuesday, April 24. 2:00 p.m.

  Sisters Public Library
  Wednesday, April 25, 6:30 p.m.

  Paulina Springs Books, Redmond
  Monday, April 30, 5:30 p.m.

  Sunriver Area Books & Music
  Monday, April 30, 6:30 p.m.


Film Screening: “Jazz: Swing, the Velocity of Celebration”

This documentary film by Ken Burns gives an in-depth look at the jazz musicians and singers of the late 1930s. Swing-mania is still going strong on 52nd Street, but it has been reignited with pulsing, stomping sounds from the bands of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw, and infused with the blues by the unforgettable voices of Billie Holiday and a newcomer— a teenage singer named Ella Fitzgerald.

  Redmond Public Library
  Monday, April 16, 3:00 p.m.

  Sunriver Area Public Library
  Wednesday, April 18, 2:00 p.m.

  East Bend Public Library
  Saturday, April 21, 2:00 p.m.

  La Pine Public Library
  Monday, April 23, 10:00 a.m.

  Sisters Public Library
  Sunday, April 29, 1:30 p.m.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Wednesday, May 2, 5:30 p.m.


Thoreau “Worked” at Walden?

University of Oregon professor of English William Rossi discusses why Henry Thoreau’s Walden, much like Moby Dick, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is known by many and read by few. But, for Americans, why does no other nineteenth-century writer comes to mind prepackaged with a myth that makes his book less likely to be read than Thoreau?

  East Bend Public Library
  Thursday, April 19, 6:30 p.m.

  Sunriver Area Public Library
  Friday, April 20, 1:00 p.m.


Rules of Civility Inspired Quilt Show

During April, QuiltWorks Quilt Gallery is exhibiting 40 quilts, each inspired by the novel Rules of Civility. Each quilt, uniquely different in color, style, setting, and shape celebrates Rules of Civility and the quilters who have woven together their love of reading and quilting. More information: (541) 728-0527, marilyn@quiltworks.com.

  QuiltWorks
  926 NE Greenwood Ave, Bend
  Saturday, April 21, 10:00 a.m.– noon


The Social Documentary Photographs of Walker Evans

Lewis & Clark professor of Art History Matthew Johnston examines how different types of written texts played a role in making the photographs of Walker Evans effective instruments of social change. Striking on their own terms, Evans’ images were not only frequently accompanied by text (as in his collaboration with James Agee in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men), which provided a crucial means for bridging “high” and “low” culture, that was seen as integral to the success of his documentary projects.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Saturday, April 21, 3:00 p.m.

  Sisters Public Library
  Sunday, April 22, 1:00 p.m.


Money Enough for a Martini an Hour: Women, Work & Leisure in 1930s New York

Did the economic crisis of the 1930s thwart the progress made by women in the “Roaring Twenties? ” Professor Jamie Bufalino from the University of Oregon explores the relationship between single women’s work outside the home, their consumption of leisure, and their efforts to be independent in 1930s New York.


  Redmond Public Library
  Saturday, April 21, 3:00 p.m.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Sunday, April 22, 2:00 p.m.


The American Dream?: Rules of Civility and The Great Gatsby

What are the connections between Tinker and that embodiment of modern literature, Jay Gatsby? Modernist literature scholar Joel Clements examines the traits the two share, explores the American notion that we can be any identity we construct, and discusses the modern concept that the American Dream can become a delusion.

  Redmond Public Library
  Tuesday April 24, 6:30 p.m.

  East Bend Public Library
  Thursday, April 26, 6:30 p.m.


1930s Jazz: The Swing Era

Professional jazz musician Tim DuRoche discusses the emergence of swing jazz in the 1930s as the dominant form in American music and how virtuoso soloists such as Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday who joined Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, and Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey became famous as band leaders.


  Sunriver Area Public Library
  Saturday, April 28, 3:00 p.m.


The Art of the Possible: Jazz and Community Building

Jazz is a highly democratic art form that is deeply concerned with participation and community, where risk, collaboration, and individual voice are all highly valued. Independent scholar and professional jazz musician Tim DuRoche explores the literature, economics and history of jazz as well as look at how jazz as a “community of memory” can inspire us to embrace cooperation once again as an important cornerstone of our culture. (No tickets needed.)

  Tower Theatre
  Sunday, April 29, 2:00 p.m.

This event is part of Oregon Humanities statewide Conversation Project.


History and Mixology of 1930s Cocktails

Cocktail anyone? Mixologist Columbine Quillen highlights the history of the cocktail and shows you how to mix up something special using Bendistillery Gin & Vodka. Participants must be over 21 and space is limited. Signups are required. Register online at one of the links below, by calling (541) 312- 1032, or via email - lizg@deschuteslibrary.org.

  Downtown Bend Public Library
  Monday, April 30, 6:00 p.m.

  Sunriver Area Public Library
  Tuesday, May 1, 12:00 noon

  Redmond Public Library
  Tuesday, May 1, 6:00 p.m.


An Evening With Rules of Civility Author Amor Towles

The presentation is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available online (www.towertheatre.org, (541) 317-0700, or at the Tower Theatre box office during regular business hours beginning Saturday, April 14 at 10:00 a.m.).

  Tower Theatre
  Friday, May 4, 7:00 p.m.



Author Amor Towles at Sisters High School
No tickets required.

  Sisters High School
  Saturday, May 5, 7:00 p.m.