Pulitzer Prize nominee Luis Urrea will visit The Dalles Civic Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 4, launching a month-long series of “Big Read” activities in Hood River and The Dalles. There will be readings and discussions, folk dancing, artists, a comedian, theatrical troupe, musical performances and panel presentations in schools, libraries and the campuses of Columbia Gorge Community College throughout October.
The public is invited to attend Urrea’s opening address and community welcome starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in The Dalles Civic Auditorium, 323 E. Fourth Street, The Dalles.
A professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois, Urrea is a poet and author of 17 books, including “Into the Beautiful North,” a quest novel telling the story of a 19-year-old Mexican woman battling drug dealers in her hometown.
“Into the Beautiful North” is set in the U.S.-Mexican border region. It’s the featured book for “The Big Read” in Hood River and The Dalles, made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Local partners include The Dalles-Wasco County and Hood River County library districts, Columbia Gorge Community College, Columbia Center for the Arts, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, The Next Door, Klindt’s Book Sellers, Immigration Counseling Services, Gorge Happiness Month and others.
Elected officials, teachers, students and other members of the public are invited to participate by reading “Into the Beautiful North” in October, and by joining “Big Read” book discussions and other activities. Free copies of the book, in English and Spanish, will soon be available at local libraries and Klindt’s Book Sellers for reading through the month of October. A month-long event schedule is posted on The Dalles - Wasco County Public Library website, with links from other partner websites.
Urrea was born in a poor neighborhood of Tijuana and moved with his parents to San Diego at the age of five. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, he rediscovered Tijuana as a relief worker for a church mission. He later secured a writing position at Harvard, and today is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois – Chicago.
“Into the Beautiful North” describes the US-Mexico border — the subject of controversy today — as a “dream-line destination and departure point, surrounded by desperation and expectations,” according to the book’s preface.
Urrea invites readers “to think of the border as more than a stark divide between nations … [but] a place of convergence where meaningful conversations, and even love, between cultures begins.”
“No one writes more tragically or intimately about border culture than this son of a Mexican father and Anglo mother,” said journalist Bill Moyers of Urrea. Here’s what’s happening in our region through the month of October. Please continue to check the events schedule for updates and additions.
Additional events
Friday, Oct. 4, 5 p.m., The Dalles Civic Auditorium: Kick-off event and keynote address, reading, and book signing with author Luis Alberto Urrea. All ages welcome.
Oct 5: Angel Occasio, Reforma Oregon-endorsed Latinx musician and comedian, will provide a bilingual performance at both the Hood River Library and Dalles-Wasco County public libraries. All ages welcome.
Oct. 4, 11, 18, and 25: Hora de Cuentos (Bilingual Story Time) will be offered at the Parkdale Branch of the Hood River Library. Target audience: Preschoolers and their families.
Oct. 11: Columbia Gorge Community College will provide a free performance by Teatro Milagro: A bilingual theater group based out of Portland, Ore. The performance will take place at Wy’East Middle School. All ages welcome.
Oct. 3: Immigration Counseling Services will offer a “Intro to Immigration for Allies” presentation at the The Dalles Public Library. Target audience: Adults.
Pending: Oct. 7: Immigration Counseling Services will offer a “Conozco Sus Derechos” presentation for Spanish speakers at the Parkdale Library. Target audience: Adults.
Oct. 2, 9, 16, 31: Latinx films and documentaries will be shown weekly at The Dalles-Wasco County Library. Target audience: Teens and adults.
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