ABOUT THE COMMUNITY READ
Join Portland Ovations and the Portland Public Library as we embark on a four-part exploration of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series. Each month, we will dive into these landmark works of Afrofuturism, led by Brooke “Buff Cat” Bolduc.
January 5, 2023, 6-7pm: Book discussion of Parable of the Sower
February 2, 2023, 6-7pm: Book discussion of Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (adapted by Damien Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings)
March 2, 2023, 6-7pm: Book discussion of Parable of the Talents
April 6, 2023, 6-7pm: Writing Workshop
Each session will be held at the Portland Public Library Downtown Library on Monument Square.
REGISTRATION
Free registration highly encouraged. Use this link to register for 1, 2, 3 or all 4 Community Read sessions.
ACCESSIBILITY
Read about accessibility at Portland Public Library.
Read about BibioCommons accessibility.
ASL interpretation is available by request. Contact offstage@portlandovations.org.
FEBRUARY READING
This month, we will discuss of Parable of the Sower – A Graphic Novel Adaptation, adapted by Damien Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings.
In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.
ABOUT BROOKE BOLDUC
Brooke “Buff Cat” (she/he/they) is a Portland based artist and illustrator. She primarily works with writers and poets. Octavia Butler is one of Brookes personal hero’s and he’s delighted to hold a discussion on the graphic novel adaptation of her work! Brooke will discuss the visual language, tone and design and how that conveys apocalypse from a Black perspective.
BOOKS
Check your local library for copies of Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. Many libraries have physical copies to check out along with digital copies to download on your eReader.
The Portland Public Library offers digital access with both the ebook and audio book available through the Cloud Library App. All you need is an active library membership to access.
Back Cove Books has copies of all 3 titles at their store on Forest Avenue in Portland.
See Octavia E. Butler's "Parable of the Sower" on stage
On April 14, 2023, Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations, in association with Bowdoin College present Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon, at Merrill Auditorium. Participants in all four parts of the Community Read series will receive a complimentary ticket to this performance.
All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. Based on the landmark sci-fi novels by Afrofuturist author Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower is a genre-defying, modern congregational opera that celebrates two centuries of Black music. Written by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon, Parable chronicles the spiritual awakening of Lauren Olamina amidst an America plagued by the products of unrelenting greed, systemic injustice and climate change denial. With an ensemble of more than 20 musicians, Parable transforms the operatic form, fusing African-American spiritualism, deep insights into gender and race, and climate activism into a new musical experience that thrills and inspires.
