Oregon Humanities

The act of gathering together to worship is nothing new. Sometimes that worship takes the form of praising a higher power. Sometimes it takes the form of humans role-playing the lives of other humans. Portland Playhouse in northeast Portland is melding the ideas of worship, community, and shared humanity into an energizing and intimate experience.

Housed in a former church, the Portland Playhouse just wrapped up a forty-show run of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s... More

03 June 2011 | Posted in Community Grants | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

In Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, desire path is defined as “the route people have chosen to take across an open place, marking a human pattern upon a landscape.” Desire paths are everywhere—diagonal shortcuts from sidewalk to sidewalk, trails blazed through waist-high bramble, impromptu breaks in shrubbery on parking strips. Humans, like other animals, have their own sense of how to traverse the landscape regardless of what city planners and... More

27 May 2011 | Posted in Special Projects | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

In Roald Dahl’s short story “The Hitch-Hiker,” the title character is coy about his line of work, initially telling the narrator only that he is in a skilled trade. “The secret of life,” the Londoner says, “is to become very, very good at something that is very, very ‘ard to do.”

To reveal the hitchhiker’s occupation would spoil the story, but his motto can be applied to just about any activity, profession, or calling. Tomorrow, from 10 a.m, to 2... More

23 May 2011 | Posted in Inside O. Hm. | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Paulann Petersen, Oregon’s poet laureate, has been on the road for nearly two weeks, traversing the state in an effort to visit as many communities during her tenure as possible.

Petersen was appointed to a two-year term by Governor Kulongoski in April 2010. Oregon Humanities coordinates this program as part of a unique collaboration with the Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Historical Society, and the State Historic Preservation Office,... More

19 May 2011 | Posted in Community | Permalink | Comments? (1 so far)

People often ask how we come up with themes for Oregon Humanities magazine. We find inspiration everywhere, including in our own programs and those of other organizations. For instance, with the Fall/Winter 2011 issue on the theme “Here,” we were inspired by a special program we’re doing this summer in partnership with Metro Regional Government. “Know Your Place” is a series of events at three of Metro’s natural areas, in which participants will explore the... More

16 May 2011 | Posted in Inside O. Hm. | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

On Thursday, the Oregon Nikkei Endowment will host a reading by Priscilla Wegars, author of Imprisoned in Paradise: Japanese Internee Road Workers at the World War II Kooskia Internment Camp. The camp, located in north central Idaho, held 265 men of Japanese descent designated “enemy aliens” by the government. The talk accompanies the organization’s exhibit on the Japanese American internment experience, FBI: Taken, which received an Oregon Humanities Responsive... More

11 May 2011 | Posted in Inside O. Hm. | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

About twenty-five people gathered in the lobby of the Gerding Theater at the Armory in Portland during the lunch hour on Friday for the fourth and last Shop Talk, a special program sponsored by Oregon Humanities and Portland Center Stage. Bust playwright and actress Lauren Weedman and Back Fence PDX coproducer B. Frayn Masters talked about memoir, truth, and fame. Emcee Kelsey Tyler, PCS education and community programs director, asked questions that elicited laughter... More

09 May 2011 | Posted in Community New Ideas | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

TEDxPortland—an independent spin-off of big TED, “Ideas Worth Spreading” TED—happened on one of the first dry, sunny days of spring, so it would have been natural to see more than a few empty seats in the Gerding Theater at the Armory, especially as the day went on. That’s not what happened. Sure, there were a few more seats in the theater by day’s end, but only a few.

What was the pull to stay in a dark theater on a clear day listening to thirteen speakers... More

03 May 2011 | Posted in Events Community New Ideas | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

As an end of year gift to all of you, here are a few O. Hm. moments from a few of the people who brought you the “O. Hm. Moment.”

When I was working at the Oregon Humanities booth at Wordstock in October, a man stopped to spin the Wheel of Cogitation. He landed on, “Someone unlike you whom you’re curious about.” He stood silent for a long time, clearly stumped, until he said, “I’m not curious about people who aren’t like me.” It was as if he realized... More

08 December 2010 | Posted in Inside O. Hm. | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

I’m a word nerd—always have been. I’ve been known to forward ‘word of the day’ emails with a touch too much glee. Come to think of it, I could be happy stuck on a deserted island as long as I had my Oxford English Dictionary. And maybe Spanish and French dictionaries if it was going to be a long stay. I love the musicality of words, the way they feel rolling off the tongue: listless, lascivious, lounge. I love onomatopoeic words: murmur, hiccup, zap. Or words... More

21 September 2010 | Posted in Inside O. Hm. | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)