July 18, 2026

Recovering from the Fire with Debra Gwartney

Debra Gwartney lived for many years on the McKenzie River in Western Oregon with her husband and cat. Her newest book is the memoir I Am a Stranger Here Myself. She will share and discuss her latest essay about recovering from the Holiday Farm Fire.

This event is supported by a Mini Grant for Rural Libraries from Oregon Humanities.

2:00 p.m., O'Brien Memorial Library, Blue River

August 15, 2026

Molly Gloss on "The Jump-Off Creek"

Oregon author Molly Gloss will lead a discussion of her novel The Jump-Off Creek.

This event is supported by a Mini Grant for Rural Libraries from Oregon Humanities.

2:00 p.m., O'Brien Memorial Library, Blue River

September 23, 2026

To What Do We Pledge?

While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?

Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.

6:00 p.m., Eugene Public Library, Eugene

September 29, 2026

Wilderness Treasures with William L.. Sullivan

William Sullivan is the author of many books and articles about Oregon. In this talk, moderated by John Witte, he will discuss the many wilderness treasures of the Upper McKenzie region in Oregon.

This event is supported by a Mini Grant for Libraries from Oregon Humanities.

2:00 p.m., O'Brien Memorial Library, Blue River

October 15, 2026

Pleading the Fifth: A Conversation About Self and Liberty

The Fifth Amendment has long been hailed as the ultimate safeguard of individual civil liberty against the authoritarian power of the state. It gives us the right to “due process of law” when charged with a crime. It protects us from “double jeopardy" or being prosecuted twice for the same crime. And it says we cannot be forced to incriminate ourselves, giving us the right not to answer questions that would suggest we have committed a crime. Do we still value the guarantees of the Fifth Amendment today? It is supposed to protect us from being forced to bear witness against ourselves. Can a person be truly safe from themselves in this place and time?

6:00 p.m., Eugene Public Library, Eugene