Nationale proudly presents a special reading by Portland writer and teacher, Tom Spanbauer this Wednesday, May 20 (7:30 p.m.) at the gallery.

Spanbauer is an American writer whose work often explores issues of sexuality, race, and the ties that bind disparate people together. Raised in Idaho, Spanbauer has lived in Kenya and across the United States. He lives in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches a course titled dangerous writing. He graduated in 1988 from Columbia with an MFA in Fiction and has written five novels, including I Loved You More (Hawthorne Books), from which he will read. Spanbauer is the recent recipient of the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award for outstanding contributions to Oregon’s literary life.

“It is a terrifying thing to bring your inner life out of the closet and read it aloud to a group… Because I encourage excellence, and each of us has our own excellent, and excellence only comes with not being afraid of who you are. To learn to speak your truth honestly with a clear voice takes lots of practice, and every trick in the book to keep you going down the arduous, cruel, lonely, glorious path of a writer.” –Tom Spanbauer, on the dangerous writing technique.