"Just be careful out here cos they some dirty ass pigs"*

Another day another diaphanous Library date . . . we've been Reading Frenzy and IPRC'n it all week, which we've got to admit was a bit of a slow, Portland summer slide into lazy, hazy wandering aimlessness. Or so it appeared on the Library Members' front, which saw us sign up in either singly or mildly double, to put it mildly, numbers, those of you able to shuffle in and out of our myriad locations. Shuffle being the operative word in that sentence, we'll add, since it seems that July is THE month of Portland placidity, the heat seeming to take it out of even the most adventurous of you, so that when you manage to venture forth, it's at a supine, slack-jawed rate, which at times has worried our Librarian to the point of carrying a kerchief with her to mop up any slack-jawed drool that might land on her library books.
Saturday saw what is technically our last 'official' Portland Library installation, at the wonderfully welcoming In Other Words bookshop and women's resource centre - where as soon as we walked in the door (we walk not shuffle, despite the heat, as when our Librarian has a library to install she gets her power-walk on as she just can't help it!) we were offered tea and lemon biscuits.

Boy do we love free food. Mmm-mm-mm.

Where were we?

Oh yeah. In Other Words.



So we walk in the door, lay out our library, chalk board a sign up, like so:





. . . . and start signing you up. And eating biscuits . . . six members later, an extremely pleasant afternoon whiled-away by the Librarian in the company of cool-ass magazines, zines, comic books and the like, courtesy of In Other Words, and it was time to close up, bringing our current Portland total to:



. . . which, now we take a look at our Library Statistic spreadsheet is a RECORD for the most new members in one month. Bravo Portland!

So. We're still here, but in secret, so may set up some un-official Library installations in our last few days before we head on over to Seattle where we'll be providing our Library & the service of the Librarian for the good folks there! On y va or avast!

In the meantime, here are some visual aids to the peachy Portland time we been a'havin':


The Copper Canyon Press poetry book exhibition on the top floor of Portland's Central Library branch



Dr Rick Marinelli gets with the Portland Library programme


We do love a book drop!



As per our ByeByeLaws, we did designate an area of silence in our Library during one of our installations in a Portland person's home, hee hee . . .



A Portland scenic shot


A message left on a Portlander's car

*Heard by our Librarian while sitting in In Other Words on Saturday. Spoken by one man to another wearing a large rucksack, walking down Killingsworth. Our Librarian did try and wave through the window while murmuring 'here's a dirty ass pig boys, over here!' but unfortunately by then they were out of earshot.

And finally, thanks to Burke for walking round with us for hours, despite nearly experiencing hypoglucemia, and showing us some Portland sights, as well as humouring us in our search for some Portland sounds, of which, two are here for your aural enjoyment . . .

The Sound of the Willamette Lapping South-East Portland

The Sound of the Hum On the Hawthorne Bridge

Portland Library Pictures . . .

How to Install a Poetry Library in a Park


The Library @ The IPRC






Our Librarian installed her library in the park last week . . . and got a rather large number of suspicious looks from Portlanders walking their dogs. It being 'First Thursday' however, and our couchsurfing host Jeffrey on the spot, he helpfully went off to source more amenable library locations, which saw us switch street venues from park to outside the Portland Art Center, where our librarian set up on a concrete block directly outside the venue and signed up thirteen new members on the spot. Booka! Next up saw us on over at the IPRC, where we installed ourselves next door to their very own awesome library (of zines) and signed up a further four members during our 12noon - 6pm shift.

That's . . . .

. . . for Portland!

Keep it coming chaps!

Thanks to Simone, Jeffrey & Ariana for images

Marsh Membership Drive (cont.)

The Marsh was . . .


You came and saw us . . .


You joined up . . .


. . . but not quite in enough numbers to overtake our current reigning champs Norwich and Budapest yet.

No fear! We're out and about ALL this week. So, not only can you catch up with us in our usual Marsh spot (every Friday, 7 - 10pm in the Marsh Theatre cafe at 1062 Valencia Street, near 22nd street in the Mission) but also this week come on down to . . .

The Babble On reading series at DogEared Books on Thursday, March 29th. Featured readers for this event are: Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket, Alvin Orloff, Chantal Okeeffe, and Adam Balbo.

Our Itinerant Poetry Librarian and library will be installed from 7pm onwards for your every poetry object borrowing need.

It's all at: Dog Eared Books, 900 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. Call 'em: (415) 282-1901, fax 'em: (415) 282-0213, they be open 'em: M-Sa: 10am-10pm; Su: 10am-8pm. And here's a map.

San Francisco membership current total = 33 members
Current Top-of-the-Pops-Library-Chart-Winners = Budapest & Norwich (joint first) = 34 members

Oh my god it's so close. Our Librarian is practically falling off her chair with an-tic-i-pation. The next SF library member to sign up should make sure there's a suitable distance between her/himself and the librarian in situ in case a poetry object landslide occurs. You've been warned.

In the meantime, in our ongoing 'what's been left on the street outside the librarian's house this week?' series:



Love it!

Notting Hill Carnival . . . we couldn’t resist

Jose enthusiastically endorses our project at Notting Hill

The Carnival in action

The kittens under our current couch we are surfing on

Current library membership as of right now! Yeah!

Plus more sound editing is still under way, get ready for Prague, Vienna and Budapest audio to be hitting the site ASAP. In the meantime, you can also check out what the hell people have been writing about our librarian. Yes. People have been writing about us. Crazy we know. Check out what The Guardian newspaper (UK) wrote or BCN Week, Barcelona’s very own cultural weekly paper (Edition 12). And we swear our librarian is hard at work. She is in no way taking an extended tea break now she is back on English soil. . . she may however exploit the fact that the Circle line tube means she can set up her poetry library all day and attempt to sign up the rest of London to the poetic cause, all for just the purchase of a one day travelcard (zones 1 - 4 we thinks). Stay tuned for pictures!