Winter 2024 19 THE ARTS IN PRINT Among the highlights of its first season are an all-day open house event on April 6, marking the official grand opening. During the day, visitors can explore the gallery installation Sonic Booms: How the Sound and Science of Technology Created Pop Music. Come evening, the Indigenous jazz trumpeter Delbert Anderson (Navajo/Diné) and his quartet will headline a program that also includes vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) and the OSU Jazz Ensemble. The event is one of many focused on the intersections of Indigenous history and jazz. “Indigenous musicality and Indigenous rhythms have a really interesting place in the history of jazz,” Betjemann said. “One of the goals of PRAx is to think in deeper and more broadly representative ways about the history of art and the history of music.” Betjemann also pointed to the three-week run, from April 22 to May 11, of Slumberland, a theatrical piece in virtual reality by the Swedish performing arts company Bombina Bombast. To create the performance, the troupe interviewed 140 children about their experiences with technology and insomnia. Participants “move through this Dali-esque world,” Betjemann said, representing the bedrooms of the children who were interviewed. On May 17, the author of the bestselling nonfiction book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, will give a reading when she receives the 2024 Stone Award for Literary Achievement. The season wraps up with the Grammy-winning Mariachi Divas on May 31 and the OSU Chamber Choir on June 8. Though future seasons will be organized around themes, like artificial intelligence, Betjemann said this time “the theme was ‘Let’s explore everything that this new space can do.’” See the complete lineup of artists and activities, and buy season tickets as well as tickets for individual events, at prax.oregonstate.edu. 1. Larry McMurtry: A Life By Tracy Daugherty, professor emeritus, School of Writing, Literature, and Film Oregon State’s New York Times bestselling author, Tracy Daugherty, brings us this biography of the late Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award‑ winning novelist and screenwriter responsible for enduring tales of the American West such as Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment and more. This is a big story about a big life, full of the Texas plains as well as entertaining anecdotes populated with a who’s who of literary and Hollywood stars. As Publishers Weekly put it: “This is worth saddling up for.” Learn more: bit.ly/larry-mcmurtry. 2. A Self-Portrait in the Year of the High Commission on Love By David Biespiel, Oregon State’s poet-in-residence Two best friends share a wild night in this novel that explores the tensions between ambition and faith and duty and desire, as well as the conse‑ quences of choosing one over another. Learn more: bit.ly/biespiel-love. 3. Forest Park: Exploring Portland’s Natural Sanctuary By Marcy Cottrell Houle, M.S. ’82 A haven for wildlife and humans alike, Portland’s 5,200‑acre Forest Park offers more than 70 miles of trails within the city limits. Rediscover its beauty with this guide to 21 hikes. It’s a perfect present for outdoorsy Portland Beavers dreaming of spring. Learn more: beav.es/forest-park. 4. The Jackson County Rebellion By Jeffrey Max LaLande, MAIS ’81 Go inside a little‑known populist insurgency that captured national attention as it seized rural Oregon in 1932. This tale of demagogues fanning rage about conspiracies and the corruption of the elite might prove eerily familiar to today’s readers. Learn more: beav.es/jc-rebellion. 1 2 4 3 BOOKS BY BEAVERS
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