Fall 2024 19 IN PRINT THE ARTS work with the Portland-based artist on a yearlong collaborative installation. “What’s so cool about Esperanza Spalding is that she’s this big, iconic figure, one of the greatest jazz musicians of this generation; she has a giant global stage and iconicity, but her work is deeply rooted in community,” said Peter Betjemann, Patricia Valian Reser executive director of PRAx. She created her most recent album, Songwrights Apothecary Lab, after spending several months in three communities in the U.S. , collaborating with musicians, researchers and health care practitioners. Spalding’s OSU residency will be focused on a similar project, and she will give two public performances with her dance company, Off Brand G, April 17-18, 2025, in Detrick Hall. PRAx stands for Patricia Reser Arts, with the “x” signifying the center’s intersections between the arts and other academic disciplines. The center is named for Patricia Valian Reser, OSU alumna and volunteer leader, who has given $36 million to the OSU Foundation for the arts, including $25 million for PRAx. See the full season lineup of dance, music, theater and more at prax.oregonstate.edu. “WHAT’S SO COOL ABOUT ESPERANZA SPALDING IS THAT SHE’S THIS BIG, ICONIC FIGURE … BUT HER WORK IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN COMMUNITY.” 1. Weave Me a Crooked Basket By Charles Goodrich, MFA ’02 Set in a college town much like Corvallis, Weave Me a Crooked Basket tells the story of a botanist who returns home still reeling from the breakup of a bad marriage to care for her ailing father and ends up in a last ditch effort to save a way of life on the family farm. Goodrich, the former director of Oregon State’s Spring Creek Project, is a poet and co editor of two anthologies. Learn more: bit.ly/crooked-basket. 2. Echoes of the Arcane By Cody D. Campbell, ’18 Explore ancient worlds of magic and distant dystopian futures in Campbell’s debut publication, a collection of short works of science fiction, fantasy, general fiction and poetry. Learn more: bit.ly/echoes-arcane. 3. The Collagist By Karen Holmberg, associate professor, School of Writing, Literature, and Film In this young adult novel, a girl must convince her father to reveal his greatest secret, as well as that of the Being that exists in the world beyond. Holmberg won the 2021 Acheven Book Prize. Learn more: bit.ly/the-collagist. 4. No Perfect Mothers By Karen Spears Zacharias, ’79 In devastating detail, this work of historical fiction explores the infamous Buck v. Bell U.S. Supreme court case of 1927 as the story of one 17 year old girl sterilized against her will. Learn more: bit.ly/no-perfect. 1 2 4 3 BOOKS BY BEAVERS
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