It's a New Year

And we are still here, doing the work and reveling in kinship on the street. Is it bleak out there sometimes? Most definitely. But does hope shine through the cracks every single day? Also yes.

The best way to keep up on Street Books is to visit our social media sites, Facebook & Instagram, (yeah, we’re conflicted about these platforms as well, but we haven’t found a more immediate way to transmit our wonderful photos and stories from the street).

Be well and stay in touch - can’t wait until our paths cross out there in the city.

Street Books Takes the Portland Book Festival by Storm

Smiles from the Crew: Diana Rempe, Pati Moran and Ben “Hodge” Hodgson post up with the street library at the Portland Book Festival on November 13th.

Signing books after the reading.

The Book is Here!

Our book, Loaners: The Making of a Street Library, hit the shelves this week. We were lucky to have stellar writer Omar El Akkad lead a conversation about the book, (you can watch the recording of the Powell’s virtual event if you missed it). You can also read an excerpt of the book at LitHub. One of the most amazing, heartening parts of this book release is the number of folks who have ordered an extra copy to go free of charge to our library patrons on the street. It has been really incredible to be able to seek people out and give them their copy. The response from patrons has been overwhelmingly positive. Even Jeff, an extra-discerning-somewhat-curmugeonly reader gives it two thumbs up. You can order the book here.

As you have no doubt noticed, this website is not updated as often as it should be - we are in the process of revamping the whole system. But there are very active updates on our social media channels, so you’re always welcome to follow our work on Facebook or Instagram. Thank you as always for supporting the work we do at Street Books. We couldn’t do it without you.

We Believe in Books

The crew at Street Books is always reading something, together and apart. Books we’ve read as a team the past couple years include: White Fragility, Robin D'Angelo. So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo, Emergent Strategies by adrienne marie brown. Conversations about reparations in essays by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Nikole Hannah-Jones. This essay by Jesmyn Ward which broke our hearts in half.

May 25 marks a year since George Floyd was killed. It is impossible to catalogue everything that has happened since that day in Minneapolis, but the racial justice uprising sparked by his death is now global. The work calls for a reckoning, for renewed understanding, and we believe some of this can be found inside of books. Our mission is to empower people on the streets through access to literature and to create a community of support for people living outside through a shared love of books. As we mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s passing, we commit all over again to participate in working to repair harm, to center marginalized voices and to help remake a world in which there is space for everyone at the table.

A Song From Under the Bridge

Ed Edmo likes to say he's slept under every bridge in Portland and in a lot of doorways too. The Shoshone-Bannock poet, writer and playwright lived outside along Burnside for twelve years of his life before he got sober and moved into a more stable situation. In the decades since, Edmo has taught and performed in venues around the world. Street Books recently purchased copies of his collection of poetry, These Few Words of Mine, and they have already gone out to our library patrons on the street.
Thanks to your support, Street Books recently reached our end-of-the-year fundraising goal and we are so grateful. Thank you! Donations to Street Books means we can invest in local writers like Ed Edmo who have lived experience on the streets of Portland and whose stories illustrate the resiliency of those who struggle with addiction while living without shelter. Stay well, everybody, and we’ll see you in 2021.

We Did It!

Thanks to you, Street Books crossed the $30k mark and met our fundraising goal. In addition, we recently learned that the street library will be granted aid through the Coronavirus Relief Fund for Cultural Support (a collaboration between the Oregon Cultural Trust & its County and Tribal Cultural Coalitions).

We extend our gratitude to them and especially to individual supporters like you - we are strong because of you! Stay tuned for news and updates about late fall & winter programming in the coming months. We'll leave you with a photo of Hodge, showcasing one of his recent birdhouses. Thank you so much.

Rounding the Bend

This film by Bridge City Media features the voices of library patrons and Street Books librarians from the summer of 2019. We have rounded the bend toward our Fall Fundraiser goal - we're at $23k and need to reach $30k! Please support if you can, or help spread the word. Love from Street Books! https://donate.keela.co/street-books/fall-2020-fundraiser

Come Together: 9.30.2020

Don’t miss our virtual Street Books celebration on September 30, 2020, from 7-8. We’ll have musical guest Marisa Anderson and news and stories from the Street Books team. We are excited to tell you about how we’ve pivoted to reach people this summer and what we’ve done to take care of one another.

Between now and then, please support Street Books if you are able, by donating to our Fall Fundraiser.

We’re very happy to announce the publication of an excerpt from a book-in-progress by Ben Hodgson and Laura Moulton. Our city and state has endured more than its share of challenges and heartbreak this summer and we find ourselves sustained by the evidence of human kindness that can be found in so many encounters we have on the streets. Ben’s story of survival outside offers some of these and we’re so grateful he’s part of our team. Hope you enjoy. Sending love to you and hope that you are well and finding clean air to breathe.

Invincible Summer: Street Books Edition

In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer.. — Albert Camus

The Street Books librarians are continuing to do the work, through the “winter” of covid-19, through social distance guidelines and masks, through the powdery next-day residue of tear gas deployed by federal agents on Salmon Street (though thankfully, as of this post, they are no longer bursting out of the federal building each night, deploying the noxious stuff). We are continuing to connect with our patrons on the street, to deliver reading glasses and books and offer a community to people outside. We are excited to announce new partnerships in St. John’s and with Rahab Sisters on SE 82nd Avenue. Stay tuned for details in our newsletter, which will come out this week.

Though we will post occasional updates to this website, you can access more current, on-the-ground updates via social media, on Street Book’s Instagram & Facebook pages. Keep in touch and stay well.

Black Lives Matter

Yesterday was the memorial of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We remember him along with so many killed by police violence in our own city: Quanice Hayes, Keaton Otis, Kendra James, Aaron Campbell, Jason Washington, and so many others here and across the country. Among our library patrons are many Black, Indigenous, People of Color who are disproportionately represented on the streets. In Multnomah County, Black people make up 5.7% of the total population, and 42% of those experiencing houselessness. They experience every day the effects of police brutality, white supremacy, and structural racism. We stand in solidarity with the family and friends mourning George Floyd and condemn the systemic injustice that so many experience in America. No justice, no peace.
#blacklivesmatter