We're all sheltering in place in the neighborhood, and keeping our social distance. So today's show is originating from Mr. Jones's home, where there's more Passover matzoh than toilet paper. Fortunately, we have a microphone, an Internet connection, and a computer running Skype. Which means we can still have guests on the show, who are also sheltering in place and keeping their distance.
On today's show, we welcome Julia Stoops, author of the novel Parts Per Million, from Forest Avenue Press. Julia is a recipient of Oregon Arts Commission Fellowships for visual arts and literature, and was a resident at the Ucross Foundation in 2016. She holds dual degrees in Visual Art and Philosophy, and received an MFA in Painting from Portland State University. She has experience in alternative radio news journalism, at Portland’s KBOO Community Radio, as well as a background in teaching media studies, visual art, and the history of ideas.
Julia’s a native of New Zealand, and now makes her home here in Portland, where she was a member of the Pinewood Table writing group. Portland is also the setting of Parts Per Million -- Julia’s debut novel and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
In the words of writer and political activist, Robert Newman, “Parts Per Million effortlessly weaves the personal with the political in this relentless page-turner. Part psychological thriller, part hard-boiled noir, the characters are fresh, real and alive. With a lightness of touch and an uncanny ear for great dialogue, Julia Stoops tells the story of four activists in a time of war, their moral and emotional conflicts, their betrayals and their small acts of heroism. Parts per Million reads like the bastard offspring of Graham Greene and Naomi Klein.”
btw, Mr. Jones's Neighborhood is now coming to you monthly, on every 4th Friday, from 11am to noon. We're all looking forward to better and more beautiful days ahead!
- KBOO