Dig this

The Manzanita Writers Series goes deep this week, when Oregon Book Award finalist Justin Hocking reads from and discusses his latest memoir, "A Field Guide to the Subterranean" at the Hoffman Center for the Arts this Saturday, July 25.

Blending personal narrative with geology, ecology, mining history, labor rights and even skateboarding, the book explores how people can transform trauma into deeper care for one another and for the landscapes that sustain them. The memoir ranges in setting from remote caves and mountains to secluded surf breaks in Costa Rica and draws on extensive historical research.

Hocking is also the author of "The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld: A Memoir," winner of the Oregon Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. He teaches in the MFA and BFA creative writing programs at Portland State University and was named one of “Ten Writers Who Made Portland” by Willamette Week.

Following the reading, Hocking will answer audience questions, and copies of “A Field Guide to the Subterranean” will be available for purchase and signing.

Saturday's event runs from 5:30 to 7 pm at the Hoffman Center for the Arts, located at 594 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita. Advance registration is encouraged. For more information or to register, go to hoffmanarts.org.