An Ethiopian story

Mercy Corps Action Center welcomes novelist Maaza Mengiste for an evening of discussion and dialogue focusing on Ethiopia and the plight of refugees everywhere. Her lecture is titled “Through Metaphor and Memory: An Ethiopian Story.”

Mengiste, an Ethiopian refugee whose experiences shaped her debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, graduated with an MFA in creative writing from New York University—where she now teaches—and was a 2010–11 Fulbright scholar.

Her work has garnered her a Pushcart Prize nomination, several literary grants and the title of “New Literary Idol” by New York Magazine. She also covered the recent democratic tumult in Libya and Egypt through the lens of Ethiopia’s 1974 revolution.

Mercy Corps’ global mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Portland’s Mercy Corps Action Center offers frequent educational exhibits, workshops and lectures, like Mengiste’s, that focus on informing students from middle school through college about today’s global issues.

The center is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for free group tours and exploration.