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An Ethiopian story

Novelist Maaza Mengiste to speak at Mercy Corps Action Center
COURTESY OF MIRIAM BERKLEY/WW Norton & Co.
Maaza Mengiste is an acclaimed author andpolitical activist.

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.

Mercy Corps and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences presents
Maaza Mengiste: “Through Metaphor and Memory: An Ethiopian Story”
Wednesday, March 217 p.m.
Mercy Corps Action Center
28 SW 1st Ave.$15 general; $10 students.
Tickets available online at Brown Paper Tickets, by phone 503-896-5747, or at the door
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