Libraries

A memorable evening of music and stories honoring Oregon survivors of genocides and atrocities of war takes place at PRAx on February 1. Inspired by the book I Lived to Tell the World, co-published by OSU Press and Portland-based nonprofit The Immigrant Story, the event features survivors of genocides from Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Syria presenting remarkable first-person tales of fortitude, resilience, and hope in the face of unimaginable challenges. They will recount the arduous journeys that brought them to Oregon and the courageous ways they built their homes and lives here.

The evening begins with a pre-show PRAxPrelude at 6 p.m. in the Toomey Lobby featuring a talk with The Immigrant Story’s founder Sankar Raman and a book signing with journalist Elizabeth Mehren, author of I Lived to Tell the World. The evening’s performance begins at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are available from PRAx.

A companion exhibit opens at PRAx on January 27. Through art, personal experience, and scholarship, visitors will explore the idea of using personal narratives to tell history. A panel discussion at 4 p.m. brings together Elizabeth Mehren; Saron Khut, speaker and genocide survivor; and Katherine Hubler, OSU historian and editor of Listening to Survivors: Four Decades of Holocaust Memorial Week at Oregon State University.

Corvallis-Benton County Public Library will also host moderated book club conversations about I Lived to Tell the World on January 18 and 25, from 2-3 p.m. Copies of the book will be available to check out from the 2nd floor reference desk, while supplies last, beginning Tuesday, December 17th.

The panel discussion and book club conversations are sponsored by the OSU Center for the Humanities.