Fishtrap Fireside

Fishtrap Fireside wraps up its 11th season with a guest reader visiting from England. Novelist, artist, and activist, Juhea Kim was born in Korea, attended Princeton University, and now splits her time between London and Portland. She is making a special stop in Wallowa County to do research for an upcoming article and to teach a Fishtrap writing workshop. Other featured readers are Silje Harlander and Fishtrap founder Rich Wandschneider. It takes place Friday, April 5 at Fishtrap and online at Fishtrap.org.
 
Fishtrap Fireside is a monthly reading series celebrating diverse voices from local writers and storytellers. Each month offers a fresh look at what people who live in the west are thinking about and writing down. Fireside takes place in Fishtrap’s event space, the historic Bowlby Building on Main Street in Enterprise. Admission is free although donations are welcome. Light snacks are provided and drinks are available for purchase. For those who can’t attend in person, anyone anywhere can take in Fireside online at Fishtrap.org and on Fishtrap’s YouTube Channel. 
 
April’s Fishtrap Fireside is sponsored by Alder Slope Nursery.
 
More on the featured readers for April.
 
Silje Harlander is a graphic designer, artist, and former river guide. She was born in Zimbabwe to international and adventurous parents, and moved to Wallowa County at the age of four. After graduating from Enterprise High School, Silje attended Folk High School in Norway where her mom's side of the family lives. She returned stateside to study at Williams College before relocating with her now-husband Kevin to Hailey, Idaho, where she cut her teeth in marketing and design. Silje moved home two years ago with Kev and their bird dog Sky. While much of her creative expression is now channeled into her graphic design business, Steep Creek Studio, Silje also loves to write ramblings, play music, and is currently preparing for her first solo art exhibit at Art Center East in La Grande in May. 
 
Juhea Kim is an author, artist, and environmental advocate. Her second novel City of Night Birds is forthcoming from Ecco in November 2024. Her debut novel Beasts of a Little Land was a finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and longlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize. Times Literary Supplement wrote: "Beasts of a Little Land is a stunning achievement." Published in 13 countries, it is being developed into a series. Juhea Kim’s writing has been published in Granta, Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, The Massachusetts Review, Zyzzyva, Guernica, Shenandoah, Catapult, and many others. She earned her BA in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University, and has lectured at Seoul National University, the University of São Paulo, Yonsei University, Arizona State University, among others. She is donating a portion of the author proceeds from her novel to the Phoenix Fund, a Siberian tiger and Amur leopard conservation group. She serves as a goodwill ambassador for the Korean Tiger and Leopard Conservation Fund. She currently divides her time between London and Portland, Oregon. Find out more at juheakim.com and Instagram @juhea_writes.
 
Rich Wandschneider moved to the Wallowas in 1971 as a back to the lander with a job at the local County Extension Office. After five years of extension work he and his wife Judy opened the Bookloft. In 1988, Rich and a group of friends launched Fishtrap as a place to promote clear thinking and good writing in and about the West. He is now Library Director at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture while promoting the legacy of fellow Fishtrap founder, historian, and advocate for American Indians, Alvin M. Josephy Jr.
 
Learn more at Fishtrap.org