This event has been ended!
Up Up Books - Literary Event - Brian Trapp with Sara Jaffe
Event by: Brian Trapp
Location: Up Up Books, Southeast Stark Street 1211, Portland
About event
We’re delighted to welcome Brian Trapp to Up Up Books for a reading from his novel Range of Motion. He’ll be joined by Sara Jaffe.
Range of Motion is a comic yet poignant coming-of-age novel about twins, caregiving, and connection. It follows a pair of twins: Michael, the awkward “normal one,” and Sal, who is charming, mischievous, and has cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and speech disabilities. The novel is partly based on my experience of growing up with my own twin brother Danny, who could only say 12 words but still found ways to express himself in profound ways. It’s a novel about the resilience of special needs families and the secret language of siblings
Brian Trapp is director of disability studies at the University of Oregon, where he also teaches fiction and nonfiction. His work has been published in the Kenyon Review, Southern Review, Longreads, Brevity, and elsewhere. He has been a Steinbeck Fellow, a Borchardt Scholar, and an Elizabeth George grant recipient. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, with his twin brother, Danny.
Sara Jaffe is a writer living in Portland, OR. Hurricane Envy, a short story collection, will be out in October 2025 from Rescue Press. Dryland, a novel, was published by Tin House Books and Cipher Press (UK ). Her short fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in publications including Joyland, Fence, BOMB, NOON, and Maggot Brain. She co-edited The Art of Touring (Yeti, 2009), an anthology of writing and visual art by musicians drawing on her experience as guitarist for post-punk band Erase Errata.
Range of Motion is a comic yet poignant coming-of-age novel about twins, caregiving, and connection. It follows a pair of twins: Michael, the awkward “normal one,” and Sal, who is charming, mischievous, and has cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and speech disabilities. The novel is partly based on my experience of growing up with my own twin brother Danny, who could only say 12 words but still found ways to express himself in profound ways. It’s a novel about the resilience of special needs families and the secret language of siblings
Brian Trapp is director of disability studies at the University of Oregon, where he also teaches fiction and nonfiction. His work has been published in the Kenyon Review, Southern Review, Longreads, Brevity, and elsewhere. He has been a Steinbeck Fellow, a Borchardt Scholar, and an Elizabeth George grant recipient. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, with his twin brother, Danny.
Sara Jaffe is a writer living in Portland, OR. Hurricane Envy, a short story collection, will be out in October 2025 from Rescue Press. Dryland, a novel, was published by Tin House Books and Cipher Press (UK ). Her short fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in publications including Joyland, Fence, BOMB, NOON, and Maggot Brain. She co-edited The Art of Touring (Yeti, 2009), an anthology of writing and visual art by musicians drawing on her experience as guitarist for post-punk band Erase Errata.