Keynote Speaker Michael Powell

By any measure, 1979 was an earth-shaker. The Punk Rock Movie starring the Sex Pistols, Billy Idol, the Clash, and Siouxsie & the Banshees hit the screens, the shah of Iran fled into exile, Mother Theresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and … Michael Powell moved to Portland to join his father Walter at a rapidly-expanding used bookstore called Powell’s Books. No one, save perhaps Michael, foresaw the bright future for the bookstore that has become a semantic superpower in the book/publishing world.
Michael, whose only previous work experience had been on a fishing boat, had already established a successful book business in Chicago. He spent the next twenty years growing Powell’s in Portland, and helping grow the literary community, as well. His first major contribution to the Portland arts scene came in the form of significant seed money for the new Portland Arts & Lecture, Inc. “When we started bringing authors to town, you couldn’t get a decent author to visit Portland. Portland’s access to ideas, authors and books has grown because Powell’s has grown. It’s … synergy.”
Because of Michael’s vision, Powell’s Books has intentionally become reader-centered. In addition to his literary vision, Michael helped shape the vision that made Portland one of the most livable cities in the U.S.A. Michael’s energy has gone into civic organizations such as the World Affairs Council, Port of Portland, Metropolitan Arts Commission, Multnomah County Library, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assoc., American Booksellers Assoc., American Booksellers for Free Expression, Portland Public Schools Foundation, Portland State University Library Advisory board, and the SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) program, which he was instrumental in founding and which Powell’s continues to support today.
Powell’s has been at the center of every significant free speech issue in Portland over the last 20 years, lending a large hand to defeat anti-freedom legislation. Lately, Michael has made sure Powell’s is a leading bookstore behind the petition to rescind section 215 of the Patriot Act. Section 215 forces libraries and bookstores to release the names and book preferences of patrons.
Powell’s Books, once hanging at the edge of a seamy area of the city, now sits at the center of Portland’s Pearl District, one very upscale neighborhood. Michael’s vision for Powell’s and for Portland has figured into this equation in myriad ways, and he has been awarded on numerous occasions for significant civic contributions.