Portland Arts & Lectures 2026–27: Kiran Desai

Kiran Desai is coming to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Tuesday, April 20, 2027, as the final speaker of the 2026–27 Portland Arts & Lectures series. The evening runs from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, and doors open at 6:30 PM. The series is presented by Literary Arts, and this particular season requires a subscription to attend.

Desai is a novelist with a career that spans a few decades and several continents. Born in New Delhi and educated in India, England, and the United States, she now lives in New York. Her first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, was published to acclaim in more than 20 countries. Her second, The Inheritance of Loss, won the Booker Prize in 2006 and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Her third novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker. In 2015, The Economic Times listed her as one of the 20 most influential global Indian women.

As the closing act of the 2026–27 season, Desai takes the stage at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, in downtown Portland. The hall was once a grand movie palace and has spent nearly a century as one of the city's most elegant stages, hosting music, laughter, and inspiration for generations. It's a fitting spot for the finale of a season that's been curated by Literary Arts.

If you've been following the 2026–27 Portland Arts & Lectures series, this is the one that wraps it all up. The talk is on Tuesday, April 20, from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:30 PM at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.