Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland, and beyond. Let us know if you have any events or news to share.
BOARD MEMBER NEWS
A Light in the World: Justice Adrienne Nelson Honored as New School Namesake (Oregon State Bulletin, page 25)
Justice Adrienne Nelson is a member of Literary Arts’ Board of Directors. In August, a Happy Valley high school renamed themselves after her.
My Life is Proof That Critical Race Theory Is More Than a Fox News Talking Point (Esquire)
This piece on critical race theory, a discourse that recognizes that systemic racism and white supremacy are a part of American life, was written by Board of Directors member Mitchell S. Jackson.
We Went to Vegas to Wring Joy from Heartbreak (New York Times)
This piece on reuniting with friends to mourn the ones they lost — and honor the time they have left—was also written by Board of Directors member Mitchell S. Jackson.
EVENTS
Activate | Refuge: The 2021 Social Justice Film Festival (NW Film Forum)
Through Sunday, October 17
Held Virtually
Presented by the Social Justice Film Institute, Northwest Film Forum, and the Meaningful Movies Project, the 2021 Social Justice Film Festival is a celebration of the power of people and film to push for change within their homes and communities. This year’s program runs from October 7-17 and features a competitive, curated selection of short and feature films that highlight many of today’s key human crises. Taken together, the genre-spanning films ask how we activate and create refuge in response to crisis.
Satie’s Journey (Imago Theatre)
Virtual On-Demand Access to recording of Concert, October 19–25
Get on-demand access to a recording of Satie’s Journey. The concert runs 30 minutes and will be followed by and Q&A with the conductor, librettist and composer.
Stalking the Story: Learning Flexibility, Perspective, and Patience with Your Work (Fishtrap)
Saturday, October 23, from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
$60 registration | Register here
To write well, you must learn to circle the story until it reveals itself to you. Come play in this generative workshop meant to teach you how to stalk your writing. Exercises will spur writing that will surprise you and offer new perspective and energy to whatever you are working on. Poets, fiction writers, memoirists, and the mildly curious are all welcome.
Oregon Jewish Voices Reading 2021 (Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education)
Tuesday, October 26, at 7:00 p.m.
Free to attend | Register here
Started in 1999 and organized by writer Willa Schneberg, this annual event features readings by prominent Oregon Jewish poets and writers, whose work spans a range of genres, including fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and essays. The writers in the 2021 program—Joan Dobbie, Ellen Michaelson, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, Willa Schneberg, and Amy Shapiro—will share selections from their work in a virtual reading on Zoom.
When Women Ruled the World (Portland Art Museum, Robert Lehman Lecture Series)
Thursday, October 28, from 5:30–7:00 p.m.
Free to attend | Register here
A woman’s power in the ancient world (and perhaps even today) was always compromised from the outset, and this lecture by Dr. Kara Cooney, author of When Women Ruled the World, will address the root causes of this social inequality. Sponsored in part by the European American Art Council of the Portland Art Museum and the Mary Ausplund Tooze Endowed Visiting Professor of Islamic & Ancient Art Fund at Portland State University.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS
A message from the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA wants to ensure that artists and arts organizations are aware of the existing resources through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, and how they can best be used to keep people in their homes. We believe this could provide real aid to members of the arts and creative industries during this very challenging time.
Arts practitioners and artists who have been experiencing housing instability, or are having trouble making rent or mortgage payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic should know that they are not alone. Federal, state, and local governments are offering help with housing expenses and avoiding eviction. Information is available at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s mortgage and housing assistance site on available resources.
The Black River Chapbook Competition Fall Competition (Black Lawrence Press)
Deadline: October 31, 2021
The Black River Chapbook Competition is a semi-annual prize from Black Lawrence Press for a chapbook of poems or prose (including fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts). Entries should be between 16 and 36 pages in length. The winner will receive $500 and publication.
2021 Flash Fiction Contest (CRAFT Literary)
Deadline: October 31, 2021
CRAFT submissions are open to all writers. This flash fiction contest is open for stories up to 1,000 words, and will be judged by Robert Lopez. Three winners will each be awarded:
- $1,000 and a bundle of the Rose Metal Press Field Guides
- Publication in CRAFT, with an introduction by Robert Lopez, and an author’s note (craft essay) to accompany the story
- A micro-interview with flash fiction section editor Kristin Tenor
Reading Ellen Bass and Dorianne Laux, led by Allisa Cherry and Laura Moulton
Sundays November 7–December 12, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST | via Zoom
Call for Zine Submissions (Salem Art Associate Zine Collection and Library)
The Salem Art Association (SAA) seeks Oregon artists, writers, creatives and community members to submit zines for the Salem Art Association Zine Collection and Library. This Collection houses zines from across Oregon covering a wide range of topics and is permanently housed on the SAA Annex landing. The SAA is interested in zines from the past, as well as work by current artists. One copy of each zine is available to the public as part of the Zine Library, which can be perused on site. Another will be filed away for safe keeping. Submit zines by mail or in person at the Annex.
FOR KIDS/ TEENS
#ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence Teen Writing Workshops (Third Rail Repertory Theatre)
October 24 from 3:00–4:30 p.m.
Free to attend | Email to reserve your spot
As many teens return to classrooms for the first time since the pandemic, Third Rail Repertory Theatre is joining forces with #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence to give them a platform to explore the impact of gun violence on their lives and communities by writing 10-minute plays. Submissions are being accepted now through November 1 and the call is open to all writers across the U.S. in grades 6-12. Workshops will take place on Zoom. Students will receive the Zoom link after signing up. Students are encouraged to attend all 3 workshops. Parental/Guardian permission is required. The first 10 teens in grades 6-12 who sign up will be mentored by Third Rail Company Members who will provide feedback to teens submitting their play to #ENOUGH.
Sunday, Oct. 24 @ 3-4:30pm – Audience Feedback
The Amanda Gorman Poetry Award
Opens: October 1 | Deadline: February 1, 2022
Penguin Random House has announced a partnership with Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, to launch the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry, a new creative writing award focused on poetry for public high school students. With a first-place prize of $10,000, the award will recognize a student for an original literary composition in English for poetry. The competition will also award an additional first-place prize to the top entrant from the N.Y.C. area in recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City. Those who are currently in their senior year of high school who attend public school in the United States, the District of Columbia, all U.S. territories, and are planning to attend college–either a two-year or four-year institution–in the fall of 2022 are encouraged to apply.
Use Your Voice: Writing Poetry for the Environment (Write the World)
October 23, 30, and November 6, from 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Write the World’s 2021 Virtual Poetry Workshops invite writers ages 13-19 to connect across continents, level up their craft, and learn from celebrated and caring authors through a variety of poetic genres. In this workshop, they will follow in the footsteps of Write the World teen authors featured in the recent environmental anthology, Writers on Earth, publicized in the New Yorker and on PRI’s podcast “The World,” by working together to pen poems that raise awareness, share appreciation, and create calls to action, combatting a warming world through the written word. No prior poetry experience required. *Note: Registration for this workshop includes a complimentary copy of Write the World’s Writers on Earth anthology.
Spooktacular Movie Night (NAYA Family Center)
Wednesday, October 27, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Free to attend | NAYA Pavilion, 5135 NE Columbia Blvd | Register here
Don’t let fall get you down! NAYA’s Youth and Education Services team is hosting a Spooktacular Movie Night, where students will have the opportunity to safely socialize and watch “Blood Quantum” together. Participants will roast hot dogs, watch the movie, and then join in an optional costume contest. We’re also hoping to engage youth about our many services, like help with FAFSA applications and informing them about our virtual College Nights. More details to come! College & Career, Re-engagement, and Ninth Grade Counts participants, as well as YES advocates’ clients are encouraged to join!
IN THE NEWS
A new $25,000 literary prize will carry on Ursula K. Le Guin’s support of fellow authors (The Oregonian)
We’re thrilled about this new literary prize, and love Executive Director Andrew Proctor’s quote in the piece!
25 Arts Events to Check Out in Portland This Fall (Portland Mercury)
Includes The Moth Mainstage in Portland and the Portland Book Festival!
Finalists Announced for This Year’s National Book Awards (New York Times)
Two of the finalists, Lauren Groff and Hoa Nguyen, will be speaking at the Portland Book Festival this November.
The Portland Book Festival Announces Star-Studded 2021 Lineup (Portland Monthly)
Portland Monthly covers the author lineup for the 2021 Portland Book Festival. Get your passes now!
The National Book Foundation announces its 2021 5 Under 35 Honorees (National Book Foundation)
One of the honorees is Nathan Harris, author of The Sweetness of Water, who is speaking virtually at the Portland Book Festival this November.
The Scotiabank Giller Prize Presents its 2021 Shortlist
One of the shortlisted authors is Omar El Akkad for What Strange Paradise. Akkad won the Oregon Book Award for his debut American War and will be speaking in person at the Portland Book Festival this November.
FALL READING
26 New Books You’ll Want to Read (Powell’s Books)
6 powerful books to read during Hispanic Heritage Month — for yourself and your kids (CNBC)
Try This Fall Reading Challenge If You Want To Read More Books (BuzzFeed)
