WITS at the Portland Book Festival
Free High School & Middle School Workshops on Saturday, November 5th at the Portland Book Festival
Grades 6–8: What I Mean When I Say, Art Meet Poetry with Dey Rivers
High School Poetry: Poetic Sculpture with Alex Behr
High School Prose: Dialogues: The Craft of Writing a Conversation with Damien Miles-Paulson
All Youth Workshops are taking place in the conference rooms in the Portland Art Museum. Sign up here!
WITS Anthology Launch: High School Student Reading
Come see WITS students read their work at the 2021-22 WITS Anthology Launch on Saturday, November 5 from 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm at the Portland Parks Foundation Tent.
Each year, Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools (WITS) program publishes an anthology of exemplary student work. To the End, Through the Tunnel, the 2021-22 WITS Anthology, showcases poetry, prose, and journalism written by high school students from four Oregon school districts: Portland Public Schools, Parkrose, Gresham, and Woodburn. Students will read their work from the anthology. All proceeds from the sale of the anthologies goes back to support WITS programming.
WITS Writers at the Festival
Dey Rivers and Zephaniah Sole pop-up in the Portland Art Museum galleries with their original works on Saturday, November 5 from 12:30 pm – 12:50 pm. Rivers and Sole are paired with the artwork The Day I Saw the Wind by Mana Aki; found in the Forces of Nature exhibit, on the 1st floor of the Portland Art Museum.
Meg E. Griffitts is doing a pop-up reading in the Portland Art Museum galleries with her poetry collection, Hallucinating a Homestead on Saturday, November 5 from 10:30 am – 10:50 am. Griffitts is paired with the artwork Living on the Moon by Reika Iwami; found in the Forces of Nature exhibit, on the 1st floor of the Portland Art Museum.
Cecily Wong will be in conversation with Tess Gunty and Kimberly King Parsons for the panel, Escape Plans: Tess Gunty & Cecily Wong on Saturday, November 5th from 12:45pm-1:45pm.
Cecily Wong is also teaching the workshop Writing Food on Sunday, November 6th from 10am-1pm at Literary Arts. “Explore the role of food in storytelling, and how it can shape, define, and give insight into our characters’ deeper desires. Particpants will examine the language of food, and talk about how hunger translates across unsaid emotions. Drawing upon sensory texts about snacking, groceries, and meals both extravagant and humble, we’ll learn new ways to think about food, how we use it in writing, and how it can add depth, texture, and humanity to our stories.”
Jules Ohman pops-up in the Portland Art Museum galleries with her debut novel, Body Grammar, on Saturday, November 5 from 3:30 pm – 3:50 pm. Ohman is paired with the artwork The Sea in Me by Mary Josephson; found in the Northwestern Art gallery, on the 3rd floor of the Portland Art Museum. Jules is also moderating the conversation “Unlikely Allies: Casey McQuiston & Emiko Jean” from 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm in the Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum.
WITS Writer Fall News & Events
Emilly Prado is teaching at Fall Craft Intensive for Tin House. “The Whole Truth, the Half Truth, and Something Like the Truth with Emilly Prado” with Tin House is on Saturday, December 3th from 9 AM – 12 PM PST / 12 – 3 PM EST Online. $75. Link: https://tinhouse.com/product/fall-craft-intensive-emilly-prado/
Amy Minato has openings in her writing circles, one at Wednesdays from 4-6pm and another on Fridays from 10AM-Noon. Both are currently on Zoom, but will be in person in Portland. “Join us to write together in a welcoming group of folks trying to make sense of it all. Weekly drop-in writing circles offer provocative prompts and a chance to practice a variety of writing techniques. We gather to encourage clear, authentic reflection and expression of our lives and support for each other”
Amy is also teaching an online class for Fishtrap. “Memorials: An Online Workshop with Amy Minato” on Saturday, November 12 from 10:00am – 12:00pm pacific time. Registration $60 ($55 Fishtrappers) Register Now at Fishtrap: www.fishtrap.org
Meg E. Griffitts will be a featured reader at Incite: Queer Writers Read on Wednesday, November 9 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at Literary Arts.
Alex Behr’s poetry is included in the anthology Stranged Writing: A Literary Taxonomy (Gravity of the Thing) and forthcoming in Kithe. Her adoption interview website, “Altar / Altered,” will be up in November, and the portraits are being displayed in California’s Department of Social Services on Nov. 4 as part of National Adoption Month reception. Alex and the artist, Christine Shields, will be at the reception to talk about the project. www.altar-altered.com The project is supported by a grant from RACC.
