Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland, and beyond. Let us know in the form below the blog if you have any events or news to share.
EVENTS
Preservacion De Nuestra Cultura y Tradiciones with Hilda Leon (Oregon Humanities)
Tuesday, April 15, at 10:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom | FREE
Reflexionemos sobre la Importancia de la identidad cultural latina, el uso de la lengua nativa y la preservación de las tradiciones y costumbres. Esta conversación es para personas que han emigrado de países hispanohablantes, o descendientes de inmigrantes (hasta la 3ra generación) que están interesados en reconectarse con su cultura.
Consider This with Nikole Hannah-Jones (Oregon Humanities)
Tuesday, April 15, 7:00 p.m. | PRAx, 470 SW 15th Street, Corvallis OR 97331 | $15
Oregon Humanities and the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities present a Consider This conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.
National Poetry Month Reading with Fernwood Press (Literary Arts)
Wednesday, April 16, 7:00 p.m. | Literary Arts, 716 SE Grand Ave, 97214 | FREE
Join us for a celebration of National Poetry Month with local Fernwood Press poets Ayelet Amittay, Casey Killingsworth, Emmett Wheatfall, and Sherri Levine! The poets will share pieces from their recent work and discuss their creative process, followed by audience Q&A.
2025 HeART of Portland student arts showcase Opening Celebration (Portland Art Museum)
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. | Portland Art Museum Mark Building, 1119 SW Park Ave., Portland, OR
A love letter to Portlanders for supporting the Arts Tax, the HeART of Portland is an annual visual arts exhibition representing K-12 student artworks from across the city. This year’s exhibition will feature 100+ student works highlighting the diversity of arts offerings across Portland Public Schools. As part of the exhibition’s opening and closing celebrations, students will participate in dance, music, and theater performances.
The 2025 HeART of Portland: A Portland Public Schools K-12 Arts Showcase Visual Art Exhibition (Portland Art Museum)
Thursday, April 17 – Sunday April 27 | Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR | FREE
Come see the extraordinary work of student artists in the HeART of Portland Visual Art Exhibition! This exhibition features over 100 works that highlight the diversity of arts offerings across Portland Public Schools.
Reading: I Lived to Tell the World: Stories From Survivors of Holocaust, Genocide and the Atrocities of War by Elizabeth Mehren (Rose City Book Pub) (Link)
Saturday, April 19, 4:00 p.m. | Rose City Book Pub1329 Northeast Fremont StreetPortland, OR, 97212 | FREE
The book, published by Oregon State University Press, is a collection of 13 stories of survivors of some of the most significant events of the last 75 years, ranging from the Holocaust in Europe to events that are transpiring at this moment. All the men and women depicted in the book reside here in Oregon. The stories have particular urgency now, as the national conversation around immigration grows louder and more strained.
Braiding Sweetgrass Study Group (Soapstone)
Saturdays, April 19–May 24 | Online via Zoom | $75
The story of Braiding Sweetgrass is compelling and telling: published in 2013 by Milkweed Press, the book was not an overnight success powered by social media and heavy advertising. Rather, it’s phenomenal readership grew by old-fashioned word of mouth. “Braiding Sweetgrass landed on the New York Times bestseller list in early 2020—five years after it was released in paperback—and has remained there for 219 weeks and counting. To date, the book has sold more than two million copies” (Publisher’s Weekly, June 2024). What is going on here?! In this group, we’ll discuss both Kimmerer’s writing and the impassioned responses to it.
Rockaway Writers Rendezvous (3rd Annual) (Rockaway Writers Rendezvous)
April 25–27 | Rockaway Beach, OR. Several walkable locations | $25
This writing event features two evening open mic performances, a full day of workshops, writing and visual art contests published as an anthology, and a great place to network with like-minded creatives with a wide range of experience.
The Science and Story of Awe: An Emotion of Transformation with Amber Peoples (Oregon Humanities)
Tuesday, April 29, at 3:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom | FREE
During times of great change, anxiety and overwhelm can keep us stuck asking “What can I do?” on repeat, often leading to fear and isolation. The experience of awe, as employed in both science and story, can help us all get unstuck. What is awe, and what good does it do?
Value-Based Political Conversation with Lowell Greathouse (Oregon Humanities)
Tuesday, May 6, at 4:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom | FREE
“How can I be me without making it difficult for you to be you?” This question gets at the fundamental challenge of being in society together. We live in a contentious political world, and it’s difficult to talk about our deepest values and beliefs in safe, civil, and respectful ways
Arts Access Fund: Student Art Installation at Goat Blocks (City of Portland)
March 12-April 30, 2025 | Goat Blocks, courtyard storefront, 975 SE 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
As you stroll through Goat Blocks in the Portland’s Central Eastside neighborhood, look out for a storefront student art exhibit comprised of collaborative circle paintings. Created by students at Rieke Elementary, first through fifth graders worked together in small groups to create these seven impressive, larger-scale works.
Bard Bingo (Wonderwood Springs)
Tuesdays, 7:00–9:00 p.m. | Wonderwood Springs, 8811 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203 | FREE
Bard Bingo at Portland Artist Mike Bennett’s Wonderwood Springs is a lively bingo event hosted by a traveling bard’s musical musings. Held every Tuesday night, this event features four exciting rounds with cards priced at $5 each. It’s cash-only, offering chances to win various prizes such as original artwork, stickers, gift cards, lawn signs, and the coveted jackpot.
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Resonate: A BIPOC Writing Circle (Write Around Portland)
2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month | 4:00–5:30 p.m. | Online via Zoom
Led by a Write Around Portland facilitator of color, Resonate consists of writing, sharing, and giving strengths-based feedback to each other. No preparation or experience in writing is required! Resonate is a great way to unlock your creativity, build or maintain a writing practice, and get some writing done! REGISTER HERE.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS
FOR KIDS / TEENS
Story time with Leslie Barnard Booth (Literary Arts)
Saturday, April 19, 10:30 a.m. | Literary Arts, 716 SE Grand Ave, 97214 | FREE
Join us on Saturday, April 19th at 10:30am in the Literary Arts Bookstore for a very special story time featuring a puppet presentation and tree treasures to explore, with local author and Oregon Book Awards finalist Leslie Barnard Booth!
Bilingual (Spanish/English) Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore (Literary Arts)
Saturday, April 26, 10:30 a.m. | Literary Arts, 716 SE Grand Ave, 97214 | FREE
Bring the whole family for a magical Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore! Sing, play, and dive into the world of Spanish storytelling hosted by Adventures in Spanish. Join us for a fun and engaging way to enhance your child’s Spanish skills through lively stories and interactive activities! Every fourth Saturday of the month.
BOLD Children’s Storytime (University of Portland)
Saturdays, at 10:00 a.m. | Bold Coffee and Books, 1755 SW Jefferson St. Portland, OR 97201 | FREE
Join Bold Coffee and Books every Saturday morning for children’s storytime! Whether an author is here to read their book or on of their staff members is reading a favorite, they will feature stories that spread compassion, awareness, and positivity. Children will get a coloring page or sticker to take home too!
Bookworm Baby Playgroup (Literacy Kid Lounge)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. | Literacy Kid Lounge, 2200 SE Oak Grove Blvd
Oak Grove, OR 97267 | $10
Connect with other fantastic families and build lasting friendships in this Literacy Baby Playgroup! There is also a lot of crawling over each other and interactive play with toys and books.
Kids’ Story & Art Class at Awake Coffee & Art!
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. | In person at Awake Coffee & Art | $8
Bring your little ones Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. for a storybook reading and art session! They’ll have a hands-on art project after the reading. It could be watercolor painting, making and playing with play dough, or another creative project to engage the young artists’ talents! All materials included!
IN THE NEWS
Verselandia! featured on OPB’s Think Out Loud | (Literary Arts)
Community Voices featuring Literary Arts | (Portland Radio Project)
The Spring Arts Guide: Rival Bookstores, Toxic Bosses, and Noise Violations | (City Cast Portland)
In His New Book, Omar El Akkad Examines the Dangers of Passivity During Israel’s War on Gaza | (Willamette Week)
PEN America Announces Spring Literary Events, Reaffirms Commitment to Writers in Crisis | (Pen America)
Portland’s Unexpected Book Corridor | (Portland Mercury)
RECOMMENDED READING
Poetry Month 2025 (The Bookstore at Literary Arts)
Trans Day of Visibility 2025 (The Bookstore at Literary Arts)
Staff Picks (The Bookstore at Literary Arts)
Autism and neurodiversity awareness for tweens (Multnomah County Library)
Black creatives: books for kids (Multnomah County Library)
Oregon Book Award Finalists 2025 (The Bookstore at Literary Arts)
Art as Activism (The Bookstore at Literary Arts)
Community News Submissions
Let us know if you have any events, news to share, or opportunities for writers for the In the Community blog and we will consider adding it to the next blog post!
