All events and classes take place at Literary Arts, 716 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR, unless otherwise noted.
The Weary Blues at 100: Maude Hines and Emmett Wheatfall Discuss Langston Hughes [FREE]
Sunday, February 1, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Join us for a special evening honoring the legacy of Langston Hughes and the 100th anniversary of The Weary Blues. Featuring critical commentary by PSU Professor and Chair of Black Studies Maude Hines, and award-winning performance poet Emmett Wheatfall.
One Page Wednesday – February [FREE]
Wednesday, February 4, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Here is an opportunity to share or listen to one page of work in progress from talented writers from everywhere. Come with a single page of work and sign up to read – or come to listen and prepare to be inspired. Our host is the one and only, Emme Lund. February’s featured reader is Canisia Lubrin.
Emily Nemens in conversation with Kathleen Boland [FREE]
Tuesday, February 10, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore is proud to welcome author Emily Nemens to celebrate her latest book, Clutch. Nemens will be in conversation with Kathleen Boland.
February Write-In: Dreams [FREE]
Wednesday, February 11, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Fight off those last lonely nights of winter with an extra dreamy write-in at the Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe!
February Hand-Sewing Social with SCRAP PDX [TICKETED EVENT]
Thursday, February 12, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Join us to hand-sew decorative plush charms to exchange with your beloveds and besties!! Embroider a love note, a candy heart, a strawberry, a chocolate truffle… ✨
Karina LeBlanc: A Kid’s Book About Purpose [FREE]
Tuesday, February 17, 6:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore is pleased to welcome Karina LeBlanc to celebrate the release of A Kids Book About Purpose. She wrote this book to inspire kids, especially those who feel different, unseen, or unsure of their path, to believe in their greatness and take small steps toward a bigger purpose.
Trivia Night [FREE]
Wednesday, February 18, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe is excited to announce that we will be hosting Trivia Night! Join us for a fun night of literary-themed trivia. We will have a few rounds of trivia with fun PRIZES to win. Appropriate for all ages. Bring a friend to play with or meet someone new here. Trivia will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m., so make sure to come in early and grab some food or a drink to fuel your brain!
Slamlandia [FREE]
Thursday, February 19, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month at Literary Arts, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in Portland. We encourage poets new and old to come share their work. We strive towards a safe space for poets to read their own poetry, witness others, and participate in community. Hosted by Julia Gaskill. February’s featured poet will be announced soon!
LitMic presents: LOVE IS MURDER [TICKETED EVENT]
Saturday, February 20, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe are thrilled to welcome Lit Mic for a very special immersive writing workshop! Participants will search for clues, interview witnesses, and conduct their own investigation via creative writing prompts and sharing to solve the murder.
BIPOC Reading Series [FREE]
Wednesday, February 25, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Hosted by Kyle Yoshioka and Jessica Meza-Torres, this monthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color.
Writing Classes
The Art of Fiction
Tuesdays, February 10 – April 17, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Designed for both beginner and advanced writers, this course meets for eight sessions in total. Students will have the opportunity to share two pieces (up to 25 pages each) and receive constructive feedback in a thoughtfully facilitated, supportive atmosphere.
Instructor: Rajesh K. Reddy
Poetry and Obsession
Tuesdays, February 17 – March 24, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
This online poetry class will focus on the idea of obsession as a driving force for writing poetry – what you, as a poet, are interested in in terms of subject, style, forms, and even research or archival work. We will explore obsession as a poetic concept, and read example poems/poets and interrogate how obsession can be a catalyst for generating writing.
Instructor: Mariah Bosch
Pushing Through: Carrying Your Manuscript Over the Finish Line
Mondays, February 23 – March 30, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
This six-week course is designed to help students finish a draft of a manuscript. We’ll read craft essays about drafting a book, set aside time each week to discuss problems we’re having with manuscripts, and design a schedule for each student to ensure everyone addresses the issues specific to their draft.
Instructor: Emme Lund
Humor Fiction Workshop
Tuesdays, February 24 – March 31, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
In this six-week workshop-meets-craft class, we’ll dissect five different short stories and figure out: How did the writer do that? We’ll then apply some of those same literary tools to your own stories.
Instructor: Michelle Kicherer
Feminist & Queer Approaches to Creative Writing
Thursdays, February 26- April 2, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
In their debut collection, Andrea Abi-Karam demands the writer to “Kill The Bro In Yr Head.” In this workshop, we will ask: what can writing teach us about the ways we move through the world? How can we use our words to dismantle our own biases and the systems that live within us? Through exploration of gender and sexuality in creative texts across genres by TLGBQ+ and gender non-conforming writers, we will cultivate our own texts of interrogation and self-discovery. Possible topics include the queer pastoral, the fable as means of social change, and art as activism.
Instructor: Brody Parrish Craig
Readers Seminars
Thomas Pynchon: Mason & Dixon
Saturdays, February 21 – March 28, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Thomas Pynchon’s novels are chaotic combinations of ideas, puns, characters, subplots, facts, fictions, and words. Set in the eighteenth century, Mason & Dixon includes all of the above plus a talking dog. Its plot is organized around the efforts of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two Englishmen tasked with surveyed the disputed 233-mile line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. If history had unfolded differently, of course, the Mason-Dixon line might not have been all that important—but it came to bifurcate the United States in fundamental ways.
Guide: Elizabeth Duquette
Fernanda Melchor: Paradais & Hurricane Season
Monday, February 23- March 30, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Fernanda Melchor has quickly become one of the most heralded young writers emerging into international attention. Winner of the Anna Seghers Prize, the Ryszard Kapuscinski Award, and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, she has garnered an incredible amount of celebration by the age of 41. Her work explores violence, self-loathing, class disparity, and the stories we tell ourselves in justification of horrific acts.
Guide: Benjamin McPherson Ficklin
The Waste Land in Our Time
Wednesdays, February 25-April 1, 20260, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Ezra Pound once declared that “Literature is news that stays news.” In this six week seminar, we will make an effort to read Eliot’s poem with fresh eyes and open minds while also exploring the poem’s potential relevance to, and resonance with, our own time. For additional perspctive, we will conclude with a perusal of Eliot’s late poem, Four Quartets.
Guide: Christopher Zinn
Classes and Seminars are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, check out our full events calendar.
