WORDS FROM THE DIRECTOR

From Literary Arts’ 2022/23 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

Sitting in my office on the day of her Portland Arts & Lectures event, Ada Limón, the 24th poet laureate of the United States, casually mentioned that her poetry would be engraved on the side of a spaceship that would travel 1.8 billion miles to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Her biggest concern? The quality of her handwriting. It was an astonishing conversation that we continued onstage at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, one that unpacked the enduring persistence of poetry in the big moments of our lives (weddings, funerals, graduations, spaceships, etc.) and in the small but important moments of our daily lives.

During her visit, Limón inspired students from Woodburn High School, held a writers forum at Literary Arts with a small group of professional writers, met with Oregon’s poet laureate Anis Mojgani, spoke to thousands at the concert hall, and reached thousands more across the state through our partnership with OPB radio.

It is a singular joy for us at Literary Arts to bring writers of all disciplines, walks of life, backgrounds, and ages to you, and hear them share their stories, insight, and light. This year we presented writers like Limón, but also elevated Kennedy Phillips, the Parkrose High School junior who won our annual youth poetry slam championship Verselandia!; we lifted the voices of 51 writers through the Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships, and helped hundreds of writers, young and old, craft their stories and find community. We brought together thousands not only at the concert hall, but also at Portland Book Festival—the largest festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest—which returned to its full footprint across multiple venues in downtown Portland’s arts district.

As you can see from the faces in this annual report, it was a joyful year, one that felt like a prolonged reunion. It was a year in which many of us rediscovered the power of community. We listened to each other and we spoke our truths. The joy could be found in difficult work that could be hard to sit with. The joy could be found in being seen and heard with work that spoke to our experience, or finally saying the thing you needed to say. Real joy is the result of deep connection and revelations, large and small, on spaceships, in new hardcovers and worn paperbacks, in notebooks, and sitting together in community listening to stories as they unfold.

The names listed in the back of this report are the ones that make this happen, through their work, support, and donations. We are so grateful to everyone that is able to support our mission and who gives us the privilege to serve our community.

In gratitude,
Andrew Proctor
Executive Director
Literary Arts

Read the full report below.

Click here for a PDF version of the report.