Slamlandia
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. November’s featured poet is Christopher Diaz.
Julia Gaskill
Julia Gaskill (she/her) has competed multiple times on national stages and toured with her poetry across North America. Her work has been published through Vagabond City Lit, Nailed Magazine, Knight’s Library Magazine, and more, and her poems have been featured on the YouTube channels SlamFind, Write About Now, and Button Poetry. She was included in the anthologies In Absentia in 2020 and Excelsior! in 2022. Julia is the author of four chapbooks, runs the mic Slamlandia, co-created the Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam, and is the creator of the spoken word album, Stouthearted Bitch. Her debut full length collection, weirdo, is out now from Game Over Books. It goes without saying, she loves Muppets more than you. Find out more about Julia at @geekgirlgrownup on Twitter and Instagram or at juliagaskill.com.
Christopher Diaz
Christopher is a writer, performer, and photographer from the island of Guåhan. He has been featured by NBC news, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Poets & Writers.org, and more. He is a two-time grand slam champion of Houston’s slam poetry team, “Write About Now,” which ranked fifth in the nation in 2018, and he recently won first place at the 2023 Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam festival with his PNW slam team, team “tbd.” He specializes in performing arts photography and has previously taught poetry and coached performance with the non-profit, "Writers in the Schools." You can find him at www.christopherdiazcreates.com.
