All events and classes take place at Literary Arts, 716 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR, unless otherwise noted.
Rosiee Thor: Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Stories about Love [FREE]
Tuesday, June 2, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
Kick off Pride Month at the Literary Bookstore & Cafe! We are excited to welcome Rosiee Thor to celebrate their book, Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Stories about Love.
June Hand-Sewing Social with SCRAP PDX [TICKETED EVENT]
Thursday, June 4, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Join us at The Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe to hand-sew decorative plush to celebrate the start of PICNIC season! Sew felt berries, sandwiches, flowers, and more; customize a felt charcuterie board! Bring a friend! Make a friend! Grab a beverage, browse the books, and gather round to sew some incredible (inedible) felt picnic pleasures!
One Page Wednesday – NEW TIME! [FREE]
Wednesday, June 3, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Starting in June, One Page Wednesday will begin at 6:30 p.m., with open mic sign-ups opening at 6:00 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. June’s One Page Wednesday will be hosted by special guest Armin Tolentino. The featured reader for June is Evan P. Schneider.
Brianna Jett in conversation with Courtney Gould [FREE]
Wednesday, June 10, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe is excited to welcome author Brianna Jett to celebrate the release of their book, Under a Carnivore Sky.
Melissa Febos in conversation with Genevieve Hudson [FREE]
Tuesday, June 16, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe is thrilled to welcome Melissa Febos to celebrate the paperback release of her book, The Dry Season.
Slamlandia [FREE]
Thursday, June 18, 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 share their work. We strive towards a safe space for poets to read their own poetry, witness others, and participate in community.
June Write-In: Pride [FREE]
Tuesday, June 23, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Join us at the Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe for our monthly write-in. This month’s theme is Pride.
BIPOC Reading Series – NEW TIME! [FREE]
Wednesday, June 24, 6:30–8:30 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.
Michelle St. Roman in conversation Sandra Freels [FREE]
Thursday, June 25, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
The Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe is pleased to welcome Michelle St. Roman to celebrate her debut novel, Song of Belonging.
Sign up for our dedicated bookstore and cafe email list to be the first to hear about events at Literary Arts, new book releases, food and drink specials, and more.
Writing Classes
Write Like You’re Swimming: From Self-Doubt to Compassion and Creative Flow
Tuesdays, June 2 through June 16, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
In this supportive workshop, writers will slip into their inner emotional reservoir, be it a lake, swimming pool, creek, or ocean, where emotions flow freely, and the water buoys us. Through guided meditations, writing exercises, and reading excerpts of big-hearted, emotionally courageous literature, writers of fiction and nonfiction will develop more self-connection, feel compassion for themselves as writers as well as for their characters, and care for their nervous system during the writing process, so they can enjoy more flow, catharsis, and joy.
Instructor: Meg Hayertz
Yallah! Muslims: Gather. Write. Repeat
Wednesdays, June 3 through July 8, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Yallah! Muslims: Gather. Write. Repeat is a generative writing workshop for self-identifying Muslim artists to join together in a fun, supportive, and imaginative community space—let’s dream big and get to know each other.
Instructor: mhd borhan
Story Plot: Finish Your Short Story
Thursdays, June 4 through July 2, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
This summer, let’s finish a story! This creative writing workshop is a fresh take on an old classic: a writing workshop with a focus on craft. Using examples from literature, we’ll examine what is working in several contemporary short stories then take a deeper look at our own work.
Instructor: Michelle Kicherer
Writing with the Seasons: Summer
Saturday, June 6, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Does what you write or how you write it change with the seasons? In these quarterly gatherings we’ll meet to be inspired by the turn of the world. From autumn leaves to springtime flowers, rain and snow and sun, we’ll consider nature’s shifts and how we can incorporate them into our writing practice.
Instructor: Miranda Schmidt
Bold And Unafraid: Fiction For The Now
Saturday, June 6, 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
In this three-hour session, we will read excerpts from authors belonging to underrepresented communities in this country. Together, we’ll discuss how they challenge and confront power and systems of oppression through their craft.
Instructor: mhd borhan
Disorderly Conduct: Celebrating Trans Poetry
Saturday, June 20, 1:00–4:00 p.m.
This workshop will center transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming writers in all workshop materials and its approach. This Pride month, join TGNC+ writer Brody Parrish Craig (they/them) to celebrate contemporary trans poetry, generate new creative work & share our stories with one another.
Instructor: Brody Parrish Craig
Sensory Immersion: Writing Sound, Touch, Sight, Taste, and Vision
Sundays, June 21 through July 26, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
In this generative writing class, we will dedicate each week to a single sense: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. We will read and/or view published pieces that focus on that specific sense, and through discussion, prompts, and even mindfulness exercises, will hone our perceptions of all five senses, and then practice translating these perceptions into writing.
Instructor: Rachel Attias
Writing Through Memory: Weaving Your Past With The Present
Wednesdays, June 24 through July 29, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
This course is generative, so participants should plan to write at least 1500 words per week. Most importantly, the goal of this course is to be inspired and to feel supported in your writing. This course is for all levels of writers and readers.
Instructor: Frances Badalamenti
Fun and Practical Revision
Saturday, June 27, 12:00–3:30 p.m.
In this one-day workshop, we’ll review practical, applicable revision tools for each stage of the revision process. Then, we’ll take some time to reflect on what parts of your work-in-progress to tackle next.
Instructor: Michelle Kicherer
Readers Seminar
Octavia Butler: Fledgling
Mondays, June 22 through July 13, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Octavia Butler’s final novel, Fledgling, is a powerful, disturbing book about humanity and Otherness that is also a vampire coming-of-age story. Set in the near-future Pacific Northwest, it pits a dark-skinned, amnesiac predator against ignorance and gangster-like families formed by the predator’s own kind–except that they’re white. Delve guide Nisi Shawl, a friend of Butler’s during her lifetime, adds unique perspective drawing on their personal experience of the author’s joys, struggles, triumphs, and frustrations.
Guide: Nisi Shawl
Classes and Readers Seminar schedules are subject to change.
For the most up-to-date information, check out our full events calendar.
