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Garet Lahvis

Garet Lahvis is a neuroscientist who has conducted academic research for over 40 years and published more than 45 scientific papers. After discovering that mice derive pleasure from living with other mice and can also feel their pain, Garet left animal research – feeling that if he took his work seriously, he would need to leave it.

His public-facing work often addresses what he believes is a growing divide between what society expects of science and what scientists can provide. Much of his work reveals the scientific and emotional realities of animal research, blending scientific insights with literary craft to render complex ethical and scientific questions accessible and compelling to a wide readership.

His work has appeared in December, eLife, Aeon, and Vox Magazines. His essay, “NQR,” was awarded the Curt Johnson Prose Award from December magazine in 2014. Two of his essays were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. In 2020, Garet was awarded an Oregon Literary Fellowship. Garet is now writing a book for the University of Chicago Press that argues biomedical research needs to acknowledge the rational and emotional experiences of nonhuman animals – for the welfare of science and human health. Having studied creative writing at the University of Iowa, Stanford University, Marylhurst University, and Literary Arts, he attempts to bring the best of what he learned from each one to his courses on narrative writing.

Garet Lahvis

Events, Classes, and Seminars

Our events, classes, and seminars bring the community together to hear, learn, and discuss the most compelling issues and ideas of our day. We hope you will join us in our community space and bookstore at 716 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.

Tuesday

Oct 21

In-person   Writing Classes  

Tools for Nonfiction Narrative Writing

Learn the craft of narrative writing. Participants will learn to write perceptively – deploying their five senses and delving into feelings as they write. They will learn how to leverage narrative distance, writing between their ideas and the immediacy of their experiences to see how distance can affect the emotional weight of the work. They will learn how to use metaphors as a means of discovery, to harness verbs, and to modify sentences for focus and impact.

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