Events, Classes, and Seminars
We have moved many of our offerings online! We hope you will join us.
January 2021
Free Events Writing Classes
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, January 25 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST
An event every week that begins at 7:00 pm on Monday, repeating until Mon, Feb 22, 2021
Writing, even on a good day, is hard. So how do we do it on the not-good days, on the days when it feels like the world is upside-down? “Butt in chair” is the simple answer. We make ourselves sit down, and we don’t get up until we’ve gotten a few sentences down at the very least. But sometimes it feels impossible to even get to the chair. We’d honestly rather throw the chair out the window than sit in…
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Free Events Youth Events
WITS Reading: Benson High School
Wed, January 27 from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm PST
Writers in the Schools (WITS) has served public high school students with creative writing residencies in Portland, and more recently Gresham, since 1996. Published local writers collaborate with classroom teachers to lead an immersive semester-long workshop series designed to further class themes, curricula, and student interests. Each residency culminates with a public reading, ordinarily held in a local café or bookstore. With distance learning, we look forward to hosting our reading on Zoom and invite you to join us in…
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Free Events Youth Events
WITS Reading: Madison High School
Wed, January 27 from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm PST
Writers in the Schools (WITS) has served public high school students with creative writing residencies in Portland, and more recently Gresham, since 1996. Published local writers collaborate with classroom teachers to lead an immersive semester-long workshop series designed to further class themes, curricula, and student interests. Each residency culminates with a public reading, ordinarily held in a local café or bookstore. With distance learning, we look forward to hosting our reading on Zoom and invite you to join us in…
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Deadlines Free Events Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships
Special Award Nominations Deadline
Fri, January 29
As part of the Oregon Book Awards, Literary Arts offers three awards that recognize significant contributions to Oregon’s literary culture: The Charles Erskine Scott Wood Distinguished Writer Award is presented to an Oregon author in recognition of an enduring, substantial literary career. Past recipients include George Hitchcock, Ken Kesey, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Barry Lopez. The Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award is presented to a person or organization in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary…
Find out moreFebruary 2021
Free Events Youth Events
WITS Reading: Parkrose High School
Wed, February 3 from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm PST
Writers in the Schools (WITS) has served public high school students with creative writing residencies in Portland, and more recently Gresham, since 1996. Published local writers collaborate with classroom teachers to lead an immersive semester-long workshop series designed to further class themes, curricula, and student interests. Each residency culminates with a public reading, ordinarily held in a local café or bookstore. With distance learning, we look forward to hosting our reading on Zoom and invite you to join us in…
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Free Events
One Page Wednesday: February
Wed, February 3 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm PST
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! Hosted by Natalie Serber. February's featured reader is Brian Benson. Register in advance for this event
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Free Events
Slamlandia
Thu, February 18 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm PST
An event every month that begins at 7:00 pm on day Third of the month, repeating until Fri, May 21, 2021
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month. 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 safer space for poets to read their own poetry, witness others, and participate in community. Hosted by Julia Gaskill. Register in advance for this event If you have any questions, please contact slamlandia@gmail.com or jessica@literary-arts.org.
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Free Events
Ridgerunner: Gil Adamson in conversation with S. Tremaine Nelson
Thu, February 25 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST
Join us for an evening with Gil Adamson, winner of the 2020 Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her new novel, Ridgerunner. Set against the backdrop of a distant war raging in Europe and a rapidly changing landscape in the West, Ridgerunner is a vivid historical novel that draws from the epic tradition and a literary Western brimming with a cast of unforgettable characters touched with humor and loss, and steeped in the wild of the natural…
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Free Events
BIPOC Reading Series- February
Fri, February 26 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm PST
We're kicking off the new year with the theme "VISIONS." This bimonthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. Come listen to our featured readers, or sign up to share your work in our open mic. Readings will be followed by a short community discussion. Click here to register for this event. You do not need a Zoom account to participate. This event is open to everyone, but…
Find out moreMarch 2021
Free Events
THE SUM OF US: Heather McGhee, presented by West x Midwest
Tue, March 2 from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PST
One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.
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