• April 25, 2024
          Verselandia! Youth Poetry Slam Championship (2024)
          April 26, 2024
          BIPOC Reading Series April
          May 1, 2024
          One Page Wednesday: May
          May 7, 2024
          Josephine Woolington
  • Box Office
  1. Events
  2. Free Events

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 downtown Literary Arts space, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.

Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Tuesday

Jan 24

Tuesday

Jan 24

Free Events   online  

Joy Castro & S. Tremaine Nelson

Join us for a conversation with Joy Castro, author of One Brilliant Flame, and S. Tremaine Nelson of the Northwest Review. This is a virtual event. Click here to register in advance. If you have any questions, reach out to Jessica Meza-Torres at jessica@literary-arts.org.    

Find out more
Monday

Jan 30

Free Events   Writing Classes  

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Event Series The Break with Kaveh Akbar

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, "The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not

Find out more
Thursday

Feb 2

Thursday

Feb 16

Free Events   In-person  

Slamlandia

Event Series Slamlandia

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

Find out more
Monday

Feb 27

Free Events   Writing Classes  

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Event Series The Break with Kaveh Akbar

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, "The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not

Find out more
Wednesday

Mar 1

Free Events   In-person  

One Page Wednesday- March

One Page Wednesday is back in-person at our downtown center! 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. Our host is

Find out more
Friday

Mar 3

Free Events   In-person  

Mary Szybist & Laurel Nakanishi

Join poets Mary Szybist and Laurel Nakanishi for an interactive evening of poetry that will consider the concept of place. After a discussion and reading, the audience will be invited to write in response to a series of poetry-inspired prompts. Bring a journal and pen for a generative evening of writing. Everyone welcome!

Find out more
Wednesday

Mar 15

Free Events   In-person  

A Discussion with Kamala Sankaram & Susan Yankowitz

In partnership with the Portland Opera, join us for a discussion with Thumbprint composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, moderated by Portland Opera Artistic Director Priti Gandhi. This event is free and open to the public. Thumbprint is inspired by the true story of Mukhtar Mai—a trailblazing Pakistani activist whose fight for justice and safety reminds

Find out more
Thursday

Mar 16

Free Events   In-person  

Slamlandia

Event Series Slamlandia

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

Find out more
Saturday

Mar 18

Monday

Mar 20

Thursday

Mar 23

Friday

Mar 24

Saturday

Mar 25

Saturday

Mar 25

Monday

Mar 27

Free Events   Writing Classes  

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Event Series The Break with Kaveh Akbar

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, "The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not

Find out more
Wednesday

Mar 29

Wednesday

Apr 5

Free Events   In-person  

One Page Wednesday- April

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. Our host is the one and only, Emme Lund. Our featured reader is

Find out more
Saturday

Apr 8

Wednesday

Apr 12

Free Events   In-person   Oregon Literary Fellowships  

Oregon Literary Fellowship Reading

A reading featuring some of the 2023 Oregon Literary Fellowship recipients: Trevino Brings Plenty Elanor Broker Grace Chao Matthew Dickman Dustin Hendrick Margaret Malone Deb Miller Landau Sofia Molimbi Julie Morris Stephan Nance Emily Shetler Kim Thompson Cecily Wong and Takahiro Yamamoto reading a piece from berm magazine, one of the publishing fellowship recipients.

Find out more
Saturday

Apr 15

Free Events   In-person   Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships   Oregon Book Awards Author Tour  

Springfield Celebrates Authors: John Larison and Deb Vanasse

Join two Oregon Book Award authors for a talk and reading at the Springfield Public Library. John Larison's most recent novel, Whiskey When We’re Dry, was a Los Angeles Times and Seattle Times bestseller, an Indie Next Pick, and a finalist for the Ken Kesey Award and winner of the Will Rodgers Medallion. It was

Find out more
Monday

Apr 24

Free Events   Writing Classes  

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Event Series The Break with Kaveh Akbar

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, "The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not

Find out more
Wednesday

Apr 26

Free Events   In-person  

Lit from Below: An Evening of Poetry & Prose from Portland’s Underground

Eight Portland authors come together for a night of poetry and prose in celebration of the vibrant indie-lit scene thriving in the City of Roses. Crossing, fusing, and demolishing genres, these writers and performers will demonstrate the amazing variation and complexity that is literature in the Portland underground. Authors will have books for sale and

Find out more
Friday

Apr 28

Wednesday

May 3

Free Events   In-person  

One Page Wednesday- May

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. Our host is the one and only, Emme Lund. Our featured reader is

Find out more
Friday

May 12

For BIPOC writers   Free Events   online  

Oregon BIPOC Publishing Event: Agent Panel

Literary Arts, Ooligan Press, and Portland State University’s English Department partner to present the Oregon BIPOC Writers Publishing Event. This event is designed for writers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color to connect to the publishers and authors seeking to hear their voices. Join us for a virtual panel discussion featuring literary agents, DongWon

Find out more
Thursday

May 18

Free Events   In-person  

Slamlandia

Event Series Slamlandia

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

Find out more
Tuesday

May 23

Free Events   In-person   Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships   Oregon Book Awards Author Tour  

Oregon Book Awards Author Tour: Sindya Bhanoo and Eric Tran

Featuring Sindya Bhanoo, 2023 winner of the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction for Seeking Fortune Elsewhere and Eric Tran, 2023 winner of the Stafford/Hall prize for Poetry for Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke. Readings by the authors followed by a Q&A. Presented in partnership with Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

Find out more
Monday

May 29

Free Events   Writing Classes  

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Event Series The Break with Kaveh Akbar

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, "The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not

Find out more
Friday

Jun 2

Free Events   In-person  

Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam

Sixteen teams. Two days. One grand prize. The 2023 Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam will be in Portland, OR on June 2nd & 3rd, 2023. The top four teams will receive prize money. Come create your own legend. 2023 Event Schedule Thursday, June 1st Guilder Cafe, inside Powell’s Books (1035 W Burnside St.) ★ 6:00pm -

Find out more
Saturday

Jun 3

Wednesday

Jun 7

Free Events   In-person  

One Page Wednesday- June

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. Our host is the one and only, Emme Lund. Our featured reader is

Find out more
Friday

Jun 9

Free Events   online  

End of Class Reading: Short Story Intensive

Come celebrate the culmination of the Short Story Intensive writing class. Readings by class participants, hosted by the instructor Margaret Malone. Click here to register in advanced. This is a virtual event via Zoom. If you have any questions about this event, please email Jessica Meza-Torres at jessica@literary-arts.org.    

Find out more
Saturday

Jun 10

Free Events   online  

Poetry in Translation: Reading & Conversation with PEN Award Finalists

A reading and conversation with the 2023 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation Winner and Finalists. PEN award poets from Chile, Haiti, Iran, the Slovenian-Austrian border, and Bolivia read by their U.S. translators, followed by Q&A. Click here to register for this event. The Loose Pearl, Paula Ilabaca Nuñez (Coimpress), translated from Spanish by Daniel

Find out more
Thursday

Jun 15

Free Events   In-person  

Slamlandia

Event Series Slamlandia

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

Find out more
Wednesday

Jul 5

Free Events   In-person  

One Page Wednesday- July

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. Our guest host this month is Jessica Wadleigh. Our featured reader is Alayna Becker.

Find out more
Thursday

Jul 6

Tuesday

Jul 11

Filters

Changing any of the form inputs will cause the list of events to refresh with the filtered results.