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.
The hybrid genre of erasure and collage often exists between and because of two different mediums: text and image. Through obscuring a pre-existing text using various methods, an original work is created. Like erasure and collage, we as writers and community members exist between and because of various factors and people. What we amplify in
While we may know of essays as personal narratives crafted with creative storytelling techniques, essay as a verb means an attempt. In this six-week series, we’ll explore a variety of essays under the creative nonfiction umbrella in an attempt to expand our entry points to writing and in an attempt to build community. Our evenings
“Your experience is not yours alone, but in some sense a metaphor for everyone’s.” -Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, The Poet’s Companion What we know in our personal worlds contain essential truths of the larger world. The challenge we face as poets is how to transform our lived experiences–creatively and imaginatively–into art that can be
This class is for experienced writers who are dedicated to starting the first draft of a story collection over the course of six months. Participants should have experience writing stories and familiarity with the elements of literary short fiction including scene, character, conflict, place, and revision. We will study individual stories by authors, read craft
What if we joined our sorrows? What if that is joy? - Ross Gay Following in the tradition of Ross Gay, and his new book, The Book of (More) Delights, we will focus in the depth of winter on writing about joy. Can we find joy even in our sorrows? This is a generative writing
Writing novels can seem like a mystical process. Write every day, and a novel will appear. The work can feel isolating and disorienting, particularly for a writer’s first book, like stumbling around in the dark. This 16-week course is designed to prepare writers for every stage of the novel writing process from beginning the first
Sometimes we become so focused on productivity or “doing it right” that we stifle our creativity. In this class we’ll focus on one of the hardest parts of writing: writing. Each week we’ll use new prompts and guided activities to inspire new creation. We’ll look at the work of writers we admire and ask: how’d
"I’m half crazy with the wonder of it- the abundance of leaves, the quietness of the branches, the hopelessness of my effort. And I’m, in that delicious and important place, roaring with laughter." - Mary Oliver Winter is a time of deep introspection. The world gets dark and cold, we huddle close under blankets, we
This course is for all levels of writers and readers. We will read and discuss excerpts from contemporary authors who write the self (or write from the basis of personal experience) such as Annie Erneaux,Carmen Maria Machado, Kate Briggs, Emmanuel Carrere, Zadie Smith, Rachel Cusk, Hilton Als, Melissa Febos and others, in addition to weekly
Equal parts strategy, community, generative writing, and experiment, this class will help writers spark curiosity and deepen self-knowledge while crafting artistic habits that nourish. A good fit for writers who want to reimagine their creative life. We’ll discuss methods for working through blocks and rejection, rituals that refill the well, and ways to make time
Generate pages and explore the finer nuances of the world of your short story or novel in this Fiction Intensive! Over the course of 12 weeks, participants will work on generating and framing their narratives – from idea formation to story development and revision with a keen eye on the elements of fiction such as
In this class, we will drop all worry about being “writers.” Instead, we will simply use writing as a means of grounding our own attention. We will be prompted by writers who have turned their attention to the smallest noticings of life—observations of what is. Through writing together to prompts during our sessions, we will
What is a ghost if not spirit energy yearning for form and expression? In our time together, we’ll explore a range of structures capable of hosting ghosts, from epistolary to erasure, concrete shapes, the haunted dialogues of contrapuntals, and the glorious twisting and (re)turning form of obsession: the sestina. What’s following us? What can we
This six-week class will hold space for creative nonfiction writers to write and discuss short creative nonfiction works (memoir, essay, lyric essay). Writers at every level---from beginner to experienced---are welcome to join this workshop. Session time will consist of in-class writing and brief, focused discussions of students' short creative nonfiction works. Students will write 3-
One of the central struggles in storytelling is that human beings are, in essence, time travelers. We live in the past of our memories and the future of our hopes. Thus, when we tell stories, we often shuttle around in time. This can be exciting, but more often it winds up confusing the reader, and
The key to any unforgettable work of prose resides in the quality of its scenes. In this class, we’ll look at some of the best scenes ever written and investigate what it takes to write a scene that keeps readers on the edges of their seats. We’ll also discuss how structuring scenes can create a
How do you describe the Oregon coast, a garden full of dahlias, or the vibe of your favorite coffee shop? How do you write about a crowd of people? A fictional fishing village? A cold office? Or break down the symbolism of your protagonist’s kitchen junk drawer? The course will help writers currently working in
We've added a second section! Have you ever wondered how to turn your brilliant idea into a captivating picture book? In this 8-week course, you’ll learn the art of crafting picture books that leave a lasting impression. We'll explore the world of children's literature, studying beloved classics and contemporary favorites, to inspire your creativity. Through
Have you ever wondered how to turn your brilliant idea into a captivating picture book? In this 8-week course, you’ll learn the art of crafting picture books that leave a lasting impression. We'll explore the world of children's literature, studying beloved classics and contemporary favorites, to inspire your creativity. Through engaging lessons and hands-on workshops,
This course is for all levels of writers and readers. We will read and discuss excerpts from contemporary authors who write the self (or write from the basis of personal experience) such as Annie Erneaux, Leslie Jamison, Kate Briggs, Emmanuel Carrere, Hilton Als, Melissa Febos, Edouard Louis and others, in addition to weekly craft essays
Writers can't decide what to do with grief. It has wrongly been called too sentimental or too cold. Too traumatic or too unoriginal. But regardless of the current writerly opinion about it, grief is going nowhere. So how do we write about it? How do we write with it? This generative class will help writers
Being alive is really a very strange endeavor. Bizarre coincidences, déjà vu, the fallibility of our own memory and perceptions, and inexplicable, seemingly magical occurrences are perhaps all more commonplace than we have the space to acknowledge while contending with our busy days. Fiction allows us to ramp this strangeness up just a notch, to
During this weekend autofiction intensive, we will take a deep dive into the unique art of autofiction. Autofiction combines the disciplines of autobiography and fiction. It can be written like memoir or like fiction, but it generally comes down to style: autofiction is often highly introspective and mainly focuses on interior life. For this course,
Sometimes we become so focused on productivity or “doing it right” that we stifle our creativity. In this class we’ll focus on one of the hardest parts of writing: writing. Each week we’ll use new prompts and guided activities to inspire new creation. We’ll look at the work of writers we admire and ask: how’d
Some real-life experiences are too bizarre, too painful, too otherworldly, to write about in a straight forward manner. What happens when you can’t or refuse to work from point A to point B. When point A isn’t where you left it and point B has rambled off, looped back around, and jumped on the back
Have you ever wondered how to turn your brilliant idea into a captivating picture book? In this 8-week course, you’ll learn the art of crafting picture books that leave a lasting impression. We'll explore the world of children's literature, studying beloved classics and contemporary favorites, to inspire your creativity. Through engaging lessons and hands-on workshops,
Ideal for those who have completed "From Idea to Manuscript" or have a foundational understanding of picture book creation. Take your picture book projects to the next level. This class will help you refine, revise, and curate your best work. Through collaborative workshops and structured deadlines, you'll finalize your manuscripts, making them ready for submission
Summer is the season for sizzling flings with short forms. This generative class will offer prompts linked to weekly themes—road trips, mix tapes, romances, adventures in nature—mashed up with a range of forms, from flash essays, hermit crabs, and acrostics to “found” pieces, such as centos and erasures. Writers will leave with a portfolio of
This course is for all levels of writers and readers. We will read and discuss excerpts from contemporary authors who write the self (or write from the basis of personal experience) such as Annie Ernaux, Carmen Maria Machado, Kate Briggs, Emmanuel Carrère, Zadie Smith, Rachel Cusk, Hilton Als, Melissa Febos, and others, in addition to
Do you have a short story that is just not feeling right? You’re not sure what it’s missing or how to fix it? Or maybe you’ve got just the start of a story, or a vague idea and want to figure out how to write the rest. In this combination workshop meets craft class, we’ll
In this generative and meditative six-week class, participants will examine and strengthen their individual creative process through a combination of generative writing exercises and craft-process readings. We will review the fundamental aspects of the creative process and zoom in on developing a vibrant, thriving, and consistent creative routine. Ideal for writers of all genres, participants
This course for dedicated writers is designed to guide you through the writing and/or revising of your novel. It runs from September through May. You’ll read excerpts from published novels by authors including Han Kang, Tommy Orange, Lina Meruane, Mitchell S. Jackson, Deborah Levy, and Susan Steinberg, as well as craft essays by authors including
This course for dedicated writers is designed to guide you through the writing and/or revising of your novel. It runs from September through May. You’ll read excerpts from published novels by authors including Han Kang, Tommy Orange, Lina Meruane, Mitchell S. Jackson, Deborah Levy, and Susan Steinberg, as well as craft essays by authors including
How do we process, reflect, embody grief in our writing? We will consider how lyric, narrative, discursive writing, research, fragmentation and silence play different roles in lyric essays, memoir, and poetry, demonstrating a relationship between content and form. Writing prompts will allow students to access language and memory in multiple ways. In a short period,
This writing class will briefly examine how race and racism has been used to oppress the lives of Black, Indigenous and other racialized peoples. Participants will also explore how the lack of authentic representations in stories impacts the reader - specifically the young reader - regardless of their own race. This class asks participants to
In this experimental writing class, we will wrench as many possibilities as possible out of one piece of writing, seeing what our various changes – subtle, extreme, and chance-based – can reveal about that piece’s potential. Each participant will bring one selection of writing (a poem or a very short piece of fiction or essay)
Ready to dive deeper into your picture book writing journey? In this course, designed for continuing students who have taken “Crafting Your Picture Book,” we’ll spark your creativity with unique prompts each week, along with template suggestions to help structure your stories. As we progress, you’ll have the chance to workshop what you’ve been writing, receiving feedback to refine and polish your work. This course is perfect for those looking to push their storytelling further and bring their picture book ideas closer to completion.
This will be a generative writing lab where we will read poems together and then write poems together. Be prepared to write and have fun and experiment in new ways.We will go from one set of poems and writing exercises to the next with some time at the end to share what we’ve written. Come to this workshop with a big imagination, an open mind, a laptop and/or a notebook.
Explore the necessary elements of writing a nonfiction book proposal from outline to “comp titles”, how to use them effectively, and where you can let your personal style shine through.
Learn new techniques for maintaining inspiration, overcoming self-doubt, and establishing sustainable writing habits, and stay focused and motivated on your writing goals.Explore the tools and mindset needed to persevere through challenges.
In this workshop, we will explore an expansive approach to the multi-voice novel. Taking inspiration from recently published works, we will consider how to decide which of your novel’s characters get to tell a story, and the manner in which they do so, and forms of narration that utilize the supernatural.
Instructor: Amy Minato Grades 9-12 In this workshop, we’ll discover parallels between visual and written art drawing inspiration from pieces in the museum collection. We’ll practice imagery, form, metaphor, and
Instructor: Damien Miles-Paulson (Grades 9-12) Write about your life … as a zombie! In this workshop, you’ll take a normal day and turn it into an imaginative story where you
Let’s play at the intersection of language and visual art! In this pop-up class, we’ll capture the image as it appears and disappears through ekphrastic writing and erasure.
The goal with stories, usually, is to keep us immersed in the plot line. So how do we make funny little tangents smoothly, without distracting the reader? This session will look at some examples of great transitions and practice making great little tangents of your own.
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