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.
How and why do we write about non-human animals, and how might we write about them in new ways? Through discussion, short readings, and writing exercises, we will explore varying approaches to writing about other species in our time of mass extinction and global warming. No experience necessary.
When it comes to writing short fiction and novels, the ideas we’ve absorbed about narrativizing from our outside lives often don’t apply. Even the most thrilling story, if written without a reverence to form, loses its audience quickly. In this seminar on literary style, we’ll study the most minute of authorial choices, coming to understand how subjectivity comes through on the subconscious level of the sentence.
The lyric essay is a form that allows many small fragments to be drawn together to create a whole. A lyric essay might hold memories, research, a bit of poetry,
Together, we will delve into the intimate sensory memories that food evokes. How can writing about food open up evocative spaces of comfort, family, memory, shared rituals, and desires? How can writing through and about food radically strengthen our communities and open up our creative craft?
Bring one or two of your most promising poems-in-process, and we will work through ways to make them more like what they want to be. This will not be a critique session, but a workshop in generative revision.
In this workshop, we’ll discover parallels between visual and written art, and use pieces in the museum collection to inspire poetry.
In this workshop, we'll learn how to build a fictional world and add texture to imaginary settings.
In this workshop, we’ll learn journalistic storytelling techniques and explore how they can be used to cover social justice stories.
This is a three-hour, one-day intensive discussion on the unique genre of autofiction. This course will provide insight into the many nuances of autofiction, or autobiographical fiction. This “genre” involves writing that is based on real life experiences, but also utilizes fictional literary devices, making it a very unique form.
Let's spend a few hours together exploring the practice of revision! Too often revision is just a fancy word for copy-editing. But it can be more. In this three hour class we will explore different revision exercises using a recent poem and how we can break old revision habits and constructs.
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
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
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
“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
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
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,
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
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,
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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.
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
In this six week class, students will explore the lyric essay form and learn to appreciate what makes it one of the most imaginative and creative writing genres around. Class
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
What is the relationship between art and life practice? Where does imagination originate in the psyche? How might the in-between spaces in the day lead to creativity later on? Does
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.
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
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
The writing workshop is a space where writers exchange drafts of creative work, discuss writing styles and trends and get critical feedback in an open, supportive atmosphere. In creative nonfiction
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
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
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