Events, Classes, and Seminars
We have moved many of our offerings online! We hope you will join us.
Featured Events
June 2020
Virtual Event
2020 Oregon Book Awards
Mon, June 22 from 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm
A special from Literary Arts: The Archive Project Due to the ongoing public health crisis, we will not be hosting our 33rd Annual Oregon Book Awards Ceremony at Portland Center Stage at The Armory on June 22. However, we are excited to announce that the Oregon Book Awards will take place in a different format. “The 2020 Oregon Book Awards” a special from Literary Arts: The Archive Project Monday, June 22, 2020 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. OPB Radio (where…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online: Best Friends Forever: Female Friendship in Literature
Tue, June 23 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
“It would be ten years before they saw each other again, and their meeting would be thick with birds.” This Delve will explore female friendship, as written by women writers, through both a fiction and nonfiction lens. These friendships are complex and nuanced, sometimes ugly, sometimes enduring, and sometimes one of the most significant relationships of a lifetime. Through Toni Morrison's beautiful and stirring Sula and Nel, Hungarian writer Szabo's unlikely relationship between a woman and her housekeeper in The…
Find out more
Writing Classes Free Events
Pomodoro: Writing Alone Together with Natalie Serber
Wed, June 24 from 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Writers, having trouble focusing? Getting words on the page when our lives are so topsy turvy can be hard. There’s newsfeeds to check, social media to refresh, bread to bake, tomatoes to plant, homeschooling and another zoom meeting/happy hour to attend. Enter the pomodoro, named after the famous kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato. This free event takes place on Zoom, using the "audio only" option. If you'd like to participate, follow this link to register. Please note…
Find out more
Free Events
Slamlandia Online
Thu, June 25 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
We're back with another poetry open mic - with a feature from the wonderful TaneshaNicole Poetry! All poets will have 3 minutes to share their poetry. We'll see you all at 7pm on June 25th for Slamlandia Poetry Open Mic. Register in advance for this event on Zoom
Find out moreJuly 2020
Youth Events
WITS End of Year Reading
Wed, July 1 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Youth Programs of Literary Arts is thrilled to debut the first virtual iteration of our annual WITS End of Year Reading to celebrate the work and contributions of the adults working behind the scenes to bring Writers in the Schools to life—our WITS writers, teachers, and partners. This event will be hosted by WITS Program Specialist, Joanna Rose. Open to the public with registration in advance. Held via Zoom. Register in Advance for this Event
Find out more
Free Events
Slamlandia Online
Thu, July 2 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
We're back with another poetry open mic - details to come! Register in advance for this event on Zoom
Find out more
Writing Classes
Summer 2020 Online: Starting The Story: Short Fiction workshop (CLASS IS FULL)
Wed, July 8 from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
This 4 -week short fiction workshop will focus on generating new work. Participants will read excerpts, share just-written work aloud, and discuss assigned weekly readings together. We will investigate ways to unearth material together and share strategies for maintaining a regular writing practice. Participants will leave will many fragments and several starts for new work.
Find out more
Writing Classes
Summer 2020 Online: Starting the Novel
Thu, July 9 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Dive in to the first draft of your novel with confidence, excitement, and curiosity, armed with tools to deal with doubt and writers block. This three week online class will include writing exercises, feedback and a discussion of the variety of ways to begin a novel.
Find out more
Writing Classes
Summer 2020 Online: Finding Flow
Fri, July 10 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
"So many of us believe in perfection, which ruins everything else, because the perfect is the enemy of the good; it is also the enemy of the realistic, the possible, and the fun.” ~Rebecca Solnit Carving time and space to be attentive to our creative practice can be daunting at anytime, during a pandemic, when we're struggling to juggle all our roles it's even more difficult. Not only do we have to make the time, which often means taking time…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online: The Ethics of Ambiguity and The Metamorphosis
Wed, July 15 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
In her book The Ethics of Ambiguity, the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir asks us to consider what it means to exercise individual freedom and to live in community with others. Where does our individual freedom begin and end? Simone de Beauvoir claims that our personal freedom can be manifest only when we “will others free.” How do we create a life where we protect our individual freedom and work toward the freedom of our neighbor? Can both forms of freedom…
Find out more
Free Events
Incite: Queer Writers Read
Wed, July 15 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The theme for July's Incite is Justice! A curated reading series, hosted by Kate Carroll de Gutes and Kate Gray. This month's featured readers are Leah Baer, Ron Bloodworth, Carolyn Martin, and Shay Raymond. Sign up in advance to attend here
Find out moreFree Events
Slamlandia Online – July 16
Thu, July 16 from 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
We're back with another poetry open mic - details to come! Sign up in advance!
Find out more
Writing Classes Free Events
Free 90 minute Letter Writing Session with Wendy Noonan
Fri, July 17 from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Join us for an afternoon of personal writing in the company of others. Sometimes the medium of *instant* messaging and emails doesn’t do our deeper thoughts and feelings justice. If you would like to sit together in good company writing letters, Wendy will provide examples, strategies and prompts to inspire students to write from their intellect and feelings both. Pre-registration is required. Click on this link to register:
Find out more
Writing Classes
Summer 2020: Mastering Revision
Sun, July 19 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
In this six-week class, we will take an editor’s perspective on polishing our work.
The class will be structured as a mini-workshop and we will devote most of our time to peer reading and critique with an emphasis on elements of developmental editing as well as line editing
Writing Classes Free Events
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, July 20 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
MONDAY, JULY 20, is full. 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…
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, July 27 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out moreAugust 2020
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online: Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Storyteller and Death in the Andes
Tue, August 4 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
“Opam-pogyakyena shinoshinonkarintsi. Me está mirando la tristeza.” Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa is known for his prolific oeuvre, particularly his long historical novels that portray different aspects and eras of Peru and other parts of Latin America; and yet, his less-known shorter works are narrative gems that show the complexities of the human condition, with characters that cross both geographic and fundamental inner boundaries. We will discuss Death in the Andes and The Storyteller, two books whose protagonists step…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online: Ritual, Redemption, and Epiphany
Wed, August 5 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
4 week Delve online. This Delve Seminar explores the common human experiences of redemption and epiphany and the role that ritual can play in ushering in such profound moments. Through our texts, we’ll examine how ritual can be used to protect societal structures as well as shift culture, how the tension between what has been and what might be leads to necessary conflict within the self, and how the power of acute experience ushers in clarity and the capacity for change.
Find out moreWriting Classes
Summer 2020 Online: Turning Life Into Fiction
Thu, August 6 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
"Because something happened to you, you own it. Tell your stories. ~Anne Lamott Often, when we set out to write a story we don't know where to begin. In this class we will look at the wealth of possibility in our lives, in our family life, our work life, or something a friend has told you that seems perfect fodder for fiction. What is a story that's often retold to the point of folklore in your family? What is the…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Summer 2020: The Case for Oregon Reparations
Thu, August 6 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
"The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the most culturally-relevant examinations of America’s tradition of systematic economic exploitation, particularly of Blacks. Published in 2016, this Atlantic article, which veers into being a short book in length, looks at the foundational policies of the land: 400 years of slavery, decades of Jim Crow and separate but equal that have set the scene for the massive disparties found in the coutry today. The real human collateral of America’s plunder…
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, August 10 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out more
Writing Classes
Summer 2020 Online:August Writer of Color Workshop
Sun, August 16 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
One-day Workshop: Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, August 17 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online: Contemporary Korean Fiction
Thu, August 20 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
A look at 3 contemporary Korean writers. From a haunting meditation on grief to a powerful examination on capitalism, participants will discuss the themes that bind and distinguish these texts.Discussions will also focus on how translation affects our understanding of these novels as well as elements of Korean culture and current affairs that are uniquely reflected in these works. This seminar is offered exclusively for people of color Reading List: The White Book, Han Kang The Impossible Fairy, Han Yujoo…
Find out more
Free Events
@Literary Arts Online: Slamlandia: August
Thu, August 20 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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. August's featured poet is Robyn Kaur Sidhu. Register in advance for Slamlandia: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcOmuqz0qGtaSZsUI8oaSMnAeIg6OqIMR If you have any questions, please contact slamlandia@gmail.com or jessica@literary-arts.org.
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events Virtual Event
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, August 24 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out moreSeptember 2020
Free Events Virtual Event
@ Literary Arts Online: One Page Wednesday – September
Wed, September 2 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Literary Arts is taking One Page online! 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! September's One Page featured reader is Nastashia Minto. Hosted by Natalie Serber. Click here to register. You do NOT need a Zoom account to log on to a Zoom meeting. You…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
William James: Inventing an American Philosophy
Sun, September 6 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Six-week Seminar: The philosophy of William James (1842–1910) has had world-wide influence, and yet it is in many ways an essentially American view of the nature and humanity. James was a psychologist by training. This study led him to develop his unique view of human experience, out of which grew his profound concept of the nature of knowledge and reality as the way in which we act in the world and experience life.
Find out more
Free Events Virtual Event
Incite: Queer Writers Read
Wed, September 9 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
A curated reading series, hosted by Kate Carroll de Gutes and Kate Gray. The theme for September is "together/apart" Featured readers: Anel Flores Jennifer Perrine and Kate and Kate! Sign up in advance to attend here
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Thu, September 10 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Six-week Seminar: Composed in the era of the Second World War, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has become, through various incarnations, one of the best known stories in the world and also part of a larger system of myth and lore--thee so-called "Tolkien universe"--that also includes the Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and countless additional tales in prose and verse.
Find out more
Writing Classes
Fall 2020: Writing No Matter What
Sat, September 12 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Walking the Path of Perseverance: Writing No Matter What The writing journey, exhilarating and wondrous as it is, can be punctuated with delays and disappointments. How do you keep writing through chaos or a stressful live event? If you are tired of not writing, and want to cultivate the “stick-to-it-ness” necessary for meeting your goals, this workshop is for you. Gleaning inspiration and guidance from writers like Annie Dillard and Julia Cameron, and mining the well of our own life…
Find out more
Writing Classes
Fall 2020 online: Nature Writing Now
Mon, September 14 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
What does it mean to write about nature now? We are living at a time of great ecological peril and promise, when some thinkers are questioning whether “nature” still even exists. How to write about this complexity in authentic and evocative ways? How to convey both the beauty and the corruption of beauty? Together, we will consider some historical and contemporary nature writing. Noticing how the genre has changed over time will help us understand how our cultural conceptions of…
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events Virtual Event
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, September 14 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out more
Writing Classes
Fall 2020 Online: Writing the Non-Fiction Book Proposal
Tue, September 15 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
This six-week class will take you step-by-step through the major parts of the nonfiction book proposal: the query letter, overview, competitive analysis, marketing and promotion, author background, outline and sample chapter. Bring an idea, and be ready to write. The class includes extensive handouts and questionnaires to guide your work.
Find out more
Writing Classes Hybrid or Multi-Genre
Fall 2020 online: Dear Liary: At the Outskirts of Genre
Tue, September 15 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
This four-week workshop will consider the concept of “a liary” to explore the messy boundaries between fact and fiction, which takes its name from the idea that we might experiment with writing about our own life (as in a “diary”) using the tools of fiction (thus making it a “lie.”) What are the possibilities of using this as a starting technique, for both nonfiction and fiction writers? What other “truths” can be liberated when facts are off the hook? How…
Find out more
Writing Classes
Fall 2020: Nine-Month Novel Intensive
Wed, September 16 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
This course for dedicated writers is designed to guide you through the writing and/or revising of your novel. It begins in September, with the goal of completing a draft of a novel, or rewriting a draft of a novel, by May.
Find out moreWriting Classes
Fall 2020: Nine-Month Novel Intensive: Section 2
Thu, September 17 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
This is the Thursday night section of the Nine Month Novel Intensive. We've added a second section! This course for dedicated writers is designed to guide you through the writing and/or revising of your novel. It begins in September, with the goal of completing a draft of a novel, or rewriting a draft of a novel, by May. You’ll read excerpts from published novels by authors including Han Kang, Tommy Orange, Lina Meruane, Mitchell S. Jackson, Deborah Levy, and Susan…
Find out more
Free Events Virtual Event
Slamlandia Online: September
Thu, September 17 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
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. September Slamlandia's event features Shanna Alden and Erin Schick Register in advance for this event If you have any questions, please contact slamlandia@gmail.com…
Find out more
Writing Classes Memoir
Fall 2020: Nine-Month Memoir Intensive
Sat, September 19 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Waiting List only. The class begins in September, with the goal of finishing a complete draft of a memoir by June. Participants do not need to be published writers; however, they should have some experience with elements of memoir, including character, setting, dialogue and scene, and have a clear project in mind that they will devote nine months to.
Find out moreWriting Classes
Fall 2020 Online:September Writer of Color Workshop
Sun, September 20 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
One-day Workshop: Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.
Find out moreWriting Classes Memoir
Fall 2020 Online: Memoir Infusion!
Sun, September 20 from 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
This class is meant to get you moving, excited and deeply engaged with your memoir project.
Find out moreWriting Classes Free Events Virtual Event
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, September 21 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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…
Find out more
Free Events Virtual Event
Online: BIPOC Reading Series- September
Tue, September 22 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
This bimonthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. The very first event of this series will be hosted by Jessica Meza-Torres, Program Assistant for Programs for Writers. Our featured readers, Armin Tolentino, Olufunke Grace Bankole, and Brianna Renae will share work on the theme of “Family.” There will be time for a few members of the audience to sign up and share their work. The readings…
Find out more
Delve Readers Seminars
Delve Online Fall 2020: Fairytales Retold
Wed, September 23 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
When exactly is “once upon a time,” what does it mean to live “happily ever after,” and how do these tropes from childhood storybooks find their way into so much contemporary literature and film? These traditional frames for fairytales are just one of the aspects we’ll study in this Delve; we will examine other aspects of structure, characters, and motifs of folktales, both in collected oral tales and literary retellings of those same tales over time, into the current day.…
Find out more
Writing Classes Personal Essay Hybrid or Multi-Genre
Fall 2020: Fragmentation and Joy: Writing for Resilience in Hard Times
Wed, September 23 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Following in the tradition of Ross Gay, we will focus on writing about joy in the midst of pandemic, protest, and looming election. We will explore the lyric essay as a celebration of the fragment and the collage. This is a generative writing class, where most of our time will be spent writing to prompts; at the end of our time together, we will offer feedback to each other on our work.
Find out more
