Bookstore Free Events In-person
One Page Wednesday – March
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
45 events found.
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 community space and bookstore at 716 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.
In-person WINTER 2025 Writing Classes
Grief Spiral: Writing Elegies Along a Curved Path
In this two-part workshop, we’ll explore elegies, or poems of lament, through the lens of spirals. We can use these curved paths to structure poems, such as through recurring phrases or imagery, and to relax the brain while creating literary responses in conversation with death, loss, and transformation.
Bookstore Free Events
Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Families are invited to join us weekly on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Literary Arts Bookstore for story time! Each week our booksellers will read from picture books
Ticketed Events
Everybody Reads: SOLITO by Javier Zamora (SOLD OUT)
Featured
In partnership with Multnomah County Library and the Library Foundation, Literary Arts is proud to host an evening with Javier Zamora as the culminating event of the Library's Everybody Reads
Bookstore Free Events
Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Families are invited to join us weekly on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Literary Arts Bookstore for story time! Each week our booksellers will read from picture books
Bookstore Free Events
Student Art Exhibition & Reception
Please join us in celebrating the artwork of second grade students at Margaret Scott Elementary School! Featuring paintings inspired by the work of Nigerian American artist Odili Donald Odita. Family
In-person Spring 2025 Writing Classes
Get Writing: Unblocking Writer’s Block
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 they do that? As they say, writing is a muscle, and no matter what your experience level, you have to continually exercise that muscle and practice new tools to keep your writing nimble and moving.
Delve Readers Seminars In-person
Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain
This seminar offers an in-depth exploration of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg, 1924). The novel invites the reader to multiple trajectories of reading: As a modernist epic, The Magic Mountain intimates the tradition of the Bildungsroman, only with an ironic twist. It draws an unforgettable portrayal of a lost world, the cosmopolitan European society before the First World War.
Bookstore Free Events
Incite: Queer Writers Read
Incite: Queer Writers Read is a curated, bimonthly reading series for Queer writers. Incite’s hope is to create conversation, connection, and greater understanding both within the Queer community and with other communities. Hosted by Vinnie Kinsella and Jennifer Perrine. The featured readers for March are Eric Tran, Jessie Carver, and RJ Equality Ingram. This Month's Theme: Grounding
Bookstore Free Events
Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Families are invited to join us weekly on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Literary Arts Bookstore for story time! Each week our booksellers will read from picture books
Bookstore Free Events
Bilingual (Spanish/English) Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Bring the whole family for a magical Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore! Sing, play, and dive into the world of Spanish storytelling hosted by Adventures in Spanish. Join
Delve Readers Seminars In-person
Karl Marx: Selected Writings
In this seminar we will read Marx both for his ideas and and for the pleasures of his prose. We will observe his use of Greek myths and other legends, the inspiration he took from European fiction and poetry, his journalistic reports of life in his own day, his lively historical accounts, his vast range of allusions from literature, his critiques of the arts, and his refined expression of his sense of the tragedy and the hope in life.
Free Events In-person Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships
Finalists Reading I: Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction
Please join us for the first of two readings featuring the 2025 Oregon Book Awards finalists in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction: Fiction Miriam Gershow Kimberly King Parsons Poetry Valerie
For BIPOC Writers Free Events In-person
BIPOC Reading Series – March
Hosted by Kyle Yoshioka and Jessica Meza-Torres, this monthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. Featured readers for March:
In-person Spring 2025 Writing Classes
Short Story Generator
Students can work on one or two stories in greater depth, or come away with a handful of starts to many different stories. For beginner and intermediate writers looking to get their work off the ground in a supportive, creative community.
Bookstore Free Events
Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Families are invited to join us weekly on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Literary Arts Bookstore for story time! Each week our booksellers will read from picture books
Free Events Online Class Writing Classes
The Break with Kaveh Akbar
The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation.
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
Delve Readers Seminars Online
State Violence and Human Resilience: Han Kang
Han Kang recently made history by becoming the first Korean and first Asian woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature. As a writer, Han Kang is preoccupied with
Bookstore Free Events
Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Families are invited to join us weekly on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Literary Arts Bookstore for story time! Each week our booksellers will read from picture books
Bookstore Free Events
Jonathan Hill, Lizard Boy 2
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Jonathan Hill's Lizard Boy 2: The Most Perfect Summer Ever . Book two in this acclaimed graphic series explores intolerance through a relatable—and empowering—cast of middle-grade cryptids, immigrants, and outsiders. In human disguise, the Lizk’t family of Elberon is now comfortably settled in Eagle Valley as the all-American
Bookstore Free Events
Michelle Kicherer: Sexy Life, Hello
Join us in celebrating local author and Literary Arts faculty Michelle Kicherer's debut novella, Sexy Life, Hello. Â Michelle will be joined in conversation by Portland Radio Project's Executive Director Veronica
Bookstore Free Events
Story time with Fern Wexler and Kesley Buzzel
Join us for a very special storytime with author/illustrator team Fern Wexler and Kelsey Buzzel to celebrate their new book, Families of a Feather!  Â
Free Events In-person Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships
Finalists Reading II: Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction
Please join us for the second of two readings featuring the 2025 Oregon Book Awards finalists in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction.
Portland Arts & Lectures
Emily Wilson: Portland Arts & Lectures 2024–25
Featured
Portland Arts & Lectures 2024–25
Emily Wilson joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Online Class Writing Classes
Yallah! Muslims Write
Yallah! Muslims Write is a monthly workshop with the expressed intent to foster a joyful, supportive, and courageous space for self-identifying Muslim artists.
Bookstore Free Events
National Poetry Month Reading with Fernwood Press
Join us for a celebration of National Poetry Month with local Fernwood Press poets Ayelet Amittay, Casey Killingsworth, Emmett Wheatfall, and Sherri Levine! The poets will share pieces from their
Bookstore Free Events
Slamlandia
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month at Literary Arts, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all
Bookstore Free Events
Story time with Leslie Barnard Booth
Join us on Saturday, April 19th at 10:30am in the Literary Arts Bookstore for a very special story time featuring a puppet presentation and tree treasures to explore, with local
In-person Poetry Writing Classes
The Things Themselves: Poetry
The title of this workshop is a line from a Lucille Clifton poem. We’ll use this poem and a range of others as lenses to consider the ways our cultural and ecological moment is an invitation to widened wonder and love. This workshop is open to everyone. No prior experience with writing or reading poetry is needed or expected. We will talk, read, and write together
Free Events Oregon Book Awards Author Tour
Oregon Book Awards Fiction Finalists Reading
An evening with four of the Oregon Book Awards finalists for fiction at the Corvallis Museum, as part of the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour: Miriam Gershow Victor Lodato Kimberly
Ticketed Events Youth Events
Verselandia! Youth Poetry Slam Championship 2025
Verselandia! is the annual youth poetry slam championship presented by Literary Arts. It is the Grand Slam for the winners from individual school slams hosted by public high school librarians
Bookstore Free Events
Independent Bookstore Day at Literary Arts
This Saturday, April 26, is Independent Bookstore Day! Come celebrate with us at 716 SE Grand Avenue from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m for a day full of books, community,
Bookstore Free Events
Bilingual (Spanish/English) Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore
Bring the whole family for a magical Story Time at the Literary Arts Bookstore! Sing, play, and dive into the world of Spanish storytelling hosted by Adventures in Spanish. Join
Free Events In-person Spring 2025 Writing Classes
How to Start a Story: Three Purposeful Prompts to Serve Your Writing
In this 1-hour workshop, participants will review three different types of writing prompts and explore how each of these types of prompts can serve their writing. Participants will then choose the prompt that speaks to them and complete a short writing exercise, with room to share reflections at the end.
Free Events Online Class Writing Classes
The Break with Kaveh Akbar
The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation.
Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships Ticketed Events
2025 Oregon Book Awards
Join us for an evening honoring our state's most accomplished writers in the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, young readers, and drama.
Online Class Spring 2025 Writing Classes
The Finish Line
This 8-week class is focused on helping each writer push one story, essay or poem through the drafting and revision stages on over the finish line. We'll meet weekly to share accountability updates, read some work-in-progress with the group, set or revise goals for your weekly writing practice, and share successes and challenges with fellow writers.
Bookstore Free Events
Story time with Megan Woodward
Join local author Megan Woodward, for a hilarious interactive reading of her picture book This Book is Definitely Not Cursed which will be followed by a creative group activity, a
In-person Writing Classes
Mapping Your Nonfiction Book: Outlining Your Idea from Start to Finish
This class series focuses on developing a clear roadmap for memoirs, self-help books, or narrative nonfiction. Through hands-on exercises, participants will outline their projects, identify key themes, and learn techniques for organizing research and storytelling.
Delve Readers Seminars In-person
Marilynne Robinson: Gilead
Marilynne Robinson’s 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead appears as one long and intimate letter from an aging father, the Reverend John Ames, to his young son. The letter is an accounting for Ames’s one life, lived essentially always in one Midwestern place, and the letter opens doors onto lives and times often more dramatic than
Bookstore Free Events
The Art of the Board Book, Jon Klassen in conversation with Carson Ellis
Join the incomparable Jon Klassen at the Literary Arts Bookstore for a grown-up discussion about our youngest readers celebrating the release of 3 new original board books. Klassen will be in conversation with fellow illustrator Carson Ellis.
Spring 2025 Writing Classes
Following the Brush: Experimenting with the Zuihitsu form
In this generative class, we’ll explore the form’s history, then follow the brush into the ecotone between prose poem and lyric essay. Along the way, we’ll push, stretch, and experiment with the form’s possibilities for internal reflection. Writers will leave class with first drafts of zuihitsu on topics of their choosing, which can be further refined at home.
Online Class Writing Classes
Missions and Manifestos: the artist statement and beyond
This is a course for artists, writers, or any human wanting to better define their purpose in life. We will read historical manifestos as well as contemporary artist statements and look at those artist and writer's work in the context of their words. Participants will then write their own statements, leaving the class with a long version, a condensed version, and a sense of how their practice will change to follow their stated purpose.
Bookstore Free Events
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. May's featured reader is Autumn Bettinger.
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Literary Arts716 SE Grand Ave
Portland, Oregon 97214
- 503.227.2583
- 503.241.4256 fax
- la@literary-arts.org
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