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.
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
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in
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,
Please join us for a reading featuring recipients of the 2024 Oregon Literary Fellowships: Karleigh Frisbie Brogan Jenny H. Lee Makiia Lucier Kieran Mundy Rosanna Nafziger Ami Patel Ösel Jessica
Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is the quintessential modern novel. This is the paradigmatic “show don’t tell” writer who, by sheer force of talent, sweat, style, and restraint was able to turn a small, inconsequential notice in a provincial newspaper into one of the greatest stories of the Western tradition. Morally complex, ironic, insightful, and brilliant—if this
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 writer’s block mask resources just waiting to be tapped? These are some of the questions explored by Lynda Barry, Victoria Nelson, and Annie Dillard in
Willa Cather (1873–1947) is one of the most beloved writers in the American canon and is one of those writers whose works are embraced both by a mass audience and by scholars within the academy. Over the course of the past 40 years Cather’s work has been claimed and fought over by such a variety
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
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
The first in a two-night series for the Bigfoot Poetry Festival, this event features poets from all over the Pacific Northwest (and beyond!) who will engage in a battle of
The second in a two-night series for the Bigfoot Poetry Festival, this event features poets from all over the Pacific Northwest (and beyond!) who will engage in a battle of
The Bigfoot Poetry Festival returns with an all-day celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring poetry slams, a poetry market, open mics, and writing and performance workshops. FREE and
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in
“The simplest answer is that a writer who gardens is sooner or later going to write a book about the subject–I take that as inevitable,” writes Eleanor Perenyi in her forward to Green Thoughts, her collection of essays on gardening. In this course, we’ll explore literature of the garden, using Olivia Laing’s book The Garden
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
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in
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
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 and memoir writing, the workshop can be particularly supportive and helpful as writers not only get practical help crafting their work from unbiased perspectives, they
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month, on the third Thursday. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in
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
Amy Tan joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
Abraham Verghese joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
Timothy Egan joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
Masha Gessen joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Thursday, February 13, 2025.
Emily Wilson joins Literary Arts' 40th anniversary season of Portland Arts & Lectures on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
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