LitPDX seeks to amplify marginalized voices, and welcomes all, their ideas, their events, and their words.

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Premise Course: How do we carry borders with us even as we cross them? Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera, Luiselli’s Tell Me How it Ends, Castillo’s The Mixquiahuala Letters

Online N/A, Portland

Beautiful question: How do we carry borders with us even as we cross them? (Learn about Premise classes here: https://www.premiseinstitute.com/premisefaq) Texts: Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera; Ana Castillo’s The Mixquiahuala Letters, and Valeria Luiselli’s Tell Me How it Ends Since its conception in 1848, the US-Mexico border has been a site of conflict, contradiction, and beauty. Although the border continues to feature heavily in our news and politics, it is often described through narratives of violence, national security, and human rights abuses.  In this course, we will delve into works that complicate these narratives by embracing the beauty and possibility of the borderlands. We will begin with Gloria Anzaldúa’s landmark work Borderlands/La Frontera, in which she describes the border as “una herida abierta,” an open wound,…

Continue readingPremise Course: How do we carry borders with us even as we cross them? Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera, Luiselli’s Tell Me How it Ends, Castillo’s The Mixquiahuala Letters
$200

Writing the Intersections of Our Identities: For BIPOC writers

Online N/A, Portland

Through autobiographical writing about our identities—including race, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, and class—we’ll explore where we hold power and privilege and where we have experienced marginalization and oppression. In addition to experimenting with craft techniques such as audience, point of view, research, dialogue, and figurative language, we’ll also discuss how to use our writing in service of reflection, healing, truth-telling, and culture change. By the end of the course, I hope you’ll emerge with several drafts, and that we’ll each emerge with a deeper understanding of what it means to have lived in our individual bodies. Please note there is also a section of this class that is open to all. This section is for BIPOC participants only. Access Program We want our Delves and writing…

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$240

Build Your Own Publicity Plan

Online N/A, Portland

Many authors shy away from self-promotion, but a strong public persona and publicity plan is one of the best investments you can make in your forthcoming book. This class takes the guesswork out of promotion and guides you to develop a sustainable plan, wherever you are in the publication process. We’ll cover timelines, target markets, tools, and industry expectations, as well as how to collaborate with your press, and when (or whether) to hire an outside publicist. Access Program We want our writing classes to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class registrations at a reduced rate. The access program for writing classes covers 60%…

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$195

Inheritance Workshop Series

Online N/A, Portland

To inherit means to derive characteristics, items, situations, or a predisposition from one’s ancestors. Often, the connotation of inheritance for people of color is generational and negative; there exists tangible disease, illness, trauma, and debt. As queer people of color we are all too familiar with these realities in our communities and in ourselves. The Inheritance Workshop Series seeks to redirect this concept of generational inheritance as a form of something beautiful and abundant; through past traditions, passions, cultures, and joys. Abundance exists loudly, more so than the negative. Let’s center the things we have accumulated and chosen to hold closely. This will be a free, three-part workshop series hosted virtually with 5-10 participants. It will consist of writing poetry, experimenting with photography, and then…

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Free

Nine-Month Novel Intensive

Online N/A, Portland

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 Dorothy Allison, Jane Alison, and Alexander Chee. Some weeks you’ll have craft assignments to complete outside of class, and other weeks we’ll do in-class exercises together. After the first month of meetings, two students will workshop each week. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop five times, turning in up to 25 double-spaced pages per submission. Students should be prepared to read and comment on up to 50 pages…

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$1450
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