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

For details regarding specific events please contact the organizers or venues. If you are an organizer or venue and would like to reach out to us please feel free to contact us or submit an event using our submission form. We’d love to hear from you!

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Calligraphy

IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) 318 SE Main Street #175, Portland

*This workshop meets in-person. Masks & Proof of Vaccination + Booster required Register here Experienced and beginner scribes are welcome to join this 6-week class with instruction and quiet practice of 3 different calligraphic hands. Learn to use the edged pen, an edged brush, rule your paper, and study Uncial, Roman Capitals, and Italic. Instructor: Jade Novarino Sundays 10am—12pm November 6—December 18, with a break on November 27 Class Meetings: 6 Capacity: 10 $60-135 *2 no-cost spots available; BIPOC & 2S prioritized About the Instructor: Jade Novarino is an artist, farmer, pen-pal, and scribe.

$60 – $135

Writing Food

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland

Explore the role of food in storytelling, and how it can shape, define, and give insight into our characters’ deeper desires. Particpants will examine the language of food, and talk about how hunger translates across unsaid emotions. Drawing upon sensory texts about snacking, groceries, and meals both extravagant and humble, we’ll learn new ways to think about food, how we use it in writing, and how it can add depth, texture, and humanity to our stories. Access Program We want our writing classes and Delves 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 and Delve tuitions at a reduced rate. The access program for writing…

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$80

“The Most Important Element”: Plot in Literary Fiction

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland

“Plot-driven” has become a code word for commercial (aka “lesser”) fiction. But plot has always been what defines a good story. In this workshop, we will examine the centrality of plot in narrative, from Aristotle down to contemporary literary fiction. We will also explore the essential characteristics of a great plot and the rewards of a well-plotted story. Reading excerpts from masters like George Saunders and Bulgakov, students will learn how to structure plot visually, how to engineer a plot twist, and on a pragmatic level, how to create plot when you’re staring at a blank page. Access Program We want our writing classes and Delves to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles…

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$55

Kick-Start Your Picture Book

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland

This class will take you from idea to rough draft in four hours. Picture books are so much more than stories with short text for young readers. We’ll study the picture book form, then construct stories in picturebook form, playing with powerful tools such as repetition, suspenseful page turns, and the rule of threes. You can come with a picturebook draft you want to perfect – or bring an idea and leave with a draft. Join award-winning children’s book author Elizabeth Rusch in this condensed version of her popular and productive Picturebook Writing class. Access Program We want our writing classes and Delves to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people.…

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$145

PBF Cover to Cover: Write a Renga, Save the World

Online N/A, Portland

Renga is a form of collaborative Japanese poetry whereby multiple poets create and respond in turn. Join our group of poets from Portland and abroad for an afternoon of renga writing that examines some of today’s most pressing concerns–bodily autonomy, religious extremism, and imminent environmental ruin. We’ll take inspiration from Basho’s popular “haikai” style, which employed a satirical edge and witty playfulness, even while discussing complex topics. Event contact: Heather Brown, heather@mindthebirdmedia.com  

Free

Write a Renga, Save the World – A PBF Cover to Cover Event

Mother Foucault's Bookshop 523 SE Morrison St, Portland

Renga is a form of collaborative Japanese poetry whereby multiple poets create and respond in turn. Join our group of poets from Portland and abroad for an evening of group renga writing that examines some of today's most pressing concerns - bodily autonomy, religous extremism, and imminent environmental ruin. We'll take inspiration from Basho's popular "haikai" style, which employed a satirical edge and witty playfulness, even while discussing complex topics. Guest facilitators - Mira Rosenthal, Becca Wadlinger This events is organized under the umbrella of PBF Cover to Cover

Free

PBF Cover to Cover: Voices Like Thunder: An afternoon of poetry with the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation

Online N/A, Portland

Join us for the release of NACF’s first published anthology The Larger Voice – Celebrating Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Literature Fellows. This event will bring poetry readings by Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest (Lummi Nation), previous Oregon State Poet Laureate (2016-18) Liz Woody , Laura Da’ (Eastern Shawnee/Seneca/Miami), and emerging local Native poets. This program will be moderated by author Trevino Brings Plenty (Minneconjou Lakota). The readings will be followed by a Q&A panel and an open mic for Indigenous and BIPOC community poets. Event tickets will include free admission the day of to both the Jeffrey Gibson: They Come From Fire and the Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe exhibitions. This event is a partnership between the Portland Art Museum and…

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Free

November Collage Night

Online N/A, Portland

Join us for Virtual Collage Night on the 1st Sunday of the month, 5-6pm. The first 40 mins or so will be open collage with occasional prompts, followed by a show & tell. Register here and we’ll send a zoom link the day of the event.

Free

Collage Night In-Person RSVP

IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) 318 SE Main Street #175, Portland

*This community event is in-person; Masks & Proof of Vaccination + Booster Required Capacity: 25 This month, we’re offering a hybrid Collage Night. You can still participate virtual by zooming in but we’ll also have the option for an in-person Collage Night for anyone who is local. Space is limited, RSVP here.

Free

PBF Cover to Cover: Tin House Autumn Workshop Showcase

Online N/A, Portland

Join Tin House as they celebrate their Autumn Workshop faculty with an evening of readings and merriment. Featured readers will include Carolina De Robertis, Lydia Kiesling, Kimberly King Parsons, and Morgan Talty. Please note that masks will be required. Doors will open at 7:00pm , with the reading starting at 7:30pm. Event contact: Lance Cleland, Executive Workshop Director, workshop@tinhouse.com Morgan Talty Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. He received his BA in Native American Studies from Dartmouth College and his MFA in fiction from Stonecoast’s low-residency program. His story collection Night of the Living Rez is forthcoming from Tin House Books (2022), and his work has appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative Magazine, LitHub,…

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Free

PBF Cover to Cover: Lit-Mondo

Online N/A, Portland

Lit-Mondo is an improv comedy show inspired by prose, poetry, and other writing by local and traveling authors. A team of experienced improv comedians listen to short readings by authors and pull from the themes and ideas in their work to create hilarious original comedy scenes on the spot!   

Free

PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service

Online N/A, Portland

Nick Jaina is an author and musician living in Oakland, California. His 2015 memoir Get It While You Can was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Atlantic Monthly, Wilderness House Review, Somnambulist, Oregon Journal of the Humanities, and many other places. He has composed music scores for feature films, such as the indie comedy All Sorts and the forest fire documentary Elemental. He also co-founded a ballet collective in New York City, in which he was the musical composer and worked with dancers from Julliard and New York City Ballet and performed works at the Baryshnikov Center and BAM Center for the Arts. His new book, SPEKTRUM, is a literary re-creation of an immersive light and sound exhibit…

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$25

PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service

Online N/A, Portland

Nick Jaina is an author and musician living in Oakland, California. His 2015 memoir Get It While You Can was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Atlantic Monthly, Wilderness House Review, Somnambulist, Oregon Journal of the Humanities, and many other places. He has composed music scores for feature films, such as the indie comedy All Sorts and the forest fire documentary Elemental. He also co-founded a ballet collective in New York City, in which he was the musical composer and worked with dancers from Julliard and New York City Ballet and performed works at the Baryshnikov Center and BAM Center for the Arts. His new book, SPEKTRUM, is a literary re-creation of an immersive light and sound exhibit…

Continue readingPBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service
$25
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