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Classes & Seminars

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Leave the Door Open On The Way Out: Endings in Fiction

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

We’re all familiar with satisfying story shape, the arc of a story that follows the pattern of jokes and sex—the inciting incident, rising action, crisis and the falling action. Yet sometimes this pattern can leave a story flat, without room for wonder. If a story leads exactly where you would expect it to go, then both the writer and the reader have discovered nothing. How do we expand our well-behaved, satisfying stories to fully burst into the mystery and unpredictability of human experience? In this workshop we will look at a few endings to short stories by Anton Chekov, Alice Munro, James Joyce, Charles Baxter, Tessa Hadley, ZZ Packer, Carmen Maria Machado, and others, for ways they use time, imagery, dialog, and omission to open…

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$145

Ecstatic Aesthetics w/ Amanda Montei — begins October 20th

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Ecstatic Aesthetics Begins October 20th, 2022 Four weekly 2-hour sessions over Zoom on Thursdays from 4-6PM PST (10/ 20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10) Joy and pleasure are what we strive for as humans, and in an era that often feels grim, artistic representations of awakening and enjoyment are increasingly compelling to readers and writers. In this class, we will ask ourselves what the purpose of representing ecstatic experiences might be, as we examine our assumptions about the symbolism and syntax we use to communicate pleasure on the page. What does it mean to experience overwhelming delight, as both writer and reader? Can we give voice to exhilaration while avoiding nostalgia and denial? Together we will read theories and representations of heightened spiritual, sexual, and communal pleasure…

Continue readingEcstatic Aesthetics w/ Amanda Montei — begins October 20th
$200 – $400

Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

This workshop is virtual, PST Register here Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms In this 6-week class, we will experiment with short form creative writing. Our focus—whether it’s flash fiction, lyric essay, prose poetry, or hybrid—will be on the art of compression. Each week, participants will be given a writing exercise, a short reading, and two workshop submissions from their peers. Class time will include workshop as well as discussion of readings and craft. Our workshop will be guided by observations, questions, and possibilities. We will be thinking less about how to “fix” a piece of writing and more about what we see, our curiosities, and how to recognize hidden opportunities. Each participant will receive feedback from the instructor and from the other participants.…

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$80 – $200

The Anatomy of a Wave — A Generative Retreat at the Oregon Coast — Oct 21-24

The Corporeal Writing Center 510 SW 3rd Ave #101, Portland, OR, United States

The Anatomy of a Wave w/ Lidia Yuknavitch & the Corporeal Writing Squad October 21st-24th, at The Salishan Coastal Lodge near Lincoln City, OR ***SOLD OUT*** — please fill out the form below to add yourself to the waitlist In this creative retreat we will explore the motion and space of waves as a means of creating deeper, more rhythmic, and sustainable writing practice, both in terms of present-tense projects as well as the longevity of your writing practice over time. Put simply, we can learn a great deal about writing from the motion of ocean waves. The movement of water can teach us about some kindred motions: the motion of the imagination and the subconscious, the motion of language, the motion of storytelling. In…

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Free

Ekphrastic Creative Writing Lab

Carnation Contemporary and Well Well Projects 8371 N Interstate Ave #3, Portland

Ekphrastic Creative Writing Lab *This workshop meets in-person. Masks & Proof of Vaccination + Booster required **This workshop meets at Carnation Contemporary & Well Well Projects located at 8371 N Interstate Ave #3, Portland, OR 97217 Register here Instructor: Stephanie Victoire This 4-week writing lab series explores the further imagination, narrative and creation that awaits us within the consciousness of visual art. Students will experience how art communicates with its viewers and anticipates its reincarnation into multiple streams of language and ideas. Throughout the course of the workshops, students will learn how to transcend the messages, concepts and threads of thought they pull from the pieces in the gallery that speak to them, and respond creatively in any written form they wish. Each week there…

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$100 – $200

Fall | Prose Poetry II w Ruben Quesada | Oct 23 – Nov 20 | Online

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Break It and Remake It This new course focuses on workshopping prose poetry and building on ideas from Prose Poetry I. We'll explore forms of prose poetry. Generative writing assignments will focus on storytelling, sound, and structure. Writing exercises will require more time beyond our time together. Students are expected to bring thoughtfully composed prose poems to every class for the workshop. Feedback is expected during the workshop and in writing. Zoom link provided prior to start of workshop. Teacher: Ruben QuesadaTime: Sundays, Oct 23 - Nov 20, 8 - 10am Pacific TimeLocation: Online via ZoomTotal Fee: Discounted Early Registration is due seven (7) days prior to the start of the workshop. | Discounted Early Registration: $219 (cash/check); $233 (Paypal). | Tuition Registration: $234 (cash/check); $248 (PayPal).

$219 – $248

Community Art Day

Rose City Book Pub 1329 NE Fremont, Portland, OR, United States

Community Art Day is bringing people together to connect and create every 2nd and 4th Sunday from 2-6 pm. This free event is open to the public and features art classes, collaborative projects, supplies to do your own thing and a creation station made just for kids! There will be a different art form with support from a local artist every time.

Free

The Study and Practice of Autofiction

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

This course is for all levels of writers and readers; the only requirement is a desire to take a deep dive into the unique art of autofiction (autobiographical fiction). We will read and discuss excerpts from contemporary authors who write within the genre, such as Lucia Berlin, Tao Lin, Edouard Louis, Chris Kraus, Garth Greenwell, Zinzi Clemmons, Ayak Akhtar and others, in addition to weekly craft essays on the genre. There will be an opportunity to submit either one or two short excerpts of yourwriting (can be from a short story or novel-in-progress) to be workshopped during the. This course is generative, so participants should plan to submit at least 1500 words per week. Most importantly importantly, the goal of this course is to be…

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$285

Delve Readers Seminar: Orhan Pamuk’s Nights of Plague: Fairy-tale, History, Allegory

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Explore Orhan Pamuk’s new novel, Nights of Plague, an epic narrative which depicts the outbreak of the bubonic plague in the late Ottoman era during the reign of the despotic Sultan Abdülhamid II. Presented as an historical novel, Nights of Plague’s diseased universe resonates with our current world, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pamuk’s signature style manifests itself through multiple narrative mediations, leading to an open-ended representation of history. Published in the original in 2021, the English translation of Nights of Plague is scheduled to appear in early October 2022. Texts Nights of Plague, Orhan Pamuk. translated by Ekin Oklap. Penguin-Randomhouse. October 4, 2022. The book can be preordered. It will be also available in Ebook and Audiobook formats. Access Program We want our writing…

Continue readingDelve Readers Seminar: Orhan Pamuk’s Nights of Plague: Fairy-tale, History, Allegory
$245

Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms This workshop is virtual, PST Register here Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms In this 6-week class, we will experiment with short form creative writing. Our focus—whether it’s flash fiction, lyric essay, prose poetry, or hybrid—will be on the art of compression. Each week, participants will be given a writing exercise, a short reading, and two workshop submissions from their peers. Class time will include workshop as well as discussion of readings and craft. Our workshop will be guided by observations, questions, and possibilities. We will be thinking less about how to “fix” a piece of writing and more about what we see, our curiosities, and how to recognize hidden opportunities. Each participant will receive feedback from…

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$80 – $200
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