A resource for the PDX literary community. Produced by Old Pal.
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!
Musician Cameron Dezen Hammon’s memoir of faith and faltering, This Is My Body (Lookout), is a tender and harrowing look inside American evangelicalism through the lens of a convert in search of a more progressive and fluid theology. Hammon will be joined in conversation by Lance Cleland, Tin House Workshop Director.
Annie Bloom's welcomes Portland self-help author Shannon Kaiser for the launch of her new book, Joy Seeker: Let Go of What's Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Were Made For. The relentless pressure to succeed, measure up, and reach for ever higher goals can leave us feeling like we’re just not good enough—or that something’s missing. At the end of the day, after giving it our all, the last thing we want to feel is hopeless, anxious, and disconnected. International speaker and empowerment coach Shannon Kaiser understands why so many of us, despite our best intentions, cling to these patterns. Better yet, Kaiser knows how to get us out of the vicious, draining cycle. Committed to finding meaning, connection, and joy…
Who are you becoming? That was the question nagging Pastor John Mark Comer. By outward metrics, everything appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren’t pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words: “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” Within The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (WaterBrook), you’ll find a compelling emotional and spiritual case against hurry and in favor of a slower, simpler way of life.
ALL USED NON-FICTION will be 50% off!
Mohamed Asem - July, 2016: Three days after the terror attack on Bastille Day, Mohamed Asem is detained overnight by British immigration officials without cause. In an elegantly digressive, self-interrogative style, Asem describes the boredom and uncertainty of confinement, and how this specific kind of helplessness leads, inevitably, to a self-reckoning. What series of events has led to this moment? Stranger in the Pen examines the burden of being disconnected from one’s homeland, unpacks the emotional toll of racial profiling, and illuminates the quietly surprising ways in which grief can change one’s life. Asem will appear in conversation with his publisher, Michael Heald, of Perfect Day Publishing.
We welcome Debbie Ethell, reading from her recently published book The Will of Heaven: An Inspiring True Story about Elephants, Alcoholism, and Hope. Debbie Ethell is the Executive Director for The KOTA Foundation for Elephants and a conservation research scientist. Her book is the powerful true story of how one woman overcame a debilitating addiction, rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation research scientist. It was there she could finally fulfill her lifelong dream of working with wild elephants. Ethell became obsessed by a group of elephants in Kenya when she was eight years old, after seeing them on a PBS nature show. Over the next several years her obsession grew, until a group of school…
Every dog lover knows the feeling. The nuzzle of a dog’s nose, the warmth of them lying at our feet. It really seems like our dogs love us, too. But for years, scientists have resisted that conclusion, warning against anthropomorphizing our pets. Enter Clive Wynne, a pioneering canine behaviorist whose research is helping to usher in a new era: one in which love, not intelligence or submissiveness, is at the heart of the human-canine relationship. Drawing on cutting-edge studies from his lab and others around the world, Wynne’s Dog Is Love (Houghton Mifflin) shows that affection is the very essence of dogs, from their faces and tails to their brains, hormones, even DNA.
When Simon Tam started an Asian American dance rock band called The Slants, he didn't realize that he was starting an entire movement around freedom of expression and discussions on identity. But when Tam applied to register a trademark on the band's name, the government dragged him all the way to the Supreme Court. Tam’s Slanted (Troublemaker Press) provides a raw look at our legal system with unflinching honesty and offers timely insights on freedom of speech, how to connect with others we disagree with, and the power of music. Tam will be joined in conversation by Jacqueline Keeler, Diné/Ihanktonwan Dakota author and cofounder of Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry.
In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. In How to Have Impossible Conversations (Da Capo Lifelong), Peter Boghossian (with coauthor James Lindsay) guides you through the straightforward, practical conversational techniques necessary for every successful conversation – whether the issue is climate change, religious faith, gender identity, race, immigration, or gun control. Boghossian teaches the subtle art of instilling doubts and opening minds, covering everything from learning the fundamentals for good conversations to achieving expert-level techniques to deal with hardliners and extremists.
A monthly storytelling showcase about grief, loss and love. Gather in community with others who share grief in all forms and manifestations. Come ready to cry, laugh, listen and hold space for yourself and others. *Trigger warning, because Grief. Content not edited for language or topic. Mature audience. *Venue is accessible; gender-neutral restrooms on premises. ***This month's event will include an open mic, in addition to our curated readers. If you have words to share about your grief, we welcome you.*** Open mic signups begin at 7pm; readings at 7:30pm. You'll have roughly 4 minutes. If you have any questions about the open mic please message here on FB, or email us at info@griefritesfoundation.org Curated Storytellers... Kelly Wilson Amy Findling Sarah Shaoul Adrian Mirror Andrea…