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!
Nonfiction
Pushpins & Portals: Experimenting with Short Forms
Online N/A, Portland, OR, United StatesPushpins & 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…
Caverly Morgan
Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United StatesWhen Caverly Morgan reentered the world after a period of eight solitary years as a practicing Zen monk, she was confronted with a question so many of us find ourselves asking these days: when faced with the enormity of the collective problems before us, how can an individual mindfulness and meditation practice actually make a difference in our world? In The Heart of Who We Are (Sounds True), Morgan explores how contemplative technologies designed for the pursuit of personal freedom can be — and must be — applied collectively. Filled with wisdom rooted in presence and the truth of our oneness, Morgan’s timely guide invites us to connect with the core of who we are and then use that understanding to transform our own lives…
Ruby McConnell and Char Miller
Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United StatesJoin us for an evening with Ruby McConnell and Char Miller discussing their latest books, Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of Life and Natural Consequences: Intimate Essays for a Planet in Peril. Ruby McConnell is a registered geologist and outdoor adventurer. She is a recipient of numerous honors, including the Literary Arts Oregon Literary Fellowship, and she was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. Ground Truth is an extended eulogy to a rapidly changing land, population and society awakening to the realities of logging, climate change, land-use and pollution. The book illuminates the central role of landscapes in our ideas of home and self despite the growing disconnect between modern lifestyle and the environment. Char Miller is the W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental…
Lauren Fleshman in Conversation With Robin Romm
Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United StatesLauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running. One of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women’s running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry with feminist running brand, Oiselle, and now coaches elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen the way that our sports systems — originally designed by men, for men and boys — fail young women and girls as much as empower them. Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates once they hit puberty, and female collegiate athletes routinely fall victim to injury, eating disorders, or mental health struggles as they try to force their way past…
Kids’ Storytime with Christine Babinec
Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United StatesIt’s never too early to teach children about the necessity of boundaries and the power of consent. Developed by therapist Christine Babinec after years of working with survivors of abuse, Want a Hug?: Consent and Boundaries for Kids (Familius) is a book about communication, understanding, mutuality, listening, and love. Far from a didactic lecture, this joyful picture book affirms that developing consent skills is a natural, positive, fun, and affirming experience. With colorful, inviting illustrations, children will learn that it’s okay to say no and, perhaps more importantly, it’s okay to say yes. The power is in the choice. Preorder a Signed Edition
In-Store Reading: Gregg Coodley: Patients in Peril
Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, United StatesAnnie Bloom's welcomes back local author Gregg Coodley for an in-store reading from his new book, Patients in Peril: The Demise of Primary Care in America. Signed and personalized copies are available for order! Please, please, please include the name for personalization in the order notes; or indicate "signed only." About Patients in Peril: Once, Americans could count on having a personal or primary care physician who would see patients for new or chronic problems, whether in the office or the hospital. The appeal of such a system is more than psychological, for both primary care and continuity of care with a physician over time are associated with improved patient care, greater patient satisfaction, and lower overall costs. These days are ending as primary care…
The Moth: StorySLAM: Vices
The Old Church Concert Hall 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR, United StatesVICES: Prepare a five-minute story about a wicked habit, a mild failing or a defect in your otherwise perfect self. Tell us what acts as kryptonite on your character! The ball and chain of developed habits and poisonous predilections. Give a special shout out to the backfiring virtues...when being too good is actually bad. COVID Requirements: See The Old Church's COVID Policy for details. We will not be selling any tickets at the door. This venue is 16+ *Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. Media Sponsors: OPB and Literary Arts
Erika Bolstad in Conversation With Lydia Kiesling
Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United StatesAt first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband committed her to an asylum under mysterious circumstances. As Erika's mother was dying, she revealed more. Their family still owned the mineral rights to Anna's land — and oil companies were interested in the black gold beneath the prairies. Their family, Erika learned, could get rich thanks to the legacy of a woman nearly lost to history. Anna left no letters or journals, and very few photographs of her had survived. But Erika was drawn to the young woman who never walked free of the asylum that imprisoned her. As a journalist well versed in the effects…
So, You Wanna Be A Writer w Wayne Gregory | Jan 17 – Feb 14 | Online
Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ~ E. L. Doctorow You have a thousand stories inside your head. You dabble on the page but rarely if ever finish anything, much less share with others. “Is my work good enough?” you wonder. “Do I have something original and interesting to say? What makes me think I can be a writer?” The biggest obstacle for emerging writers is not lack of time nor lack of skill nor lack of things to write about. It’s a lack of self-confidence. This workshop is designed for those who want to be writers but are not sure they can be. …