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!

Delve Readers Seminar: Henri Bergson and the Revolution in Time

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

In 1889 Henri Bergson’s (1858-1941) bestseller Time and Free Will inaugurated a vast revolution of the understanding of time in world philosophy that was a keystone in the literature, art, and philosophy of the modern world. After an eclipse of his reputation for some decades, Bergson’s ideas have returned as one of the most powerful forces in the renewal of our attitudes toward nature and the cosmos today. We will read his startlingly elegant, clear, and persuasive expositions of these appealing concepts in Time and Free Will, Creative Evolution, and other works. We will also explore the thought of the scientists and philosophers who have continued to develop his seminal insights. In-Person Seminar Note: This seminar meets in-person at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington. Access…

$245

The Break with Kaveh Akbar

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

In partnership with Alano Club of Portland, “The Break is a monthly virtual gathering of writers and artists lead by Kaveh Akbar, celebrating amongness, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative experimentation. Though many of the activities and discussions orbit or are inflected by recovery themes (Akbar has been in active recovery for eight years), participants are not required to self-identify as being in recovery to participate.” Register at: https://www.portlandalano.org/the-break Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar is a poet, teacher and the poetry editor for The Nation. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, Paris Review, Poetry, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. His newest book, Pilgrim Bell, was published by Graywolf in 2021; he is also the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf (Alice James,…

Free

Hannah Sward in Conversation With Amy Dresner

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Born in the bohemian seventies, Hannah Sward was abandoned by her mother, and lived with her poet father on an island with no stores or cars. Kidnapped and molested by a stranger at age six, she grew up to be a stripper and a prostitute with a taste for crystal meth — which seemed to be a sure-fire way to lose weight — with stops along the way for silent gurus, sugar daddies, and drinking in the CVS bathroom before therapy sessions. Painstakingly honest, often humorous, Strip (Tortoise Books) is Sward's heartfelt memoir revealing a woman’s journey from innocence to a dark existence, and beyond it to a world of empowerment. Sward will be joined in conversation by Amy Dresner, author of My Fair Junkie.…

Free

Steven Hyden in Conversation With Chuck Klosterman

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album, Ten, they have sold over 85 million albums, performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation (Hachette), music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life, career, and music of this legendary group, widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. Long Road is structured like a mix tape, using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories. Each chapter tells the tale of this great…

Free

Where We Come From: Writing Your Ethnoautobiography w/ Ella deCastro Baron, G. Ravyn Stanfield, and Anya Pearson—Begins September 27th

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Where We Come From: Writing Your Ethnoautobiography With Ella deCastro Baron, G. Ravyn Stanfield, and Anya Pearson  A six bi-weekly generative Collaboration (Please note: there is a brief application process for this workshop! Press the Apply Now button at the bottom of this text.) We have to co-create a better, fuller story of who we are. When we speak or write the stories of how our ancestors were harmed or harmed others, we clear the way for justice in the present. When we tell the truth about the past, we move towards the possibility for healing and repair. Ancestry gives us heritage: “traditions and practices that inform how we move through the world.” Who are our ancestors of blood, love, and spirit? This circle will…

$500 – $600

Liz Prato in Conversation with Aaron Gilbreath

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

We are thrilled to welcome back Liz Prato, in conversation with Aaron Gilbreath, to discuss her new book Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning. In this revealing and provocative essay collection, Prato reveals a generation deeply affected by terrorism, racial inequality, rape culture, and mental illness, in an era when none of these issues were openly discussed. Part memoir, part journlistic exploration, Kids in America illuminates a generation often written off as cynical, sarcastic slackers, showing that its impact on culture and society is undeniable. Prato herself is a GenXer, growing up in Denver in the '70s and '80s, so the issues she explores here are issues of her generation, and a lot of the book is about coming to terms with things they…

Free

Drink and Write Tuesdays

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

Jeanne Faulkner hosts this drop-in writing workshop on the last Tuesday of every month. Jeanne provides the prompts, tips, and coaching. You bring your computer and notebook.

Free

Weekly Check-In: Getting the Work Done

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

This 8-week class is focused on holding yourself and your classmates accountable to your writing goals.  Each week, plan to share your work-in-progress with the group, set or revise goals for your weekly writing practice, and share successes and challenges with fellow writers. You’ll also learn strategies for keeping focused and staying on track. Occasional outside readings for discussion. This is not a workshop or feedback-based class. Worked shared will be about listening to each other’s voices and having a consistent deadline to meet on a weekly basis. All genres welcome. 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…

$395

Submission Deadline: The Gravity of the Thing

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

We are open for submissions for our seasonal online issues during the months of March, June, September, and December. To submit your work, please visit this page during our open reading windows, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive email updates. The Gravity of the Thing accepts defamiliarized works in the following general categories: Short: Tell us a story in 3,000 words or less; we are interested in fiction, creative nonfiction, self-contained excerpts, and genre-bending forms. Flash: A fiction, creative nonfiction, or genre-bending piece under 500 words. Poetry: Share up to three poems, prose poems, or multimedia works for a combined count of 500 words or less. Six Words: A poem or story in six words; you may share up to five stories per submission, but only one will be chosen. Baring the Device: Essays for our…

Free