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Tess Gallagher in Conversation With Greg Simon & Danielle Vermette

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Tess Gallagher’s new poems are suspended between contradiction and beauty. Is, Is Not (Graywolf) upends our notions of linear time, evokes the spirit and sanctity of place, and hovers daringly at the threshold of what language can nearly deliver while offering alternative corollaries as gifts of its failures. Gallagher will be joined in conversation by poet Greg Simon and writer Danielle Vermette.

Free

Reading with Jason Christie and jayy dodd

The Stacks Coffeehouse 1831 N. Killingsworth St, Portland, OR, United States

Join us for an evening of poetry with Jason Christie and jayy dodd. What happens to identity when we're obsessed with self-surveillance and devalued words? Now that we've sold ourselves to ourselves, shuffling letters and sounds around to hide the pain, how do we represent the uncanny valley in which we've set up shop? In lèse-majesté, Jason Christie recoils in horror at the thoroughness of his self, then begins to write toward a new understanding brokered between all the things that define him and who he thinks he should be and interrogates how we reduce people to words, especially online, turning them into objects. Jason Christie is the author of Canada Post, i-ROBOT, Unknown Actor, and a coeditor of Shift & Switch: New Canadian Poetry.…

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Free

Shane Koyczan – Spoken Word Artist with special guest Micah Fletcher

Alberta Rose Theatre 3000 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR, United States

In a realm where poets rarely intersect with stardom, the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics introduced us to Shane Koyczan. With a collective “Wow!” we found the poet of our generation, and we weren’t even looking for one. The world took notice when Shane’s influential, anti-bullying, To This Day Project video went viral in early 2013 with over 14 million views and counting. Powerfully engaging and authentic in attitude, his explorations are relevant to our times in the way that Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen are to theirs. But unlike the musicians that he’s often compared to, poets rarely infiltrate pop culture. Koyzcan emerges in a new wave of 21st century poetry that dares to belong to the people and speak…

Continue readingShane Koyczan – Spoken Word Artist with special guest Micah Fletcher
$20 – $25

Poetry Reading: Tess Gallagher and Paulann Petersen

Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, United States

Annie Bloom's welcomes two wonderful poets, Tess Gallagher and Paulann Petersen, for a joint reading from their latest collections. Tess Gallagher's new collection, Is, Is Not, upends our notions of linear time, evokes the spirit and sanctity of place, and hovers daringly at the threshold of what language can nearly deliver while offering alternative corollaries as gifts of its failures. Tess Gallagher’s poems reverberate with the inward clarity of a bell struck on a mountaintop. Guided by humor, grace, and a deep inquiry into the natural world, every poem nudges us toward moments of awe. How else except by delight and velocity would we discover the miracle within the ordinary? Gallagher claims many Wests—the Northwest of America, the Northwest of Ireland, and a West even…

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Free

Objection! Poetry Slam 2019

Lagunitas Community Room 237 NE Broadway St #300, Portland, OR, United States

The YLS Service to the Public Committee, in association with Literary Arts, invites you to the Second Annual Objection! Poetry Slam. The theme is "Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society" and the event is open to participants ages 13-22 who would like to perform a poem expressing their views. The local and talented Alex Dang will be emceeing the slam and hosting a creative writing workshop at the beginning of the event. And there will be free food, beverages, and cash prizes! Attendance is free, no RSVP required. We hope you join us for a night of creative thought and performance. Details and rules at https://mbabar.org/calendar/2019-05-24/objection-poetry-slam-2019.html

Free

Wordlights: Saturday Poetry Evenings

Rocking Frog Cafe 2511 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR, United States

Wordlights Saturday poetry evenings presented by Nova PDX, Rocking Frog Cafe and hosted by Igor Brezhnev. On Saturday May 25th, we'll have a feature from Bella, two mini features from Bri G & Nastashia Minto, and a short set poetry open mic! OUR FEATURE: Bella Bella is Southern California grown, and found herself in Portland after a few things went wrong, (or completely right if you ask her now). She began writing poetry in 2017 after watching a slam performance that was supposed to inspire her not to give up after almost getting evicted out of her apartment (she didn’t get evicted, so the inspiration worked). The first time she performed was in 2018, at Portland Poetry Slam. Her poetry centers around her experiences being…

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Free

Poetry: Walter Moore, David Turkel & Jesse Donaldson

Mother Foucault's Bookshop 523 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR, United States

Join us on May 25 at 7 pm to hear fresh work from three Oregon writers. Jesse Donaldson was born and raised in Kentucky, educated in Texas, and now lives in Oregon. He is the author of The More They Disappear and On Homesickness. David Turkel is a playwright, screenwriter and poet based in Corvallis, Oregon. His plays have been produced in abandoned chruches (Wild Signs), repurposed breweries (Holler), textile mills (Stroke/Book), lofts (F.O.R.D.), storefronts (Key to the Field, Crimson and Clover) and even the occasional theater (Nadia, ‘ratio). He was a founding member of Chapel Hill’s Somnabulist Project and Pittsburgh’s Bricolage Theatre companies. His play Clytemnestr@pocalypse premiered at the Théâtre National de Nice, France, March 2017. His newest, (ha)— a cabaret performance starring Eva Braun in Purgatory–…

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Free

Poetry Slam and Open Mic feat. Sage Lilac

Tiny's Coffee - NE MLK Jr 2031 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

Join us for another amazing poetry slam and open mic!!! There is a 5 dollar suggested donation for this event but no one is turned away. We will have a feature from Sage Lilac! More about Sage: Sage Lilac is a trans poet and heavy metal vocalist based out of Portland, OR. She got her start in poetry just after high school by winning both the SpeakNOW Poetry Slam in 2012 and then the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition in 2013. Since then, she has lead many after school programs and in-school residencies through the Nature of Words literary center, shared the stage with renowned performance poet Buddy Wakefield, has had her poems arranged for performance by opera singers, been a PDX Grand Slam finalist…

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Free – $5

Poetry Practice Space

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

Poetry Practice Space is a monthly gathering for poets and writers. Writing materials, readings and prompts for generative writing will be provided. Come share a space to talk about your writing practice, and current writing projects, bemoan rejections, celebrate acceptances, share writing resources— and write together! Consider Poetry Practice Space the calisthenics for your poetics. Suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds Free for members

Free

QUEER PDXpression

Crush Bar 1400 Southeast Morrison Street, Portland, OR, United States

Please join us on May 30th at Crush Bar. Sign ups 6:30 pm Show 7:00 pm $5 dollar suggested donation. All proceeds go towards Bryony Blazes chap book. We are honored to have two features. Xesxa Depentes is a poet and performer living in Portland, OR. it’s the author of the chapbook crying in the sun (txt books, 2017). its work has been published in the recluse, the poetry project newsletter and on the poetry foundation’s harriet blog. Trenna Sharpe is a poet from Tennessee, currently living and writing in Portland, Oregon. Her poems appear in the The Heart's Many Doors, The Tangerine, 5:2:One Magazine, Industrial Lunch, Poetry Miscellany, Incessant Pipe, and The Lifeboat. She's a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Program for…

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Free – $5
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