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!

Independent Bookstore Day!!!

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland

Meet Chelsea Cain at our Independent Bookstore Day Party on Saturday, April 27th!!! Call us crazy, but we love the idea of celebrating independent bookstores! Frankly, we think every day should be Independent Bookstore Day, but for now we look forward to taking part in this annual day of celebration. We hope you can join us on Saturday, April 27th, as we join indie bookstores across the country in celebrating our independence and our vital role in the community. Now more than ever, bookstores can offer sanctuary, a place of learning, a place to gather, and a place of joy. As in previous years, many publishers have created unique bookish items for sale just on this day. And we have very cool Indie Bookstore Day tote bags that…

Free

Garden Series: An Afternoon of Poetry with Joni Renee

Lan Su Chinese Garden 239 NW Everett St, Portland

Please join us at the Lan Su Chinese Garden for a poetry reading and Q&A with local poet Joni Renee Whitworth. Joni will read selections from her upcoming collection, Party Time, and from her first book, Your Full Real Name. Lush accounts of intimate meals, queer pastoral youth, neurodivergence, loss, and more come together in her debut collection of poetry that honors nature, family, and the body. Vulnerable and perceptive, Renee's poetry takes readers through vivid dreams and memories of an Oregon childhood. Your Full Real Name is a frank and compelling collection. About the author: Joni Renee Whitworth is an artist and writer from rural Oregon. She has performed at The Moth, the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Costa Mesa, California, the…

$10

Peach Blossom Poetry Series: Joni Renee Whitworth

Lan Su Chinese Garden 239 NW Everett St, Portland

Chinese gardens in China and Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland are filled with poetic inscriptions: as text, calligraphy, engravings and plaques. Inspired by the culture of literature in Chinese gardens, prolific poets share their work with garden visitors every Saturday in April at 3 p.m. Included with Lan Su membership or admission; no registration is required. April 6 A. Molotkov April 13 Clemens Starck April 20 Stella Jeng Guillory April 27 Joni Renee Whitworth About the Presenters: Born in Russia, A. Molotkov moved to the US in 1990 and switched to writing in English in 1993. His poetry collections are The Catalog of Broken Things, Application of Shadows, and Synonyms for Silence (Acre Books/Cincinnati Review, 2019). Published by Kenyon, Iowa, Antioch, Massachusetts, Atlanta, Bennington and…

$10

Group Author Reading and Signing on Independent Bookstore Day!

Books Around the Corner 40 NW 2nd Street, Gresham

Strongly Worded Women is a collection of the best short story submissions, it showcases the talent of eighteen amazing writers across genres who all demonstrate the strength of their voices. The stories in this anthology are as diverse and unique as the authors who wrote them. We are happy to welcome NINE of these authors on Independent Bookstore Day! FULL LIST OF AUTHORS COMING! Sydney Culpepper, editor and "Pack Mentality" Pagetown LeeAnn McLennan, "Zombie Apocalype Rescue Agency" The Supernormal Legacy: Book One: Dormant The Supernormal Legacy: Book Two: Root Tonya Lippert, "Misreadings" Transforming ADHD Goodbye School Julia Figliotti, "Skin-Deep" Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum What Works: Weaving Mentoring into Teaching, Research, and Service Lori Ubell, "Blaise" Heather Ransom, "Eyes" Going Green Greener…

Free

The People’s Poets (Open Mic)

Woodlawn MIC 1425 NE Dekum St, Portland

We are back!!! We call ourselves "The People's Poets" because our goal is to amplify voices of color while providing a safe place for displaced communities in Portland. While we welcome and encourage everyone to attend and support, we exclusively reserve the open mic as a platform for writers of color! 2$ suggested donation. Light refreshments provided. About Blacque Butterfly Darlene Solomon-Rogers aka Blacque Butterfly is a spoken word artist, singer, songwriter, entertainer and activist. Her love for the arts has allowed her to explore several layers of her calling. Be it spoken word, motivational speaking, singing, theater or event planning or promoting she has allowed the Creator to use her ministry to inspire others to follow their calling. Blacque Butterfly is a native Oregonian,…

Free – $2

Nailed Reading

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

Join us as we celebrate some of the spectacular writers and poets who have published with us! Featuring performances by: Robert Lashley Sage Lilac Robb Piggot Domi Shoemaker Jackie Shannon Hollis Doors open at 6:30 pm Readings will begin at 7 pm (*doors close at 7:30 pm*) Afterwards please hang around, chat, and enjoy some refreshments as we bring the local branch of our online literary community into actual space! Drinks and light snacks provided (with suggested donation) OPEN TO ALL!

Free

Who Are You Becoming? A reading about grief over time

Rose City Book Pub 1329 NE Fremont, Portland

When we lose someone we cannot live without, our lives become split into two time frames: Before and After. The After is the rest of our lives, often decades. Join us as we hear stories from people who are 6 months to 40 years our from their losses. Come hear how each story is unique and how each has so much overlap and commonality. Come hear how our grief changes over time and how it stays the same. Come hear how love, the true origin of our grief, absolutely never ends or changes. Featuring: DeAnn Welker Monica Welty Sue Moshofsky Karin Stanley Anne Gudger Jewelie Randall Mary Mandeville This event is free! Libations available for purchase at this important literary hub of our community! If…

Free