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!
June Broken Sleep Books Launch, featuring readings from: Jeff Alessandrelli - Nothing of the Month Club Jessica Mookherjee - Play Lists Lotte Mitchell Reford - and we were so far from the sea of course the hermit crabs were dead Alex Mazey - Sad Boy Aesthetics All books available at brokensleepbooks.com
In the series of linked stories at the heart of Filthy Animals (Riverhead), set among young creatives in the American Midwest, a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness. In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night; a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink; and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort, and cruelty. One of the breakout literary stars of 2020, Brandon Taylor has been hailed by…
We are excited to host (virtually) Amy Mason Doan for the Portland launch of her new novel Lady Sunshine, in conversation with Julie Clark on Wednesday, June 30th, at 5:30 PM PST. This event is free but does require pregistration at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OKwKLb_DQYeqLe4VDWHX8A Amy Mason Doan is the author of two previous novels: The Summer List and Summer Hours. Amy grew up in Danville, California and now lives in Portland. She’s written for The Oregonian, The San Francisco Chronicle, Wired, Forbes, and other publications. She has an M.A. in Journalism from Stanford University and a B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley. Her latest novel offers family drama, secrets, and the dazzling spirit of 1970s California. Here's what one reviewer had to say: "With a…
Live on Crowdcast! Rachel Griffin, The Nature of Witches, in conversation with Adrienne Tooley, Sweet & Bitter Magic. CROWDCAST LINK WILL BE SENT OUT CLOSER TO THE EVENT. PURCHASE OF ONE OR BOTH OF THESE BOOKS IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND. IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND AND REQUIRE SHIPPING PLEASE EMAIL US AND WE'LL EXPLAIN THE PROCESS. ORDER AND PREORDER ON OUR WEBSITE NOW! THE NATURE OF WITCHES For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, their power from the sun peaking in the season of their birth. But now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic. All hope lies with Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season. In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild…
Come hear 5 amazing readers share their grief stories. Every month we hear a wide range of grief subjects. Come listen. The zoom call lasts about an hour. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89523333213?pwd=SFhmNmxWL2s0WTJYdjZ4Kzd2U0xOdz09 Meeting ID: 895 2333 3213 Passcode: 964790
Inspired by the Greek myth of Iphigenia and the Grimm fairy tale “Brother and Sister,” Michelle Ruiz Keil’s second novel follows two siblings torn apart and struggling to find each other in early ’90s Portland. All her life, 17-year-old Iph has protected her sensitive younger brother, Orr. But this summer, with their mother gone at an artist residency, their father decides it’s time for 15-year-old Orr to toughen up at a wilderness boot camp. When their father brings Iph to a work gala in downtown Portland and breaks the news, Orr has already been sent away against his will. Furious at her father’s betrayal, Iph storms off and gets lost in the maze of Old Town. Enter George, a queer Robin Hood who swoops in…
A Black man’s life, told in scenes — through every time he’s been called nigger. A Black son who visits his estranged white father in Los Angeles just as the ’92 riots begin. A Black Republican, coping with a skin disease that has turned him white, is forced to reconsider his life. A young Black man, fetishized by a married white woman he’s just met, is offered a strange and tempting proposal. The nine tales in Chris Stuck’s Give My Love to the Savages (Amistad) illuminate the multifaceted Black experience, exploring the thorny intersections of race, identity, and Black life through an extraordinary cast of characters. From the absurd to the starkly realistic, these stories take aim at the ironies and contradictions of the American…
Comedian and television writer Tom Scharpling is good at being funny, which is a miracle, considering what he's survived. Like hitting a deer and narrowly escaping with his life on the night of the 2016 election. But that's nothing compared to the struggles he had earlier in his life. It Never Ends (Abrams) is his memoir of a life writing comedy amidst a lifelong struggle with mental illness, a story he has never told before. It’s the heartbreaking account of his intense coming-of-age, and the lengths he's undertaken to pull away from the brink of self-destruction. Scharpling brought himself back to life first with punk zines and NBA coverage, then through the world of comedy, writing and executive producing Monk, and creating one of the…
Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Andrea Hollander Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige 7 pm Thursday, July 8 On Zoom $5 Suggested donation LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004 Please support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020: https://nichewinebar.com/ Andrea Hollander moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2011, after living for more than three decades in the Arkansas Ozarks, where she was innkeeper of a bed & breakfast for 15 years and the Writer-in-Residence at Lyon College for 22. Hollander’s 5th full-length poetry collection was a finalist for the Best Book Award in Poetry from the American Book Fest; her 4th was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award; her 1st…
Open Mic and Poetry Reading a virtual event on Zoom. Co-sponsored by the Milwaukie Poetry Series and St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church. Featured Readers are the Pendleton Poetry group. The Open Mic will follow their reading. Email Tom Hogan at tomhogan2@comcast.net (link sends e-mail) to register. You will receive a zoom link prior to the event. Plan to read 1 or 2 poems depending on the number of participants and length of the poems. If time permits additional poems will be allowed. The event will be recorded and available for viewing on demand on the Ledding Library YouTube Channel (link is external) after the event.