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!
We will discuss Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. It's the summer of 1960 and in the town of Elm Haven, Illinois, five 12-year-old boys are forging the powerful bonds that a lifetime of change will not break. But amid the sun-drenched cornfields their loyalty will be tested when horrifying events begin spreading terror. Available at a 15% discount to order if you plan on attending the book club.
Join us on JULY 25TH for our **FOURTH** Thursday Poetry Open Mic! Normally a third Thursday show, we are pushing our Picnic PDX open mic back one week, since The Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam is taking place the previous week - don't want to overwhelm everyone! Doors and sign-ups are at 6:30 PM Get there on time to get a spot in the open mic! Show begins at 7:00 PM Picnic PDX 1305 NW 23rd Avenue Portland, OR 97210 This show is all ages. Please see our Accessibility and Safer Space info below. $5 suggested donation at door. This show will not have a poetry slam or a featured poet. We ask for just poetry on this mic, no music or stand up comedy. ★…
Join us for a reading from What is Justice? by Bill Denham. Matthew Avery Solomon and Noel Espinoza were murdered on September 4, 2008. Three men were charged with the crime. In What Is Justice?: A Personal Exploration, author Bill Denham studies the crime and what it reveals about himself and about our broader culture’s pursuit of retributive justice. Incorporating poetry, philosophy, theology, and memoir, Denham suggests an alternative system borne out of our inter-connectedness and reliant on the exercise of our imaginations. What Is Justice?: A Personal Exploration is an engaging, deeply personal, and deeply felt exploration into the meaning of justice. It is an essential and thought-provoking piece. “In death will come, poet Bill Denham attempts the near impossible, coming to terms with the…
The illusionist Benjamin Vaughn is 14 years old when he dies under mysterious circumstances at the height of his short career. In the wake of his death, the life of this brilliant yet reclusive prodigy known as "The Great Bendini" is meticulously chronicled by an unnamed narrator who encountered Vaughn when he himself was a boy. Set amidst dusty Northern California towns in the 1990s, the narrator — now an academic and father to a son of his own — unfurls a layered testimony that blurs the line between the observer and the observed; between ambitions that have the potential to transcend, and those with the capacity to destroy. Deployed with immersive detail and haunting observations, Gabriel Urza's The White Death: An Illusion (Nouvella) is…
Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers, a writer with deep ties to the land who has watched the battles over water intensify even as California lurches from drought to flood and back again. In The Dreamt Land (Knopf), he travels the state to explore the one-of-a-kind distribution system, built in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, that is straining to keep up with California’s relentless growth. The Dreamt Land weaves reportage, history, and memoir to confront the “Golden State” myth in riveting fashion. Arax’s heartfelt, beautifully written book is about the land and the people who have worked it – from gold miners to wheat ranchers to small fruit farmers and today’s Big Ag. Since the beginning, Californians have redirected rivers, drilled…
The Young Adult Book Club is a group of teens who meet monthly to talk about YA fiction. We’re fans of strong stories, diverse characters, and Rainbow Rowell (of course!). This month we meet to discuss Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale. Join us!
July 26th, 2019 SEX (a co-production with Booklover's Burlesque at Crush Bar). Details TBA.
And more…?
On this month’s Wilde Card Mysteries, Jack’s newest client is a harmless kook with barely two cents to rub together, but she might be holding the plans to Nikola Tesla’s most dangerous invention! With the help of secret agent Trace Allen, Jack just might survive “The Dill Pickle And Death Ray Case!” Special Musical Guests: The Juleps
STORYLESQUE is Portland's newest storytelling spectacular, which matches titillating, inspiring, and TRUE stories from the Pacific Northwest's leading storytellers with burlesque performances all in one show! Our show is inclusive, sex and body-positive, fiercely feminist, and empowering to all! Our storytellers include Shannon Brazil, Kisha Jarrett, Katie Nguyen, Leah Baer, Fannie Fuller, and Ilima of The Sexbots. Performers for this edition of STORYLESQUE include... Angelique DeVil & Zora Von Pavonine Kit Katastrophic La Reina (Atlanta) Luz de la Concha Resa La Revv And more to be announced! Hosted by the delightfully decadent Dee Dee Pepper! Doors open at 8:30pm. Show begins at 9:00pm. TICKET PRICES: $18 Advance General Admission $26 Advance VIP tickets for front row table seating $26 Advance VIP tickets for high top…