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!

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic *Hosted at Art at the Cave*

Birdhouse Books 1001 Main Street, Vancouver, WA, United States

Ghost Town Poetry is an open mic that goes down on the second Thursday of every month at Art at the Cave. More information can be found on the Printed Matter Vancouver website: https://printedmattervancouver.com/tag/ghost-town-poetry-open-mic/

Free

Where We Call Home: Josephine Woolington & Kristin Thiel in Conversation

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

In partnership with Ooligan Press. Join us in celebration of the launch of Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest, an essay collection by Josephine Woolington. This conversation with Josephine Woolington and Kristin Thiel, coeditor of Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene, will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. You can pre-order Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest here. Josephine Woolington Josephine Woolington is a writer, musician and educator. She previously worked at several newspapers in Oregon, where her work was read by both regional and national audiences via The Associated Press. During her time at The Register-Guard in Eugene, she received an award for best education coverage from the Oregon…

Free

THE CADENCE: A Tale of Paper and Cloth

Clinton Street Theater 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR, United States

(2022 - 33m) Written, directed and edited by Luca Dipierro Art and animation by Luca Dipierro Original soundtrack by freddie Murphy and Chiara Lee Sound design and mix by Tommaso Barbaro Produced by DML The Cadence is a 33-minute animated film shot in stop motion by the artist Luca Dipierro, using marionettes made with paper, bookcloth, and thread. Five years in the making, the film features a soundtrack by freddie Murphy and Chiara Lee. The Cadence tells the story of a boy, lover of silence, and the journey toward his own beginning. It’s a tale made of tales, populated by bizarre characters who enter and exit swiftly, as on a puppet theatre stage: masked children waiting for the last leaf to fall; a moon-faced mother;…

$8

POSTPONED! Ekphrastic Practice Space

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

*This event is in-person. Masks and proof of vaccination is required Free & by donation Register in advance here Join the IPRC for an evening of generative writing in response to visual art at Carnation Contemporary & Well Well Projects. What is Ekphrastic writing? Ekphrasis refers to written work that responds to visual art— literally “description” in Greek, it is characterized by description of art, but more broadly can refer to any piece of writing that engages with art on the level of narrative, reflection, image, or associative logic. Writing materials, clipboards, and prompts for generative writing will be provided, beginners welcome. Capacity: 15

Free

Portland Lit Mic

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

Portland Lit Mic is always lit, mostly due to our hosts, Grace and Jordan. You wrote it, you read it.

Free

Fall | Sustaining a Writer’s Notebook: A Yearlong Practice w Wendy Willis | Dec 2022 – Dec 2023 | Online

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

In this year-long class, we will explore the practice of creating and sustaining a writer’s notebook. Using prompts both in class and between sessions, each participant will develop and strengthen a notebook practice that works for them.  We'll use notebooks to catch the wisps of our lives and our wildest ideas. We will read excerpts of writers' and  other artists' notebooks and consider how a notebook is both an artifact in and of itself and mulch for other art--poem, novel, memoir, essay, painting, pasta sauce. At the end of the year, we'll  have a reading and an opportunity to display pages from our notebooks. Primer Session: December 10, 2022, 9am - 2pm Pacific Time. / 2023 Sessions: First Saturday of every month, 9am -12pm Pacific Time . . .…

$899 – $914

Submission Party

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

Bring a story, essay, nonfiction, hybrid piece – anything you feels is ready to submit. We’ll review how submission works, how to research the literary magazines that might be a good fit for your work, and then, we’ll submit! Liaison position Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts. Apply here for the liaison position. In-Person Class Note: This class meets in-person at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington. Literary Arts will require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative test result (within 72 hours) from a healthcare provider, for entry into…

$35

Portland Indie Book Fair

Honey Latte Cafe 1033 SE Main St, Portland, OR, United States

Best-selling authors. Portland publishers. The Portland Independent Book Fair features local indie presses selling their wide selection of books directly to the public. All sales go directly to the publishers. Get holiday shopping done and support independent authors and publishers at the same time! Know your local y’all. Participating Presses Include: Microcosm Publishing, University of Hell Press, Airlie Press, Octopus Books, Fonograf Editions, Buckman Publishing, First Matter Press, and more!

Free

Writing With Constraints

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a bet—that he couldn’t write an entire book using only 50 words. Here’s another dare: Write about a trek through the desert without using the words “sand,” “cactus,” “water,” “sun,” and “heat.” In this generative workshop, we’ll look at examples by writers, then engage with inventive writing exercises, freeing our own imaginations. 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 offers writing class and Delve tuition at a reduced rate. The access program for writing classes covers 60% of the class tuition. Most writing classes have at least one access spot…

$75

Flower Play: A Community Healing Event for our Queer & Trans Community Members & their Loved Ones

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

*This event is in-person; Masks & Proof of Vaccination + Booster Required Sunday, Dec. 11th 1-4pm Capacity: 25 Register here Please join the IPRC and Solstice Flower Works for a restorative, playful, and relaxed space for Queer and Trans community members of all ages to spend time together making dried flower bouquets with light facilitation by Kale Hale of Solstice Flower Works; and creating pages for a collaborative zine with prompts on healing, processing grief, and celebrating queer joy. We’ll also have a community altar, reading nook with a selection of queer-authored books and zines, and tasty snacks from our friends at XLB, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. The collaborative zine will be produced and available after the event for pickup or by snail mail;…

Free