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!
From the hilarious to the terrifying, Augusten Burroughs’s new memoir, Toil and Trouble (St. Martin’s), is a chronicle of one man's journey to understand himself, to reconcile the powers he can wield with things with which he is helpless. Ghosts are real, trees can want to kill you, beavers are the spawn of Satan, houses are alive, and in the end, love is the most powerful magic of all.
A monthly night of vintage radio comedy and drama — live onstage in Portland, Oregon! Straight outta 1944! Laughs! Chills! Romance! Danger! Booze! Eats! Cash bar! Live Foley! 1940’s live music! Prizes! Audience participation! This month’s halloween special takes place in the beautiful confines of the historic Old Church Concert Hall deep in the arts district of downtown PDX. Enjoy the thrilling adventures of two episodes of the vintage horror classic, The 13th Floor! Since 2014, we at The Tesla City Stories have been presenting an evening of live “radio” theater derived from the recently uncovered archives of the ultra-obscure Tesla Broadcasting Company (1943-1945). It’s “pop archaeology” as performance art, or, more simply, a fun night of vintage entertainment! The shows of the TBC run…
James Renner celebrates our obsession with true crime and shares weirdly funny stories about his life hunting serial killers and hosting crime shows. His job often places him in compromising situations - from being scammed into buying crack for his neighbor to accepting rides in cars from strange men at crime scenes. He explores the big questions behind our guilty pleasure, such as why is true crime so popular and whether killers are born bad or made that way. From Serial to Making a Murderer, Renner takes us through the absurd world of popular crime and finds the humor at its heart. James Renner is a journalist from Cleveland, the author of True Crime Addict, and the host of Discover ID's Lake Erie's Coldest Cases.…
Led by Bob Balmer The best stories make people cry, think and laugh, an emotional spectrum that touches on the richness of being human. We will look at and practice various methods storytellers use to convey humor — exaggeration, identification, embarrassment, self-deprecation… and study how storytellers decide where humor is best suited to offer the audience relief and pleasure. In the midst of this, discover your humorous voice, the one that feels authentic to you and the stories you love to tell. Bob’s humorous work has appeared in print and aired on public radio. He was a Toastmaster’s regional finalist for comedy, and he has taken comedy classes at the Brody Theater in Portland and Second City in Chicago. He believes James Thurber’s adage: Humor…
In this 4-hour introductory course, participants will learn the basics of risograph (riso) printing and will leave with an understanding of how to use this print technology to create zines, fliers, posters, or other printed matter. While this technology is not new, riso printing has recently become one of the most exciting developments in independent printing and publishing because of its cost-effectiveness for print runs between 25 and 1,000. Workshop participants will learn how to best maximize the many quirks of riso printing to achieve striking results. Participants are also encouraged to bring files of artwork that they’d like to print (files should be 100% grayscale, letter or tabloid size). For more information on riso printing and the modern riso resurgence, check out the riso wiki.…
Join us every Saturday for kids’ storytime. Today we’re reading The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers.
“Well, while I’m here I’ll do the work — and what’s the work? To ease the pain of living. Everything else, drunken dumbshow.” ― Allen Ginsberg, “Memory Gardens” (Fall of America, City Lights) Join us on Saturday, October 12 for The Work, a monthly poetry writing workshop at Niche Wine Bar led by Christopher Luna. Poetry encourages empathy and compassion, and sparks the shifts in consciousness which can lead to healing, personal growth, and an interest in fighting for progressive social change. I look forward to sharing my passion for poetry with you. The Work is a drop-in poetry writing workshop for beginners as well as more experienced writers. We will read and discuss poetry, and write several new poems together from 11:30-2:00. Doors open…
In Science? It Could be Verse!, Sue Cowing, author of You Will Call Me Drog, teaches how to combine science and rhythmic language to make unique poems. Hosted by Rosanne Parry, the League of Exceptional Writers is a monthly workshop where authors and illustrators share their knowledge with kids, ages 8 to 18 years old, who are interested in creating books. Join us!
In Embrace Your Weird (Gallery), author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions. Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Day will be joined in conversation by Laini Taylor, author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.
About the Workshop: Learn how to turn full color images into four color riso prints! In this workshop we will explore the history of four color printing and use of halftones in printmaking. We will walk through the process of setting up a full color image to print on the riso as a four color CMYK process print. The process of setting up these kinds of files can be confusing and frustrating, but we will have fun learning the how and why of four color printing. In the end you’ll walk away with a gorgeous print edition, and a step by step guide to reference for future four color prints. We will be making an edition of four color prints, using the combination of fluorescent…