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!

Garden+ Lecture Series: Christian Tagsold

Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave, Portland, OR, United States

Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West The German author of Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West discusses his provocative and groundbreaking theories that the idea of the Japanese garden has less to do with Japan’s history and traditions than with the country’s interactions with the West. Tagsold, who has researched over eighty Japanese gardens in ten countries, explores their history, popularity, and shifting aesthetic, as well as that most elusive concept — authenticity. Limited copies of Christian Tagsold’s book Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens and the West will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Location: Yanai Classroom About the speaker Christian Tagsold is Associate Professor at the Institute for Modern Japanese Studies, University of Düsseldorf. He writes on Japanese…

$15 – $20

Pico Iyer

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

For years, Pico Iyer has split his time between California and Nara, Japan, where he and his Japanese wife, Hiroko, have a small home. But when his father-in-law dies suddenly, calling him back to Japan earlier than expected, Iyer begins to grapple with the question we all have to live with: how to hold on to the things we love, even though we know that we and they are dying. In a country whose calendar is marked with occasions honoring the dead, this question is more urgent than anywhere else. Iyer’s Autumn Light (Knopf) is a far-reaching exploration of Japanese history and culture, and a moving meditation on impermanence, mortality, and grief.

Free

Andrés Neuman & Fernanda Melchor in Conversation With Jeremy Garber

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Critically acclaimed, prize-winning author Andrés Neuman's new novel, Fracture (translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia) (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), is an ambitious literary work set against Japan's 2011 nuclear accident in a cross-cultural story about how every society remembers and forgets its catastrophes. An earthquake unnerves Tokyo on March 11, 2011, triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster — and a tectonic stirring of the collective past. Mr. Yoshie Watanabe, an aging executive at an electronics company and a survivor of the atomic bomb, feels as though he is a fugitive of his own memory. As the seams of his country threaten to come undone yet again, he braces himself to make the biggest decision of his life. Meanwhile, four women narrate their own memories of…

Free

Zach Mangan in Conversation With Jim Meehan

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Explore the artistry of Japanese tea from cultivation to cup in Stories of Japanese Tea (Princeton Architectural Press), a comprehensive illustrated guide to the tea industry from Zach Mangan, founder of Kettl, a New York City- and Fukuoka, Japan-based tea and teaware company. Stories of Japanese Tea includes Japanese growers, their craft of tea-making, and how the tradition of tea has had an influence on cuisine, art, and health. Mangan’s visual exploration of one of the world's most popular beverages tells the stories of tea and tea-making in Japan: how it is grown, harvested, and processed, as well as how it is prepared and enjoyed. Through interviews with tea growers, information on health benefits from Dr. Andrew Weil, and amazing recipes from Japanese chefs and…

Free

In-Store Reading: Emiko Jean: Tokyo Dreaming

Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, United States

Annie Bloom's welcomes Pacific Northwest author Emiko Jean for an in-store reading from Tokyo Dreaming, her sequel to Tokyo Ever After. This in-store reading is first come, first served. Seating is limited. Please be mindful of any store health policies that might be in effect on the night of the reading. This event was reschedule from 5/31/22. Signed and personalized copies are available! You must mention that you would like a signed or personalized copy in your order comments at checkout. If you are requesting personalization, please indicate the name for personalization in the order comments as well. Thank you! About Tokyo Dreaming: Return to Tokyo for a royal wedding in Emiko Jean's Tokyo Dreaming, the sequel to the Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and…

Free

PBF Cover to Cover: Write a Renga, Save the World

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Renga is a form of collaborative Japanese poetry whereby multiple poets create and respond in turn. Join our group of poets from Portland and abroad for an afternoon of renga writing that examines some of today’s most pressing concerns–bodily autonomy, religious extremism, and imminent environmental ruin. We’ll take inspiration from Basho’s popular “haikai” style, which employed a satirical edge and witty playfulness, even while discussing complex topics. Event contact: Heather Brown, heather@mindthebirdmedia.com  

Free

Write a Renga, Save the World – A PBF Cover to Cover Event

Mother Foucault's Bookshop 523 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR, United States

Renga is a form of collaborative Japanese poetry whereby multiple poets create and respond in turn. Join our group of poets from Portland and abroad for an evening of group renga writing that examines some of today's most pressing concerns - bodily autonomy, religous extremism, and imminent environmental ruin. We'll take inspiration from Basho's popular "haikai" style, which employed a satirical edge and witty playfulness, even while discussing complex topics. Guest facilitators - Mira Rosenthal, Becca Wadlinger This events is organized under the umbrella of PBF Cover to Cover

Free