2 0 1 7/ 2 0 1 8 E V E N T S E A S O N AU T H O R L E C T U R E S • S L A M P O E T R Y • S T U D E N T R E A D I N G S • S TO RY TE LLI N G WRITING CLASSES • READING S E M I N A R S • G R A N T S & AWA R D S FO R W R ITE R S FRE E COM M U N IT Y EVE NTS
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“ Literary Arts is brilliant at energizing and engaging its community.” —Anthony Doerr, Portland Arts & Lectures Author
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At Literary Arts, we seek to foster a lifelong love of literature. No matter your age or interests, our programming offers opportunities to be inspired through books, storytelling, spoken word, community events, and more. • Enjoy engaging talks by the world’s most celebrated writers during Portland Arts & Lectures and special events (pages 4–7).
• Join thousands of book enthusiasts at Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival (pages 8–9). • Cheer on talented youth poets during Verselandia! (pages 10-11). • Enroll in Writing Classes and Delve Readers Seminars and join others who
are passionate about creating and discussing great works of literature (pages 14–17).
• Stay connected and discover more events and opportunities throughout the year (page 20).
Support for Literary Arts is provided by:
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PORTLAND ARTS & LECTURES Our annual lecture series brings the world’s most celebrated writers, artists, and thinkers to Oregon to engage with our community. Visiting authors connect with readers and writers of all ages through classroom visits to public high schools and workshops at our community space.
“ As usual, Literary Arts has the pulse on the writing stars!” — Jodi Delahunt Hubbell, Portland Arts & Lectures Subscriber
Bank of the West | Hoffman Construction Company | Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP | ZGF Architects 4
GEORGE SAUNDERS OCTOBER 12
REZA ASLAN
NOVEMBER 16
The 2017/2018 season of Portland Arts & Lectures offers five memorable nights with some of the most influential writers at work today.
Series subscriptions go on sale every spring and sell out early.
JESMYN WARD JANUARY 18
CLAUDIA RANKINE FEBRUARY 8
For more information about pricing and available subscription levels, please visit literary‑arts.org or contact our box office at 503-227-2583.
THE ARCHIVE PROJECT Our weekly radio show and podcast features engaging talks from the world’s best writers of more than 30 years of Literary Arts in Portland.
VIET THANH NGUYEN MAY 8
Supported by:
❯L earn more at literary-arts.org/archives.
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SPECIAL EVENTS Join us throughout the year for special events with award‑winning authors, artists, and thinkers as well as national literary organizations.
@LiteraryArts Each month, we host free @LiteraryArts events at our community space in downtown Portland. Events include reading series like Incite: Queer Writers Read and lectures like PDX Jazz. ❯ Find a full calendar of events at literary-arts.org/calendar. 6
Francis Ford Coppola
in conversation with Melena Ryzik of The New York Times
The Moth Mainstage Monday, December 11, 2017 7:30 p.m. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Monday, October 2, 2017 7:30 p.m.
Tickets start at $15, available at Portland5.com
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Join our annual presentation of The Moth for an evening of unforgettable live storytelling.
Tickets start at $15, available at Portland5.com Francis Ford Coppola, one of the most iconic filmmakers of our time, discusses his latest book Live Cinema and Its Techniques.
Everybody Reads
Joe Biden
Thursday, April 5, 2018 7:30 p.m.
SOLD OUT
Thursday, November 30, 2017 7:30 p.m. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Former Vice President Joe Biden visits Portland to discuss his memoir Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Tickets start at $15, available at Portland5.com Literary Arts presents the live author event for Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads community project. This year’s selection is Exit West, an astonishingly visionary love story that imagines the forces that drive ordinary people from their homes and into the uncertain embrace of new lands.
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WORDSTOCK
PORTLAND’S BOOK FESTIVAL Presented by
The 2017 festival will feature more than 100 authors, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jeffrey Eugenides, Claire Messud, Tom Perrotta, Lidia Yuknavitch, Adam Gopnik, David Grann, Sarah Manguso, Danez Smith, Jenny Han, Lemony Snicket, and Mac Barnett. ❯ Visit
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literary-arts.org for the full lineup.
Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival returns on Saturday, November 11 to the Portland Art Museum and neighboring venues. This daylong event features author discussions, pop-up readings, writing workshops for youth and adults, kids story time, and an extensive book fair. Advanced tickets are just $15 ($18 day of). Avoid lines at the box office by purchasing your pass today. Visit literary-arts.org for tickets and information to plan your festival day.
VOLUNTEER AT THE FESTIVAL ❯S ign up at literary-arts.org/wordstock.
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YOUTH PROGRAMS Each year, our Youth Programs inspire more than 4,000 students through a variety of literary opportunities in the classroom and concert hall, including Writers in the Schools, College Essay Mentoring Project, and Students to the Schnitz. â?Ż â?Ż Visit literary-arts.org/calendar for a schedule of student readings and youth events, free and open to the public.
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Verselandia! Citywide Youth Poetry Slam Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Tickets start at just $10, available at Portland5.com. Celebrate Portland’s youth poets during our seventh annual Verselandia! poetry slam. This memorable event features students from twelve local high schools competing for poetic glory.
“ Verselandia! encouraged me to write more, and realize that I’m capable of pursuing a creative path in life and be successful.” —Roosevelt High School Student
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OREGON BOOK AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
Literary Arts celebrates and recognizes the remarkable work being created right here in our community through awards and fellowships. â?Ż â?Ż Visit literary-arts.org/calendar for events with local writers and publishers around our state.
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Monday, April 30, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
OR
EG
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AP
BOOK AW AR DS
Oregon Book Awards Ceremony
RIL 3 0, 2018
Gerding Theater at the Armory Tickets
start at just $10, available at BrownPaperTickets.com.
Join your local community for the annual Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, celebrating the state’s most accomplished writers. Our awards ceremony draws hundreds of literary fans to hear the winners announced live. Finalists and winners host workshops and readings across the state during the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour.
2017 Oregon Literary Fellowship Recipients Santi Elijah Holley, Rebecca Owen, Stephanie Adams-Santos, Shayla Lawson, Aja Gabel, Josha Jay Nathan, Kathleen Lane, Amber Keller, and Tamar Shai Bolkvadze.
Local writers and publishers are invited to apply for the 2019 Oregon Book Awards and Oregon Literary Fellowships. ❯ More information at literary-arts.org. 13
DELVE READERS SEMINARS Explore great works of literature in an inviting setting that fosters community and intellectual inquiry. Delve is a perfect combination of a book group and a college English class, but we promise not to assign any essays. Register
at literary-arts.org
Our Access Rate program offers assistance for tuition. ❯ Apply online at literary-arts.org/access. 14
Seminars are limited to 16 participants who will complete designated reading in advance and come prepared to discuss the text in an informal, friendly atmosphere. All classes meet at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR), unless otherwise noted. Here are just a few of the more than 20 courses offered throughout the year: The Contemporary Memoir: Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts, and More
Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents
To Think Things Through: Writers and Artists on the Human Experience
Mondays, November 6–December 11 from 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Tuesdays, January 9–February 13 from 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Thursdays, April 12–May 17 from 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Guide: Melissa Joan Walker, Tuition: $210
Guide: Christopher Rose, Tuition: $210
Guide: Coleman Stevenson, Tuition: $225
Look deeply into new memoir forms that challenge and subvert traditional notions of what constitutes a narrative of “self”, often relying on concision, fragmentation, and theory as much as (or more than) personal story.
Octavia Butler’s Parable series follows a young Black woman as she survives in a world that is slowly nearing its end. In this Delve, we’ll explore how the dystopian setting discusses failure of government while exploring community, race, gender, empowerment, spirituality, and survival.
This seminar meets at the Portland Art Museum.
Reading List:
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, Ongoingness: The End of A Diary and 300 Arguments by Sarah Manguso
Reading List: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Meander through museum galleries and pages of books, exploring commonalities in ways poets and visual artists recreate human experience. Reading List: Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty, Transforming Vision: Writers on Art
❯ Find more seminars online at literary-arts.org. 15
WRITING CLASSES Register for a class and join a community of writers who are serious about their craft. Our classes are small and focused on accomplishing specific writing goals in a supportive and welcoming setting. Register
at literary-arts.org
All of our writing classes have at least one scholarship position available, made possible by a generous gift from Dennis Steinman. ❯ Apply online at literary-arts.org/scholarships. 16
Many of our classes are for students who are writing at all levels, and some are for more experienced writers who are looking to advance their skills. Our instructors are talented working writers, many of them Oregon Book Awards Authors and Literary Fellowship recipients. All classes meet at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR), unless otherwise noted. Here are just a few of the more than 30 courses offered throughout the year: Six Poems in Six Weeks
Memoir Boot Camp
Sundays, October 15–November 19 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. (6 sessions)
Sundays, January 21-March 11 from 2:30–4:30 p.m. (8 sessions)
Instructor: Stephanie Adams-Santos, Tuition: $275
Instructor: Natalie Serber, Tuition: $365
Learn new approaches to generating poems through writing exercises, collaborative writing, and divination tools.
Writing Hybrid Forms Saturday, December 9–Sunday, December 10 from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (2 sessions) Instructor: Shayla Lawson, Tuition: $155
Explore the world of contemporary poetry and commandeer creative license in order to deconstruct the notion of form. Using text from poets like Maggie Nelson and Claudia Rankine, find the space in which hybridity can open your own work to conquer uncharted narratives.
Complete the first draft of a memoir in just eight weeks by committing to a writing schedule and exploring aspects of memory-based writing in a supportive environment.
Establishing a Writing Practice: Training Your Pen and Mind Saturdays, March 17–31 and April 14 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (4 sessions) Instructor: Erika Trabold, Tuition: $275
Benefit from the accountability of a writing group, prompts to get the mind and pen moving, and a foundational philosophy that encourages creativity, flexibility, and exploration. ❯ Find more classes online at literary-arts.org.
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BOOKMARK: A BENEFIT FOR LITERARY ARTS The power of story. The strength of community. presented by
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 Portland Art Museum J oin us for our inaugural fundraiser benefiting all of our literary programs that inspire Oregon’s readers and writers. or more information about purchasing a F table or becoming a sponsor, please contact us at 503.227.2583 x106. 18
Stay tuned for our 2018 fundraiser! We will announce the date and details in early spring.
Make a gift to Literary Arts Literary Arts strengthens our community through shared experiences of stories that deepen our understanding of the world and the people around us. Help ensure our programs remain free or low cost so that our entire community can participate. Join our Leadership Circle
Donate
Your gift of $2,500 or more helps strengthen our literary programming to reach the widest possible audience. For more information, please contact the Director of Development & Marketing, Lydah DeBin, at 503‑227‑2583, ext 106.
❯ Make a gift online at literary-arts.org/donate.
Ticket sales cover just 38% of our programming budget, and we rely on generous donations from individuals like you.
“ Literary Arts plays an essential role in the thriving literary community in Oregon, and it’s so important that their work continues.” —Cheryl Strayed, Oregon Literary Fellowship recipient and Oregon Book Award winner for Wild 19
925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR 97205
Non-Profit Org US Postage Paid Portland OR Permit 1652
Join our mission to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature. CONNECT WITH US! Visit literary-arts.org/calendar for a full list of events and initiatives. Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at literary-arts.org/enews. Join our social network on Facebook.com/literaryarts and on Twitter and Instagram @literaryarts. Stop by our community center in downtown Portland (925 SW Washington Street). Carrie Brownstein reads from her memoir at Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival.