Literopolis: A Weekly Look at Portland Literary Events

Monday, January 26, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo Credit: iStock (cropped)

These next seven days will now be known as the Week of Workshops. If you’re a writer, editor, or anyone at all who’s interested in the art and business of writing and publishing, be sure to check out the following workshops and conferences being held in Portland throughout the week. Also be sure to check out the various authors who will be in town celebrating their books.

Kicking off the week on Monday, Luna Jaffe, professional artist, financial planner, and author, will be at Annie Bloom’s Books presenting her book Wild Money: A Creative Journey to Financial Wisdom about exploring your own relationship with money from a creative point of view. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7 pm, FREE

On Tuesday, Broadway Books will be host to the Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, author, editor, and former Senior Minister at the First Unitarian Church in Portland for seventeen years. She will be reading from her latest book Raw Faith: Following the Thread, a memoir building upon her earlier documentary film, Raw Faith which explores her relationship with faith and the longing for love, acceptance, and having a home. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8 pm, FREE

This Wednesday marks the start of the first of “Prompt”, Write Around Portland’s 2015 series of 10-week writing workshop sessions. The program is designed for aspiring writers who want to develop their skills while supporting their community. The registration fee for the program will go towards funding writing workshops for low-income youth and adults. This first workshop will be held every Wednesday at Powell’s City of Books. 1005 W Burnside St., 6:30 pm. Click HERE to register.

Also at Powell’s City of Books on Wednesday, Maria Mutsuki Mockett will be reading from her own book Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye about her journey through grief following both her father’s death and her inability to bury her grandfather’s bones after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30 pm, FREE

Thursday’s yet another busy literature-filled day this week. Literary Arts will be playing host to the PDX Experimental Writing Workshop run by tNY press. Authors Kim Winternheimer, Manuel Abreu, Daniel Bullard Bates, and Brad Garber will be leading a discussion on writing experimental literature, writing exercises, and some workshopping. 925 SW Washington St., 7-9 pm, donations encouraged. Click HERE to sign up.

At Another Read Through on Thursday, local author Linda Vogt will be doing a book launch event for her novel No Thru Road about a newspaper reporter and her best friend attempting to have a peaceful Island vacation and instead get caught up in a murder mystery and environmental clash. 3932 N. Mississippi Ave., 7-8 pm, FREE

Also on Thursday, if you missed attending Marilyn Sewell's reading at Broadway Books on Tuesday, you’ll still have the chance to attend another reading of hers at Annie Bloom’s Books. 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 7 pm, FREE

Patton Oswalt, stand-up comedian, writer, and onstage and voice actor, will be at Powell’s City of Books on Thursday presenting his memoir Silver Screen Fiend detailing his coming-of-age as a writer and stand-up comedian and exploring his powerful love of film. 1005 W. Burnside St., 6 pm, FREE

Finally on Thursday, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior will be at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne talking about her new book All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood in which she steps away from the topic of what effects parents have on their children’s lives to research the opposite – how do children reshape their parents’ lives and how does that effect their role as parents? 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 7:30 pm, FREE

On Friday, award-winning essayist and novelist Brian Doyle will be presenting his newest work A Book of Uncommon Prayer, a compendium of prayers celebrating the small miracles of everyday life at Powell's City of Books. 1005 W. Burnside St., 7:30 pm, FREE

On Saturday, Ooligan Press, PSU’s graduate student-run trade press, will be hosting the annual conference Write to Publish for writers, artists, and other industry professionals. The conference’s goal is to demystify all aspects of the publishing process and help writers navigate their way through unfamiliar terrain. Attendees will have the chance to meet with industry professionals in an intimate setting, attend panels and workshops, and even pitch their manuscripts. Smith Memorial Student Union at PSU, 9am – 5:30pm, $100 for adults, $35 for college students, $20 for high school students. Click HERE to register.

Finally on Sunday, Glyph Café is hosting its weekly Portland Poetry Slam. 804 NW Couch St., 5-7 pm, $5 donation.