Your Custom Text Here
Come and join us for an evening among tall trees, celebrating language. I’ll be reading alongside poet and novelist Chris Abani, novelist and essayist Omar El Akkad, and novelist Kellie Wells.
Come and join us for an evening at the coast, where I’ll be reading alongside poet Joseph Millar and novelist Kimberly King Parsons.
Come join us for an evening on the beautiful Forest Grove campus. I’ll be reading alongside poet Frank X. Gaspar and novelist Laura Warrell.
In this workshop, we will begin with an intriguing premise set forth by Phillip Lopate regarding the writing of personal narrative: “The antidote for defensiveness is self-curiosity.” Indeed it is the curious self, the reflective narrator willing to suspend defensiveness and instead cast back into the past to examine her own role in the dynamic, who is most engaging for the reader. We will spend these hours together discussing and then writing about the human impulse to blame the other, to blame the self, and how it is that the narrator can open up that propensity and instead become curious about her behavior and motivations and reactions. As Vivian Gornick reminds us, “We must know the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”
Limited to 16 participants, contact smkorb@pacificu.edu to register ($125)
Join us every 3rd Saturday of the month for an Artist Talk! This June, we’ll hear from three creatives with an interdisciplinary show reflecting on the wildfires of 2017 and 2020. Each artist draws from personal experience with the fires in this show featuring paintings from Ann Ruttan, photography from Sarah Grew and writing from Apricot Irving.
Artists' Reception with Ann Ruttan, Sarah Grew and Apricot Irving
Join us in celebrating the work of Ann Ruttan, Sarah Grew and Apricot Irving. This interdisciplinary exhibit will feature paintings, photographs and language as vehicles for processing the wildfires of 2017 and 2020 which now visit us annually along the West coast. Meet the artists on First Friday, June 2 from 4-8pm.
Why are there more fires in Oregon and what can be done for community prevention and engagement? Free programs at 11:30am and 1:30pm, both Saturday and Sunday. Talk with representatives from the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office, Portland Fire & Rescue, and the Oregon State University Extension Fire Program, take in Ann Ruttan's gorgeous paintings. I'll be there both days to read excerpts of essays about the Eagle Creek Fire and to listen if you want to share your stories. Free admission May 20-21, 10am-4pm.
We live among forests that are shaped by fire. There are so many actions we can take to protect our homes and communities as fire season approaches. And sometimes it’s important to remember what it felt like to see these beloved forests in flames—and to reflect on everything that we’ve learned, so that we’re grounded and ready for whatever we might be asked to face next. Setting aside time for grief can help build our resilience. And grief (strangely enough) can be an invitation to joy. Beautiful Bridal Veil Lodge, in conjunction with Firewise, is hosting a community writing event on Friday, April 28 from 7-9 pm, with an opportunity to walk along quiet forest paths before sitting down by the fire to write. No writing experience necessary. All ages welcome. This free workshop is for anyone who wants to spend an evening writing under the trees, reflecting on what it means to live in a fire-prone landscape and still keep our hearts open.
Readings at the Nick - a reading and Q&A from “The Gospel of Trees”
Point of View in Memoir: Playing with Perspective
The slow work of untangling our own stories can be an invitation to compassion and playfulness. In this workshop, we’ll hold a scene up to the light and examine it from as many angles as possible. Memoirs are often written from a first-person point of view; what happens when we step back and observe from a different vantage point? What new truths can be discovered about a moment we thought we understood? We’ll explore together how approaching an old narrative from a new perspective creates space for humility, nuance and complexity. Flexible. (ages 18+)
Chautauqua Institute
Saturdays, 3:00 – 5:00 PM EST - $135 (Feb. 20 – March 20, 2021)
(Flexible format - Ages 18+)
The way that we listen determines the stories that we will be told. In this course, we will analyze and practice the strategic art of listening with empathy (a very different skill set from the back-and-forth banter of conversation). Whether we are writing our own family history, an essay about an encounter with a complicated fellow human, or a novel, the nuance and complexity of our prose will only be strengthened by listening to those we perceive as different from ourselves. At this precise moment in history, when divides can feel uncrossable, listening across difference can help us to tell the story whole–and it strengthens our resilience as humans and as writers. Students are invited to bring excerpts of their own prose-in-progress, or undertake a new project inspired by the course. Come prepared to take risks, be playful and brave connection.
The Cannon Beach Library's NW Authors Series hosts author Apricot Irving on Zoom Saturday, October 10th, 2020. She gives a moving talk about her experiences in Haiti through her award-winning memoir “The Gospel of Trees” and reads from her latest article about wildfires in Oregon.
Author Apricot Irving in conversation with Deborah Reed at the Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, Oregon.
Join us for a Spring Break afternoon on the Oregon coast, playing with words.
Point of View in Memoir: Playing with Perspective
In this workshop, we’ll expand the possibilities of the narrative voice by holding a scene up to the light and examining it from as many angles as possible. Memoirs are often written from a first-person point of view, but what happens when we expand those boundaries and tell the story from a different vantage point? What new truths can be discovered about a scene we thought we understood?
Community Partners for Affordable Housing signature fundraiser and well-respected literary event, includes dinner, silent auction, and local authors signing books available for purchase.
https://cpahinc.ejoinme.org/HWB2020
Ready for a furiously fast and fun hour of Literary Bingo? Join Lilla Lit for another round at Lit Crawl PDX November 8, at CENTRL Office. Got similes? Satire? Snakes? BINGO! Candy will be flung. Prizes will be won (by some). Bring your best game.
Our all-star lineup of Lilla friends: Becca Clarren, Kate Gray, Apricot Anderson Irving, Missy Ladygo, Gigi Little, Jessica Mehta, Elizabeth Scott, and Natalie Serber.
Visiting Writer Series at Chemeketa Community College
Free Reading - Wednesday, November 6th, noon - Gretchen Shutte Art Gallery
Evening workshop on Tuesday, November 5, 5–9 p.m.
Chemeketa Salem Campus
$50, CRN: 35452 2019
Point of View in Memoir: Playing with Perspective
In this workshop, we’ll expand the possibilities of the narrative voice by holding a scene up to the light and examining it from as many angles as possible. Memoirs are often written from a first-person point of view, but what happens when we expand those boundaries and tell the story from a different vantage point? What new truths can be discovered about a scene we thought we understood?
The Mid-Willamette Valley’s premier literary event, The Magic Barrel: A Reading to Fight Hunger, is held each fall in Corvallis, Oregon, to raise funds for Linn Benton Food Share. This unique event which began in 1993 is named after Bernard Malamud’s short story collection, The Magic Barrel, and features writers from around Oregon sharing their fiction, poetry, and works of nonfiction in brief readings.
2019 line-up: Barry Lopez, Mosley Wotta, Apricot Irving, George Estreich, Lauren Kessler, Suzy Vitello, Wendy Willis, Keith Scribner, Joe Wilkins, Sterling Cunio
The evening begins and ends with live music, beer, and wine, with all proceeds benefiting Linn Benton Food Share. The audience enjoys readings by novelists, poets, short story writers, and nonfiction writers. Courtesy of Corvallis’ local bookstore Grass Roots Books and Music, the authors’ books are made available to buy at the event, with all proceeds donated to Linn Benton Food Share.
The event is supported by a major contribution from the OSU Center for the Humanities at Oregon State University, where Malamud once taught, and is organized by a group of Corvallis writers and readers.
An award-winning literary reading series. Events are held quarterly, on the third Sunday, from 4-6pm.. Each event features six authors, reading for eight minutes each on a specific theme.
• August 18: Truth and Reconciliation
Apricot Irving, Chelsea Biondolillo, Rebecca Clarren, Melissa Duclos, Michael Jarmer, Sara Rivara, Genanne Walsh, and John Sibley William
The Corkscrew Wine Bar is our venue, located at 1665 SE Bybee Blvd Portland, OR, 97202 http://www.corkscrewpdx.com
Please join us for a conversation about mistaken certainties and the missionary impulse.
Part history, part memoir, I Am a Stranger Here Myself taps the deepest dimensions of human yearning: the need to belong, the snarl of family history, and embracing womanhood in the patriarchal American West. Debra Gwartney becomes fascinated with the missionary Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, the first Caucasian woman to cross the Rocky Mountains and one of fourteen people killed at the Whitman Mission in 1847 by a band of Cayuse. Whitman’s role as a white woman drawn in to “settle” the West reflects the tough-as-nails women in Gwartney’s own family. Arranged in four sections as a series of interlocking explorations and ruminations, Gwartney uses Whitman as a touchstone to spin a tightly woven narrative about identity, the power of womanhood, and coming to peace with one’s most cherished place.
A quarterly literary reading series at SE Portland’s Leach Botanical Garden featuring poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on the evening’s theme. Join us from 4–6 PM on the third Sundays of February, May, August, and November, for food, drink, books, nature, culture, community, and readings from Portland writers and beyond.
Whether it’s a winter reading held in the warmth of the Fireplace Room or a summer afternoon under the trees on the Manor House terrace, the landscape and environment of Leach Botanical Garden infuses each reading with beauty.
Admission is sliding scale, with a suggested donation of $10. Food and drink are served.
The series is named after botanist Lilla Leach who, with her husband John, created the house and garden that is today Leach Botanical Garden. Every aspect of Lilla’s life story is captivating—her adventures and discoveries, her dedication to exploration and education, and her long and loving relationship with John. It feels fitting that a reading series held in her home be a continuation of Lilla’s own story.
www.lillalit.com
www.leachgarden.org
Clackamas Community College’s annual creative writing conference – Compose – features a full day of workshops from local authors and publishers. This year, we are offering workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, publishing, and more!!
Schedule for the Day:
8:45am-9:15am / Registration
9:30am-10:30am / Welcome Address
10:45am-12:15pm / Workshops
12:30pm-1:30pm / Lunch
1:45pm-3:15pm / Workshops
3:30pm-5:00pm / Workshops
Our Creatives confirmed so far (with more to be added soon):
Kate Gray
Kate Ristau
Tabitha Blankenbiller
Stephanie Lenox
Dennis Stovall
Brett Warnock
Trista Cornelius & Robin Vada
Melissa Duclos
Apricot Irving
Courtenay Hameister
Jessica Wadleigh
Wendy Willis
Stevan Allred
John Sibley Williams
Workshops 3:30pm-5:00pm
Point of View in Memoir: Playing with Perspective
In this workshop, we’ll expand the possibilities of the narrative voice by holding a scene up to the light and examining it from as many angles as possible. Memoirs are often written from the first-person point of view, but what happens when we expand those boundaries and tell the story from a different vantage point? What new truths can be discovered about a scene we thought we understood?
Apricot Irving is the author of The Gospel of Trees, the 2019 Oregon Book Award winner in Creative Nonfiction. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and her reporting/writing has appeared on This American Life, Granta and On Being. She lives in the Columbia River Gorge.
RSVP to https://beachbooks37.indielite.org/contact to reserve a spot
Cost: $35 includes catered lunch and autographed copy of The Gospel of Trees
An afternoon of reading and conversation with three Oregon Book Awards authors:
Apricot Irving, THE GOSPEL OF TREES, winner of the Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction
Beth Wood, LADDER TO THE LIGHT, winner of the Reader’s Choice Award
Leni Zumas, author of the novel RED CLOCKS, winner of the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction
Join us for the 2019 Oregon Awards Ceremony, hosted by Cheryl Strayed on April 22 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory.
The Oregon Book Awards honor the state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers. Oregon Literary Fellowships provide financial support to Oregon’s emerging and established writers and publishers.
2019 OREGON BOOK AWARD FINALISTS
SARAH WINNEMUCCA AWARD FOR CREATIVE NONFICTION
Judges: Amy Fusselman, Paul Lisicky, Terese Mailhot
manuel arturo abreu, Incalculable Loss (Institute for New Connotative Action Press)
David Biespiel, The Education of a Young Poet (Counterpoint Press)
Apricot Irving, The Gospel of Trees (Simon & Schuster)
Dionisia Morales, Homing Instincts (OSU Press)
Meaghan O’Connell, And Now We Have Everything (Little Brown)
The winners will be announced live at the Ceremony on April 22.
For a list of the 2019 Finalists in all categories, and to buy tickets for the Oregon Book Awards, visit Literary-Arts.org
https://literary-arts.org/what-we-do/oba-home/
