Essay

A Thank You to Portland’s Fashion Scene

Today is my last day as style editor of Portland Monthly after 11 years. Let's walk down memory lane together and check out the hits.

05/07/2021 By Eden Dawn

Essay

Across Three Seasons, Shrill Quietly Revolutionized the Portrayal of Fat Women on Television

The show's success with critics and audiences paves the way for more shows that celebrate fat bodies instead of pathologizing or pitying them.

05/07/2021 By Amy McCarthy Illustrations by Gillian Dreher

Essay

Teen Luz Zamora Grapples with What It Means to Become an Oregon Woman

"I’m a Latina. I’m an Oregonian. I’m an American. And I’m confused about what that all means. "

03/27/2021 By Luz Zamora

Essay

Why Josie and the Pussycats Still Works 20 Years Later

The 2001 box office bomb has become a cult classic. Its respect for the aspiring pop stars at its center might be why.

03/02/2021 By Conner Reed

Editor's Note

From the Editor: Some Like It Hot

Enjoying winter … while we can.

12/22/2020 By Marty Patail

Wellness

How Cannabis Helps Me Get Through 2020

The relationship between cannabis and mental health is complicated, but it’s helped me survive this year in ways it never has before.

12/06/2020 By Jenni Moore

Riding the Rails

Pandemic Travel: A Cross-Country Train Trip from Portland

Taking a ride on Amtrak’s Empire Builder … at the end of empire

12/01/2020 By Steffen Silvis

Essay

Watching My Home State Burn

For those of us who love Oregon, this is a time of grief.

09/15/2020 By Eden Dawn

Viewpoint

Are Drive-In Movies Really Here to Save Us?

Drive-ins are the name of the moviegoing game right now. But can anything replace the shoulder-to-shoulder experience of a sold out screening at the Hollywood?

09/04/2020 By Conner Reed

Essay

Federal Officers and Portland Police Are Working from the Same Playbook

I’ve documented the Portland protests for 50-plus nights. The feds’ tactics are nothing new.

07/23/2020 By Tuck Woodstock

Essay

Can White Portland's Fragility Handle a Megaquake?

Nope. But here we are anyway.

06/16/2020 By Tiara Darnell

Essay

Fight for Your Rights

Award-winning writer and Portland native Mitchell S. Jackson reflects on the sneaky power of protest.

06/10/2020 By Mitchell S. Jackson

Jazz Fest

Thundercat Was at Home Among Jazz Fans at His PDX Jazz Fest Set

The bassist set aside the hits and played dazzling solos for a rapt crowd at Portland Art Museum last Saturday.

03/06/2020 By Daniel Bromfield

The Long View

How Oregon’s Racist History Can Sharpen Our Sense of Justice Right Now

Writer Walidah Imarisha on eight years of talking about the brutal history of race in Oregon.

02/25/2020 By Walidah Imarisha

Essay

Black Girls Matter: Navigating Portland's Systemic Racism as a Parent of Daughters

For us black moms, the safety of our daughters is always on our minds.

01/21/2020 By Kali Thorne Ladd

Sports

Barley Is a Gentle and Beautiful Creature and I Will Protect Them with My Life

A super-serious rebuttal to the Pennsylvania sports insider who called the Hillsboro Hops mascot "terrifying."

04/17/2019 By Brian Breneman

Best Bars 2018: Our Bars, Ourselves

Want to Understand Portland? Get to Know These 10 Bars.

There are many great bars in this town, but these help you make sense of it.

08/14/2018 By Zach Dundas

Essay

Welcome to Portland, the City That's Just Like Your Overachieving Older Sister

You're in Marcia-Land now. Here are all the ways Portland is the most-est.

08/03/2018 By Jimmy Radosta

Summer Reads 2018

Water Aerobics: An Essay by Courtenay Hameister

"I moved to a spot in the shallow end. I admit that I was already judging Molly harshly for her Chinese-character tattoo because I was jealous of her leg muscles."

07/17/2018 By Courtenay Hameister

Real Estate 2018: Paradise Found/Lost

I Left Portland to Escape Crazy Development. But Guess What?

You may not be interested in growth, but growth is interested in you.

03/27/2018 By Leah Sottile