The Essentials

13 Things to See and Do in Portland: January 2019

Radical Canadian dancers, a London R&B queen, Andy Borowitz, and a quadrumvirate of Portland poets are on the calendar this month.

12/21/2018 By Rebecca Jacobson and Fiona McCann

Summer Reads

Summer Reads 2018: Fresh Fiction and Poetry from Top Oregon Writers

It's hammock-reading season, and we've got brand-new words from a slew of local authors.

07/17/2018 Edited by Fiona McCann

Summer Reads 2018

Summer Reads 2018: Fresh Verse from 3 Portland Poets

We've got brand-new poetry from Stephanie Adams-Santos, Shayla Lawson, and Zachary Schomburg.

07/17/2018 By Stephanie Adams-Santos, Shayla Lawson, and Zachary Schomburg

Essay

How Frank Ocean Became One Portland Poet's Muse

Shayla Lawson reflects on the mixtape, the message, the man.

02/27/2018 By Shayla Lawson

The Essentials

13 Portland Shows, Events, and Pure-Genius Things to Know This November

From Joe Biden to Ibeyi to Ta-Nehisi Coates, here’s what you can’t miss this month.

10/16/2017 By Rebecca Jacobson and Fiona McCann

Poetry

Samiya Bashir Will Smash Your Definition of Poetry at TBA

In advance of 15 m = ?, the Portland poet talks race, gender, and survival as an artist of color.

08/31/2017 By Bryanna Briley

Spoken Word

Poets at Pickathon? We're In.

Shayla Lawson may be best known as a poet, but that doesn’t mean she can’t play a music festival.

08/02/2017 By Bryanna Briley

Summer Reads

Summer Reading 2017: Fresh Short Stories and Poems from Top Portland Writers

We've got brand-new stories from Omar El Akkad, M. J. Zellnik, and Karen Munro, plus poems from Trevino L. Brings Plenty, Hajara Quinn, and Cindy Williams Gutiérrez.

07/10/2017 Edited by Fiona McCann

Summer Reads 2017

Summer Reading 2017: 3 New Poems by Top Portland Poets

Fresh verse from Trevino L. Brings Plenty, Hajara Quinn, and Cindy Williams Gutiérrez

07/10/2017 By Trevino L. Brings Plenty, Hajara Quinn, and Cindy Williams Gutiérrez

Theater

Take Unpublished Poems by August Wilson. Add Musical Theater. What Happens?

The result is UniSon, getting its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

03/20/2017 By Rebecca Jacobson

Poetry

Morgan Parker Turns Beyoncé and Gin-Soaked Olives into Electric Poetry

The New Yorker hits Portland with her new book, There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé.

03/07/2017 By Rebecca Jacobson

The Essentials

From a New Shins Album to a Blitzen Trapper Musical, March's Pop Culture Hot List

The album, book, musical event, and poetry collection to know this month

02/20/2017 By Fiona McCann

Culture Cheat Sheet: Books

The Essential Portland Bookshelf: 32 Books That Define Our City and State

Sometimes a Great Notion to Geek Love, these are the texts that express, entertain, and enlighten us.

11/14/2016 By Fiona McCann

Theater

How Do You Make Art from an Envelope of Suicides?

Writer Ben Moorad's new performance series explores life and death through the real-life suicides his grandfather studied.

10/11/2016 By Jason Buehrer

The Long Play

PODCAST: Five Local Writers on Place, Poetry, and Old Portland

Fiction writers Margaret Malone and David Shafer are joined by poets Samiya Bashir, Anis Mojgani, and Elyse Fenton to read their work and talk about Portland as inspiration.

09/01/2016 By Fiona McCann

SUMMER READS

Summer Reading 2016: Brand-New Short Stories and Poems from Top Portland Writers

We’ve got fresh fiction from Margaret Malone, David Shafer, and Diana Abu-Jaber, plus poems by Anis Mojgani, Elyse Fenton, and Samiya Bashir. Dive in.

07/12/2016 Edited by Fiona McCann By Margaret Malone, David Shafer, Diana Abu-Jaber, Anis Mojgani, Elyse Fenton, and Samiya Bashir