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2013/2014 Portland Arts & Lectures Season
Click here to renew or purchase a subscription to the 2013/2014 Portland Arts & Lectures season. The 29th season begins on October 8, 2013 with a lecture by Salman Rushdie, the celebrated and controversial international author of eleven novels. Ann Patchett, the author most requested by the audience in a recent survey, will appear November 20, 2013. January 14, 2014 brings Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction author of The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright, whose most recent book is Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief. Graphic novelist and noted cartoonist Chris Ware will appear in conversation with renowned book designer Chip Kidd on February 18, 2014. The season rounds out with one of the most significant and critically-acclaimed Latina writers, Julia Alvarez, on April 3, 2014.
Words Matter
Literary Arts is a community-based nonprofit literary center located in downtown Portland, with a 29-year history of serving Oregon’s readers and writers. Our programs include Portland Arts & Lectures, one of the country’s largest lecture series; Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships, which celebrates Oregon’s writers and independent publishers; and Writers in the Schools, which hires professional writers to teach semester-long creative writing workshops in Portland’s public high schools. We also host guided discussion groups around great works of literature through a program called Delve.
Our Mission
To engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.
Our Programs
Portland Arts & Lectures brings the world’s most celebrated writers, artists and thinkers to our community. In addition to live events that are broadcast statewide on OPB radio, the program connects readers and writers of all ages with classroom visits and workshops.
Writers in the Schools hires professional writers to teach in Portland’s public high schools for semester-long residencies that get students excited about reading and writing and contribute to student achievement in Language Arts. Each year, WITS serves more than 2,800 high school students by teaching writing, extending literary experiences beyond the classroom, publishing student work, and presenting student readings throughout the city.
Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships celebrates Oregon’s writers. The program promotes Oregon’s literature and provides financial support to writers and independent publishers. The Oregon Book Awards Author Tour connects writers and readers throughout the state with readings, workshops and school visits.
Delve: Readers’ Seminars offers the opportunity to explore great books with an experienced guide in the company of other dedicated readers. Seminars are lively, in-depth discussions led by local scholars.
