Thursday 4/27: Come celebrate Portland’s creative youth during the sixth annual Verselandia! poetry slam. This city-wide event features students from local high schools competing for poetic glory. National and International Poetry Slam Champion Anis Mojgani will host this year’s competition. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7 p.m., $30 reserved, $10 general admission.
Portland author Grace Mattioli reads from her debut novel, Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees. Local Discoveries, 7 p.m., free.
Friday 4/28: Join The Portland State University MFA students as they host their monthly reading of student and faculty work. Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 5 p.m., free.
Claudia F. Savage reads from her new book, Bruising Continents, with Detroit poet Stephanie Heit and musical guests John C. Savage, Tim DuRoche, and Andre St. James. Ford Food + Drink, 7 p.m., free.
Saturday 4/29: Get ready for Telefon No. 2: A National Poetry Month Reading + Party, curated by Brandi Katherine Herrera and Stephanie Sheldon. Housed inside a 40s antique telephone booth, this year’s installation features new poems on time travel by Stephanie Adams-Santos, Becky Win, Lillian Ruth Nickerson, Leslie Grollman, Jimi La, Jessica Lynne Henkle, and Dao Strom. Noun: a person’s place for things, 6 p.m., free.
Join Poesy, Open Mic for performances by guest poets Sipho Brannen and Stephanie Yu. Ford Food + Drink, 7 p.m., free.
Sunday 4/30: Jami Curl, candy-maker extraordinaire and owner of the Portland-based candy company Quin, reads from her debut book, Candy Is Magic. Powell’s City of Books, 2 p.m., free.
Join Silent Reading Party Portland for two hours of uninterrupted quiet time to read in one of Portland’s most beloved independent bookshops. Expect tea and cookies by donation, and ambient tunes by vinyl. Bring your own book or purchase something new! Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 3 p.m., free.
Monday 5/1: Grief Rites, a monthly storytelling showcase about grief, loss, and love, returns this month with featured local readers Isabel Faith Abbott, Stacy De La Rosa, Meg Weber, Sara Blackthorne, Devon Malone, Theresa Kennedy-DuPay, and Julia Laxer. Post 134, 7 p.m., free.
Emilie Wapnick reads from her new book, How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Tuesday 5/2: The Willamette Writers host Suzy Vitello as she leads a workshop of writing voice-driven narrative. The Old Church, 6:30 p.m., free to members, $5 guests.
Multnomah County Library presents Printz honoree and provocative author A.S. King. Taborspace, 7 p.m., free.
Join Incite: Queer Writers Read for a May Day work-themed reading. Featured readers include Tammy Lynne Stoner, Olivia Olivia, Sylvia Allen, and Martha Shelley. Literary Arts, 7 p.m., free.
Patricia Lockwood reads from her heartbreakingly funny memoir about having a married Catholic priest for a father, Priestdaddy. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 5/3: It’s Rhubarb reading series presents Jessica Mehta, Ophelia Darkly, Tessa Clare, Amy Leona Havin, and Jen Scholten for this night’s reading. The Jade Lounge, 7:30 p.m.
The Mountain Writers Series presents Judith Barrington and Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo reading from their latest poetry. Floyd’s Old Town, 7:30 p.m., $5.
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Notable Portland logo art by Olivia Olivia.
