Literary Arts has a very Portland mission: engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.

The nonprofit was founded in 1984 with hopes of attracting a few authors and thinkers to the Pacific Northwest. In the 32 years since, Literary Arts has evolved into one of the largest lecture series in the country. They feature over 2,000 speakers and readers for each lecture they host. And they’ve gained national recognition as a comprehensive center for writers, publishers, readers, and lovers of literature.

They also offer many programs to help cultivate creativity in writers and speakers of all ages. These programs include:

Portland Arts & Lectures: A gathering of the world’s  most celebrated writers, artists, and thinkers into the Portland community.

Writers in the Schools:  Inspiring public high school students to write, revise, edit, publish, and perform their own creative writing.

Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships:  A program that supports, promotes and celebrates Oregon’s writers and publishers.

Wordstock – Portland’s Book Festival:  an event that builds community around literature by celebrating writers and readers of all ages through author events, workshops, a book fair, and more.

Delve Reader’s Seminar:  which engages readers in exploring challenging books in lively discussion-based seminars led by an experienced scholar.

If you’d like to get involved with Literary Arts visit here for contact information and a list of programs and upcoming events.

This week on PRP.fm’s award-winning Community Voices series, we feature from the 2014 archive, Literary Arts. Interview sessions with members of the organization, produced and edited by Robert Parish, can be found below.

Andrew Proctor, Executive Director (Part 1)

Andrew Proctor, Executive Director (Part 2)

Verselandia 2014 Winner Bella Trent

Verselandia 2014 First Runner-up McKinley Rodriguez

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