Organization News
- OPA Contest Results 2025OPA Contest Results 2025 Spring OPA National Poetry Month Contest (judged by Emmet Wheatfall) 1st Place: Ann Heath, “Mary Magdalene Has Second Thoughts about Jesus” 2nd Place: “Reckoning” by Sherri… Read more: OPA Contest Results 2025
- OPA 2025 Conference Workshops Announced!This year there are twelve workshop sessions, including four with either Spanish or Bilingual presentations. We will be posting a detailed description of each presentation with a biography of the… Read more: OPA 2025 Conference Workshops Announced!
- OPA Changes to Constitution and Bylaws – ApprovedAt the 2024 annual meeting, members had approved a motion to allow making changes to the OPA Constitution and Bylaws through a secure poll sent to current members. After an… Read more: OPA Changes to Constitution and Bylaws – Approved
- Call for New OPA Board Members – open until July 31st2026 will be the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Oregon Poetry Association! There could be no better year for you and your colleagues to consider joining the OPA… Read more: Call for New OPA Board Members – open until July 31st
- OPA 2025 SUMMER/FALL POETRY CONTEST – Now Open – Deadline July 28OPA is thrilled to announce four categories and four judges for entries in this year’s contest: 1) OREGON Poet’s Choice: one poem / two pages maximum, any subject, any form.… Read more: OPA 2025 SUMMER/FALL POETRY CONTEST – Now Open – Deadline July 28
Community Calendar
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- 1Poetry in the Round12:30 pm - 2:00 pmA casual weekly meeting of poets and the poetry-curious started in fall 2024. We gather to share poetry—our own and others, classics to hot-off-the-press—in a comfy corner of the Coburg Commons Bookstore & Community Center. Read if you like, or just listen and enjoy. , ...
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- 5First Thursdays6:30 pm - 8:00 pmThe First Thursday Writers & Artists Series is a monthly event designed to bring together writers, painters, photographers, poets, and people who appreciate them, in the inspiring setting of Helvetia Winery. This series will provide a welcoming space for people to connect, share their creative work, and build las , ...Salem Poetry Project featuring Jeremy Trabue7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jeremy Trabue lives in Portland with his wife and daughter. His son attends university in Houston, Texas. He has taught English at Chemeketa Community College in Salem since 2003, where he is now the Program Chair. He is the author of an introductory-level college textbook about poetry titled Listening to Poetry, publi , ... - 6EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 2026 Next Generation Short Story AwardsAll Day
The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories in English. Submissions accepted: Short stories and poems (5,000 words or less) Categories: 30+ Deadline: February 26, 2026 Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category receive , ... - 7CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2026 Next Generation Indie Book AwardsAll Day
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards, currently in its nineteenth year, is the largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. The Indie Book Awards is now accepting entries from independent publishers and authors worldwide who have a book written in English and released in 2024, 202 , ...In Celebration of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renassance7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Emmett Wheatfall – twice nominated Oregon poet laureate, whose versatile poetics has earned him acclaim – believes this opportunity to read Hughes’ poetry pays homage to one of America’s greatest poets. “I feel my poetry journey has made possible the opportunity to be featured in this signature Black History event. Rea , ...
- 8Poetry in the Round12:30 pm - 2:00 pmA casual weekly meeting of poets and the poetry-curious started in fall 2024. We gather to share poetry—our own and others, classics to hot-off-the-press—in a comfy corner of the Coburg Commons Bookstore & Community Center. Read if you like, or just listen and enjoy. , ...Poetry Night at McMinnville Public Library6:00 pm - 8:00 pmSince 2013 we’ve been meeting once a month in McMinnville. We start each evening with a reading from a featured poet, followed by an open mic from the audience. In 2025, we meet on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 6 pm. 2025 Featured Poets Jan 9: Richard Robbins Feb 13: Bethany Lee Mar 13: John Van Dreal Apr , ...The Studio Series Poetry Reading & Open Mic7:00 pm - 7:00 pmFeaturing Ann Farley and Debra Elisa Wöhrmann Ann Farley, an only child of two only children, learned at a very early age to entertain herself by making up stories and playing with words. Her poems have appeared in Peregrine, Timberline Review, Third Wednesday, Gobshite Quarterly, Willawaw, VerseWeaver, and e , ...
- 92025-2026 Visiting Writers Series: Rick Barot6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
LC English welcomes Rick Barot as the fourth of six authors in our 2025-2026 Visiting Writers Series. Rick Barot was born in the Philippines, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and attended Wesleyan University and The Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He has published three books of poetry with Saraba , ... - 10Petrichor’s Child: Within and the Written6:30 pmAn active poetry workshop entitled Petrichor’s Child: Within and the Written will be held monthly on the second Monday of every month, beginning Monday February 10th at 6.30 at Portland Arts Collective, in downtown Portland at 122 NW Couch Street. There are resources guiding our practice and a unique visual monta , ...
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- 12Salem Poetry Project featuring Joe Wilkins7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Joe Wilkins’s debut novel, Fall Back Down When I Die, praised as “remarkable and unforgettable” in a starred review at Booklist, was short-listed for the First Novel Prize from the Center For Fiction and the Pacific Northwest Book Award. Fall Back Down When I Die won the 2020 High Plains Book Award and has now been tra , ... - 13EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 2026 Next Generation Short Story AwardsAll DayThe Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories in English. Submissions accepted: Short stories and poems (5,000 words or less) Categories: 30+ Deadline: February 26, 2026 Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category receive , ...South Coast Writers Conference9:00 am - 12:00 am
Ready to write? Register today for the South Coast Writers Conference February 13 – 14. Space is limited! Find all the details at www.socc.edu/scwriters , ... - 14South Coast Writers Conference12:00 am - 5:00 pmReady to write? Register today for the South Coast Writers Conference February 13 – 14. Space is limited! Find all the details at www.socc.edu/scwriters , ...OPEN: Poet & Producer Jorah LaFleur Presents7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Broken open and beautifully stitched, a collage of heartists offering one unrepeatable night of community togetherness through sound and story, violin and voice. OPEN is a Valentine’s Day invitation to contemplate and celebrate LOVE in its myriad forms. Through a dramatic tapestry of word, music, and imagery, this sho , ...
- 15Poetry in the Round12:30 pm - 2:00 pmA casual weekly meeting of poets and the poetry-curious started in fall 2024. We gather to share poetry—our own and others, classics to hot-off-the-press—in a comfy corner of the Coburg Commons Bookstore & Community Center. Read if you like, or just listen and enjoy. , ...
- 16In Memory Reading Series7:00 pm - 9:00 pmLive featured poet series, with open mic. This month the feature is celebrated Oregon poet Emmett Wheatfall Hawthorne Hideaway (Red Room performance space) 2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd. , ...
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- 19Salem Poetry Project featuring Charles K. Carter7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Charles K. Carter is a queer poet from Iowa who now lives in Salem with their husband and spoiled pets. They enjoy live music, yoga, and theatre. Melissa Etheridge is their ultimate obsession. Carter is the author of Follow This Blood to Find a Dead Thing (Fernwood Press), The God of Loneliness (Rebel Satori Press), an , ... - 20EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 2026 Next Generation Short Story AwardsAll DayThe Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories in English. Submissions accepted: Short stories and poems (5,000 words or less) Categories: 30+ Deadline: February 26, 2026 Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category receive , ...
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- 22Poetry in the Round12:30 pm - 2:00 pmA casual weekly meeting of poets and the poetry-curious started in fall 2024. We gather to share poetry—our own and others, classics to hot-off-the-press—in a comfy corner of the Coburg Commons Bookstore & Community Center. Read if you like, or just listen and enjoy. , ...Humble Poets’ Open Mic4:00 pm - 6:00 pmThe Humble Poets’ Open Mic will be at The Stacks Coffeehouse on the last Sunday of each month, 4:00-6:00pm. The featured reader for May is Frederick Livingston. We are encouraging poets and storytellers to come share their works, and musical accompaniments are welcome as well. The address is 1831 N. Killingsworth , ...
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- 26Salem Poetry Project featuring Amelia Díaz Ettinger7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Amelia Díaz Ettinger is an award-winning BIPOC poet and writer. She is the author of four full-length poetry collections and two chapbooks. Her work appears widely in literary journals and anthologies. Her newest book is Between. She lives in Summerville, Oregon, with her partner, animals, and a thriving garden. For th , ... - 27EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 2026 Next Generation Short Story AwardsAll DayThe Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories in English. Submissions accepted: Short stories and poems (5,000 words or less) Categories: 30+ Deadline: February 26, 2026 Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category receive , ...
- 28Head for the Hills Poetry Series & Open Mic8:00 am - 6:00 pmHead for the Hills has returned to the Hillsdale Library in SW Portland. The last Wed of each month from 6 to 8. Incredible featured readers plus one page poetry open mic. Join hosts: Dale Champlin & Sherri Levine , ...