Dear Friend,
Last Wednesday, more than 250 people gathered to listen to the powerful stories of fellow writers. No matter how many Write Around Portland readings I've been to, I am amazed by the bravery and talent of the writers and the warmth and enthusiasm of the audience. This spring reading had many of those moments for me:
...a 94-year old participant reading her writing before an audience for the first time
...a sixth-grader sharing her poem about skateboarding as a metaphor for living
...a man reading his work for all of us, but especially for the other residents of his group home who made a special trip to support him at the reading
Our new anthology, The Top, is out now. You can purchase the books through our office or soon at the bookstores listed on our website. Writer and volunteer workshop facilitator Margaret Malone wrote a beautiful introduction to the book. I know you'll enjoy it.
Hope your summer is off to a great start!
Robyn Steely
Executive Director
P.S. Hope to see you at the Portland Beavers baseball game on June 24th! Details below.
In your June newsletter:
* Write Around Portland at the Beavers Baseball Game - June 24
* Featured writer learns from meeting other people with disabilities, new experiences
* Kicking off the summer with writing workshops
* To Pay My Way With Stories documentary screening
* Contact Write Around Portland, follow us on twitter, become a fan on Facebook
Write Around Portland Night at the Beavers Game June 24
Looking for a fun way to support Write Around Portland while kicking off your summer?
Join us at the Beavers Baseball Game on Thursday, June 24! Write Around Portland fans will fill a section of PGE Park on Thursday, June 24 as the Portland Beavers take on the Fresno Grizzlies at 7pm.
Tickets are $12.50 each. A portion of ticket sales support Write Around Portland.
You must purchase tickets in advance. (There will be tickets on sale at the park, but they aren’t in the Write Around Portland section, and only tickets purchased through our office help raise funds for our programs.)
Contact Beth White at 503-796-9224 to purchase your tickets. See you at the game!
New featured writer enjoys new experiences, hearing other people's stories
"I became disabled five years ago," new featured writer Michael Westrich (photo, above) told us. "I now live on $705 a month from Social Security disability. Through the workshop, I finally met some disabled people. I didn’t really know any other [people with disabilities] before that."
Michael is committed to trying out "totally new and foreign things just to experience them" and attends as many free concerts, movies and events as he can. Learn more about Michael and his experience writing in community on our website.
Summer writing workshops starting soon
We're kicking off our summer workshops in partnership with social service agencies this month. We'll be offering free workshops for low income seniors, adults who are homeless, women in residential drug and alcohol treatment and many others. Click here for information about the workshops and how to register.
You can also join us for our 3rd Thursday and last Sunday workshops at HOTLIPS Pizza on June 17 and 27. The summer Prompt workshop at Powell's City of Books starts in July, and spaces are filling quickly.
"To Pay My Way With Stories" documentary screening
On June 4, 5 and 6 at 7pm, the Hollywood Theater is showing "To Pay My Way With Stories," Brian Lindstrom's documentary about Write Around Portland workshop participants. Brian's film "Old Town Diary" will also be screened.
Contact Write Around Portland
Web: Write Around Portland
Email: info@writearound.org
Phone: 503.796.9224
Mail: 917 SW Oak St. Suite 406, Portland, OR, 97205-2838
