One of the best ways to understand the impact of Write Around Portland’s work is to attend one of our readings. These gatherings are not only a celebration of our participants, but a living example of our mission and our belief that every story belongs.
Our participants spend six to 10 weeks in small writing groups at community partner sites, from schools and affordable housing to shelters and health programs. Together, participants build trust, explore their voices, and write powerful stories. Each season culminates in a public reading and book release, where writers published in the book share their work aloud.
These readings are about more than storytelling: They’re about connection.
“The energy and emotions in the room at a Write Around reading often come from moments of resonance, moments when the person at the podium speaks to your own experience,” says Maya Friedman, Write Around Portland’s volunteer coordinator.
“That resonance is part of the healing that can come from not only writing but sharing your words with others.”
By the end of a reading, what began as a group of individuals becomes a community through their dedicated listening of stories of vulnerability, bravery, loss, and above all – shared humanity.
“Everyone is quiet, listening to the rhythm, to the cadence of voice that bonds us as humans… and then there is this round of applause that reverberates through the room,” shares Brandy Bell, Write Around Portland’s administrative specialist.
Readings are not only celebrations of the work that writers have done over weeks of meetings, but they are also an affirmation that everyone can be a writer. Join us at our upcoming Summer Reading & Book Release on June 7 at the Albina Library and experience it for yourself.