Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

— Excerpt from Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth

Mid-March marks the start of spring and Smallpresspalooza’s celebration of Small Press Month. The 14th annual marathon reading of work by small-press authors will be hosted by Kevin Sampsell, writer and Powell’s Books small-press champion.

The event, which takes place March 16 at Powell’s City of Books, features an lineup of readings by authors Alex Behr (Grief Stick), Jason Arias (Nostradamus 2032), Kurt Baumeister (Twilight of the Gods), Aditi Machado (Material Witness), Frances Badalamenti (Many Seasons), Colin Keating (Smoking at Disneyland), Rin Stone (Everything Is Closed on Sunday), Raki Kopernik (No One’s Leaving), Roberto F. Santiago (Like Sugar), Joshua Escobar (Demons of Eminence), Rachel Lee-Carman (Digging #19), Amanda E.K. (The Risk It Takes to Bloom), and Joshua Pollock (Narcan Incantations). The first reading will begin at 4 p.m., with new readings every 15 minutes. Attendance is free, but seating is limited.

Throughout the month, join Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston for a series of events across the state. Events open to the public include a poetry workshop and reading March 7 at Dallas Public Library, Poetry Out Loud on March 8 in Salem, an evening of Waterston’s reflections on her first six months as poet laureate March 11 at the Downtown Bend Library, a March 15 poetry workshop called “Down to the Studs” at the Downtown Bend Library, and a reading March 18 in La Grande’s Cook Memorial Library. For details on Waterston’s upcoming events as Oregon’s 11th Poet Laureate, visit her website.

Toward the end of the month, join Visibly Invisible for their 2025 Visibly Invisible BIPOC Women’s Poetry Slam at 7 p.m. March 27 in Portland’s Alberta Street Pub. Presented by SISTAS Empowerment Corp., Visibly Invisible’s mission includes honoring and empowering Black women and women of color whose contributions to their communities often go unnoticed. The organization will host the Visibly Invisible Unsung Sheroes Poetry Slam, highlighting voices and stories of BIPOC women through a competition where the final-stage slam winner receives $5,000. Tickets are available here.

WEEK 1: MARCH 1-7

Author Reading: Lidia Yuknavitch and Fellow Corporeal Writers
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, March 3
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Corporeal Writing members Lidia Yuknavitch, author of Thrust; Janice Lee, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Portland State University; Katie Collins-Guinn, creator of The Stoner Babes; Domi Shoemaker, co-founder of Corporeal Writing; and Daniel Isaiah Elder, 2018 Lambda Literary Fellow will read from their latest works.

Book Co-Launch Party: Michelle Kicherer and Bristol Vaudrin
Presented by The Old Portland Wine Bar and Odditorium
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 4
The Old Portland Wine Bar, Odditorium stage
1433 N.W. Quimby St., Portland
Free

Michelle Kicherer, San Francisco Chronicle and Willamette Week writer, will read from her new novella, Sexy Life, Hello. The book is a dark comedy about a nanny who also works as a porn star’s sexter. She will be joined by Bristol Vaudrin, who will read from her newly released book, Afterward. Vaudrin’s novel considers the messiness of life and looks at flaws with a sense of humor. The event will include a Q&A, book signings, and a no-host wine and snack bar. Participants that RSVP will receive a “giveaway goodie.”

Writes of Spring: Part 1 – Ides of March
Presented by Fishtrap
6 p.m. Tuesdays, March 4, 11, 18
Fishtrap
107 W. Main St., Enterprise
$120, $110 members

Amy Minato, Literary Arts Fellowship recipient and author of Siesta Lane and poetry collections Hermit Thrush and The Wider Lens, will lead an all-ages, genres, and experiences workshop exploring storytelling and trauma writing. The series will consider effective stylistic techniques that transcend genre as participants lean on each other for support and community. Registration is required and financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

Poetry Reading: Dan Raphael and James Grabill
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Thursday, March 6
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Dan Raphael, author of 26 books of poetry and a host of KBOO’s Talking Earth program, will read from his newest release, In the Wordshed. In his book, “he seeks a chaos calculus, a flame retardant formula, a mathematics that can name the crashing,” and melds surrealism and history to ask compelling questions. He will be joined by James Grabill, reading from Stray Dogs & Irreversible Cars, a collection of lyrical poetry that considers our connection to the ecosystems that allow us to evolve.

Reading & Book Chat With Elizabeth Costello and Mary Rechner
Presented by Up Up Books
7 p.m. Thursday, March 6
Up Up Books
1211 S.E. Stark St., Portland
Free

Elizabeth Costello, editor, novelist, and co-founder of ekphraestival, will read from her forthcoming book The Good War, described as “dark and intense” by Publishers Weekly. She will be joined by Mary Rechner, high school teacher and author of Marrying Friends and Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women. After the readings, both authors will chat with the audience.

Gorge Book Festival
Presented by Columbia Arts & Waucoma Books
Thursday-Sunday, March 6-9
Columbia Center for the Arts
215 Cascade Ave., Hood River
Festival pass is $25; events range from free to $40

The inaugural Gorge Book Festival will celebrate writing and storytelling with four days of workshops, special events, talks, and author readings. The event will include book signings and activities, and feature more than 20 writers, including Taylor Wolfe, Molly Schwarz, Willy Vlautin, Emmeline Duncan, Kim Stafford, Chris Vega, Lydia Valentine, Jessamyn Duckwall, Anis Mojgani, Gabriel Urza, and others.

7th Annual Writers Read Celebration
Presented by Cannon Beach Library
7 p.m. Friday, March 7
Cannon Beach Library
131 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach
Free

During the library’s 7th Annual Writers Read Celebration, 13 Oregon authors will explore the theme of “rising tide” through poems and stories. The celebration will take place both in person and online and features writers John Ciminello, Deanna Duplechain, Christie Ellis, Kristi Lund, Mimi Maduro, Colleen Medlock, Russell Myers, Jennifer Nightingale, Grace Page, Robert Michael Pyle, Florence Sage, Phyllis Thompson, and Evan Morgan Williams.

WEEK 2: MARCH 8-14

2025 Author Event: N.K. Jemisin
Presented by Library Foundation of Hillsboro
4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8
Embassy Suites
9355 N.E. Tanasbourne Drive, Hillsboro
$40 general admission, $15 streaming and students

N.K. Jemisin, bestselling fantasy author and 2020 MacArthur Fellow, will participate virtually in a live interview streaming from New York. Jemisin will be interviewed by Wendy N. Wagner, Portland-based Shirley Jackson Award nominee and author of the forthcoming Girl in the Creek, about her career and dissident themes throughout her works. Viewing of the virtual interview will take place in person and be available to stream online.

Poetry Reading: Karen Rigby, Brittney Corrigan, Genevieve DeGuzman, and Joan Naviyuk Kane
Presented by Up Up Books
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11
Up Up Books
1211 S.E. Stark St., Portland
Free

Karen Rigby, Arizona-based author and National Endowment for the Arts literature fellow, will read from her new collection of poems, Chinoiserie. She will be joined by Brittney Corrigan, Portland poet and author of collections Daughters, Breaking, Navigation, and 40 Weeks. Corrigan will read from her new book, Solastalgia, a collection of poems about climate change, extinction, and the Anthropocene Age. Portland-area poet Genevieve DeGuzman will join them, reading from her forthcoming collection Karaoke at the End of the World. Reed College creative writing professor Joan Naviyuk Kane will also read from one of her many published collections.

Author Reading: Ariel Gore
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Friday, March 14
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Ariel Gore, California-based journalist and memoirist, will read from her book, Rehearsals for Dying, which chronicles the life of Gore and her wife after the latter is diagnosed with breast cancer. From learning about the medical system to experience with awareness campaigns, Gore takes the reader on a difficult journey encompassing empathy, humor, and insight. She chronicles the moments, good and bad, that are seldom seen, and considers what it means to live with cancer in the current age.

WEEK 3: MARCH 15-21

Author Reading: Lynnell Edwards
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Wednesday, March 19
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Lynnell Edwards, poet and educator, will read from her newly released collection The Bearable Slant of Light. The book examines the histories and experiences of artists who have struggled with mental illness through documentation of clinical assessments, medications, and more. Edwards considers the lightness and the dark that come with dealing with illness and its management.

How Women’s Liberation Transformed America: Conversation With Clara Bingham
Presented by Jackson County Library Services
11 a.m. Thursday, March 20
Online via Zoom
Free

Clara Bingham, journalist and author, will discuss her new book, The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973, online via Zoom. She will engage the viewer in an oral history of the decade that defined the feminist movement and describe her experience at the forefront of the modern feminist crusade. Through a feminist lens, Bingham will consider the oscillating state of “women’s awakening” and chronicle its organization between 1963 and 1973.

WEEK 4: MARCH 22-31

Flash Memoir Workshop: Spill Your Guts
Presented by Co/Lab
10 a.m. Sunday, March 23
PDX Eastside Jewish Commons
2420 N.E. Sandy Blvd., Portland
Free

Leanne Grabel, poet, performer, writer, and author of Old With Jokes, will lead a flash memoir workshop as part of Co/Lab’s Art/Lab Jewish artist workshop program. In this class inspired by the works of Roz Chast, Maira Kalman, Alison Bechdel, Ellen Forney, and Nora Krug, participants will write concise, clear, and descriptive pieces. Grabel will also instruct on simple techniques that can be used by experienced and novice visual artists to cleverly illustrate their work.

Author Reading: Karen Finley
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Wednesday, March 26
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Karen Finley, American performance artist, musician, poet, and educator, will read from her book COVID Vortex Anxiety Opera Kitty Kaleidoscope Disco. Finley processes her feelings about the pandemic and its complexity, divulging her experiences with coping strategies, isolation, and loss during social separation. Throughout her work, Finley reflects on the collective trauma of the pandemic with words of compassion, understanding, and humor.

A Conversation With Judith Barrington
Presented by Up Up Books
2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29
Up Up Books
1211 S.E. Stark St., Portland
Free

Judith Barrington, poet, memoirist, and author of Virginia’s Apple and Lifesaving: A Memoir, will discuss methods for writing short-form and book-length literary memoirs and take ideas, questions, and book recommendations from the audience. The event is free to attend, but advance registration is highly recommended.