When you are already here
you appear to be only
a name that tells of you
whether you are present or not

and for now it seems as though
you are still summer
still the high familiar
endless summer
yet with a glint
of bronze in the chill mornings
and the late yellow petals
of the mullein fluttering
on the stalks that lean
over their broken
shadows across the cracked ground

but they all know
that you have come
the seed heads of the sage
the whispering birds
with nowhere to hide you
to keep you for later

you
who fly with them
you who are neither
before nor after
you who arrive
with blue plums
that have fallen through the night

perfect in the dew

— To the Light of September by W.S. Merwin

Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Portland is holding a poetry festival fundraiser for l’école buissonnière, a new nonprofit dedicated to building and sustaining spaces for art, literature, translation, and scholarship. The festival begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, and continues through 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7. It features out-of-town poets visiting Portland for the first time and special celebrity guests reading their work. Admission includes participation in a live auction, surrealist games, music, dancing, and workshops. The four-day event will feature a Saturday performance by Portland band Sama Dams. Tickets start at $28 and are available here.

Sponsor

Later this month, Cannon Beach Library will host a new Local Authors Festival, part of the library’s NW Authors Series. Thirteen published Northwest authors, including Kerry Blaisdell, Zoë Bossiere, Mindy Hardwick, Marc C. Johnson, RJ Marx, and Marianne Monson, will read from historical fiction, nonfiction, fiction, and other genres. The family-friendly event will give adults a chance to connect with writers while children enjoy a coloring contest with prizes awarded in three age categories. Admission is free to the event, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. Winners of the library’s month-long Fall Fundraiser raffle and silent auction will be announced.

WEEK 1: SEPT. 1-7

Author Reading: Chelsea Bieker and Leslie Stephens
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Chelsea Bieker, Portland author of Godshot, will read from her newest novel, Madwoman, a story of motherhood, loss, and the perseverance of women, focusing on a character who must keep her past a secret from her husband and children. “This book made me laugh and cry. It reads like a thriller and a love song. It’s about being crushed and rising strong,” Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, said of the work. Bieker will be joined in conversation by Leslie Stephens, creator of the popular Substack, Morning Person, and author of You’re Safe Here.

WEEK 2: SEPT. 8-14

Tre Johnson in Conversation With Rebecca Clarren
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Cultural critic Tre Johnson will read from his new essay collection, Black Genius. Using personal and professional stories, the release examines how Black American culture has been “the lifeblood of American ingenuity” and asks the reader to contemplate what Johnson presents as obvious examples of genius. Johnson will be joined in conversation by Rebecca Clarren, author of the Oregon Book Award winner The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance.

Will Potter in Conversation With Abby Martin
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Will Potter, award-winning investigative journalist and TED Senior Fellow, will read from Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth From Farm to Fable. The new book from City Lights records a journey that led Potter from factory farms to international climate summits, from Congressional hearings to neo-Nazi fascist groups. Potter exposes authoritarianism in the global food-supply chain and confronts disturbing information often unseen in the news. Potter will be joined in conversation by investigative journalist Abby Martin.

Sponsor

Poetry Reading With Eve Müller and Friends
Presented by Tsunami Books
5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13
Tsunami Books
2585 Willamette St., Eugene
Free

Eve Müller will read from Birds and Saints, her new book-length poem about Rajneeshpuram, a controversial religious community in Central Oregon in the 1980s that was the subject of the documentary Wild, Wild Country. Her book will uncover some of the group’s darker truths while examining why those drawn to it felt the desire to belong. Müller will be joined by authors Kelly Terwilliger, Erica Goss, Amedee Smith, Jenny Root, Kelly Eastlund, and Charles Castle.

Belmont Art Collective Reading & Pre-Reading Writing Prompt
Presented by Up Up Books and Belmont Art Collective
5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13
Up Up Books
1211 S.E. Stark St., Portland
Free

Join members of the Belmont Art Collective for an inaugural reading of poetry and fiction featuring local authors. The evening will begin with a nature-inspired writing exercise in the workshop space, followed by Karolinn Fiscaletti, Karah Kemmerly, Carolyn Supinka, and Alex Terlecky reading from their newest releases and works in progress. Registration is free, and the Belmont Art Collective is accepting donations to be contributed to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition

WEEK 3: SEPT. 15-21

Author Reading: Carlos Reyes
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Carlos Reyes, Portland-based Irish-American poet, author, translator, and three-time finalist for the prestigious National Poetry Series, will read from his newest poetry collection, A Choice from Two Pockets. According to fellow poet Lisa Steinman, “Carlos Reyes has been writing and working on the behalf of poetry for years, enriching the world with poems that attend to the less noticed things and people in the world in language that is both accessible and carefully honed.”

Author Reading: Bill McKibben
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
$38, tickets include admission and book

Sponsor

Bill McKibben, renowned American environmentalist and author,  will be at Powell’s City of Books to discuss his new release, Here Comes the Sun. McKibben tells the story of our sudden spike in power from the sun and wind, chronicling the arrival of inexpensive solar energy, which has the potential to lessen the impacts of climate change. While overcoming Big Oil presents a huge obstacle, McKibben sees a chance for a new civilization more reliant on solar energy.

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner in Conversation With Lindsey Mantoan
Presented by Powell’s Books
4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner will read from his new book about Broadway sensation Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist. Pollack-Pelzner tells Miranda’s story from his childhood in an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan to winning multiple awards, including a Pulitzer Prize for the musical Hamilton, and beyond. Drawing on more than 150 interviews with Miranda’s family and friends, Pollack-Pelzner explores Miranda’s artistic vision. Pollack-Pelzner will be joined in conversation by Lindsey Mantoan, Ronni Lacroute Chair in Theatre Arts and an Associate Professor at Linfield University.

WEEK 4: SEPT. 22-30

Author Reading: Daniela Naomi Molnar and Diana Arterian
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Daniela Naomi Molnar, visual artist and author, will read from her new book-length poem, PROTOCOLS: An Erasure. Molnar transforms the world’s most influential antisemitic document, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, into an erasure piece, reclaiming the poem while considering questions of power, history, and language. Through redaction, Molnar turns a hateful text into a poem filled with light. She will be joined by Diana Arterian, poetry editor and author of the poetry collection Playing Monster:: Seiche.

Waterston Desert Writing Prize Ceremony 
Presented by High Desert Museum
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25
High Desert Museum
59800 U.S. Highway 97, Bend
$10, museum members receive a 20 percent discount

Join 2025 Waterston Desert Writing Prize recipient Heather Quinn and others in celebrating her recent award. Keynote speaker is Dan Flores, award-winning author who will give a presentation titled “The Coyote Is the Dude, the Dude Abides, and the Adventures Continue.” Guest judge Beth Piatote, writer, professor, and language activist, will join Flores and Quinn at the ceremony. The evening will feature a reception and program at 7 p.m. with a book signing at 8:30 p.m.

Sponsor

Holding: Karleigh Frisbie Brogan in Conversation with Jon Raymond
Presented by Literary Arts
6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29
Literary Arts
716 S.E. Grand Ave., Portland
Free

Karleigh Frisbie Brogan, 2024 Oregon Literary Fellow, author, and contributor to The Atlantic, will read from her memoir, Holding. The book, whose events take place in Brogan’s hometown in Northern California, tells the story of a young couple who are heroin addicts and the complex relationship among parents, family members, and chosen family. Brogan will be joined in conversation by Jon Raymond, winner of an Oregon Book Award and author of God and Sex.