Writing Culture, 2003 - 2006

Summer 2006: Let Us Now Praise Portland

In 1936, James Agee and Walker Evans, on assignment for Fortune magazine, drove into rural Alabama to document the lives of tenant farmers. The result was their innovative and unruly book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. They followed the biblical injunction to not only “praise ?famous men,” but to shed light on those lesser-known who “have no memorial” but whose wisdom deserves to be told. This workshop was offered in the spirit of that call. Participants wrote from their experiences of the city, witnessing and documenting voices, places, and other aspects of Portland life. During the week, they were paired with local residents who agreed to share a story to be included in the Portland Story Archives.
Instructors: Joanne Mulcahy and Kim Stafford

Summer Institutes, 2003-2005

The Summer Institute is a conference for writers of varied backgrounds and levels of experience. For a week we’ll cultivate new ideas, refine craft, advance form, and consider ethical questions that serve the writer as cultural ambassador. We write together to explore and interpret local knowledge, national and international concerns, and cross-cultural worlds.

From 2003-2005 we featured worksops in poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and ethnographic writing. Our nationally recognized faculty included:

2003
Nathalie Handal
Ted Conover
Luis Urrea
Kirin Narayan

2004
Judith Barrington
Philip Graham
Evelyn C. White
Alma Gottlieb
Francisco Goldman

2005
Marilyn Bowering
Rubén Mart'nez
Wang Ping
Paul Stoller

Northwest Writing Institute
Graduate School of Education
Lewis & Clark College
0615 SW Palatine Hill Road
Portland, Oregon 97219
Phone: 503-768-6162
Fax: 503-768-6165