November 4, 2015
Page 15
Stoked for Wordstock
C OnTinued frOm f rOnT
the only women of color at the
event either. Nearly a fifth of the
presenters will be people of color,
and just over half of them will be
women.
The festival will be split in half
between local/regional authors
and out-of-state ones, meaning
that it while it will give Portland-
ers and visitors alike a chance to
familiarize themselves with local
writers, it will also allow them
to learn more about the literary
world at large.
“The goal from the beginning
was to build a festival with some-
thing for everyone,” said Bullock.
“I hope that Portland will find that
is true at Wordstock this year.”
Literary Arts also stepped for-
ward this year with its first ever
Writers of Color Fellowship,
which received nearly 50 ap-
plicants in June and will be an-
nounced along with their seven
other award winners this Janu-
ary. A visiting African-American
poet Claudia Rankine will serve
as Literary Arts’ February artist
in residence, and the Multnomah
Portland Observer about their in-
teraction with Wordstock and their
latest books.
“I’m so excited to be coming
back to my home town like this,”
said Watson. “I started writing
This Side of Home back when I
was junior at Jefferson. I didn’t
even have words yet for things
like ‘gentrification.’ I remember
the Fred Meyer’s on MLK being
transformed into a police precinct.
I remember feeling the city chang-
ing. And I just started writing. And
to be able to come home and be
honored for my writing and help
bring diversity and show kids that
black women can be authors, and
that is so much for me.”
Sandra Cisneros admitted that
this being her first time at Word-
stock, she didn’t know much
about it going in, but that she’s ex-
cited to be a part of it this year, and
to share work from her new book,
A House of My Own and to host
the festival’s film night.
“Portland is such a literary
city,” said Cisneros. “Like Buen-
oes Aires or Rome, you feel liv-
ened up being there. It’s a city
where people love to read.”
And as it turns out, it’s also a
city that loves to write. This year’s
Wordstock will also feature a
number of writing workshops, in-
cluding an opportunity to work in
small classroom setting with Wat-
son herself. Her workshop will
focus on the places we call home,
and how we critique and celebrate
those places. The workshop itself
costs $45 and participants must World-acclaimed Chicana author Sandra Cisneros makes her first
register ahead of time.
visit to the Portland literary festival ‘Wordstock’ Saturday to share
Watson and Cisneros won’t be work from her new book, ‘A House of My Own.’
Renée Watson, author of ‘This Side of Home,’ returns to her
Portland roots to participle in ‘Wordstock,’ Portland’s annual book
festival.
County Library plans to give away
up to 7,000 copies of The Book of
Unknown Americans by Cristina
Henriquez for this year’s Every-
body Reads.
Wordstock will be held on Sat-
urday, Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. at the Portland Art Museum.
Entry is $15 and includes admis-
sion to the museum for the entire
day, events and readings through-
out the festival, and a $5 voucher
to spend at an extensive book fair,
where visitors can discover a new
poetry press, pick up information
about studying creative writing
academically, get recommenda-
tions from the library workers
and pick up festival authors books
from Powell’s.Private workshops
are additionally priced, but all reg-
istration fees include admission to
the festival. All attendees 17 and
under and anyone with a valid
high school student ID can attend
the festival for free. For more in-
formation, visit literary-arts.org/
what-we-do/wordstock.
This page is sponsored by Oregon Lottery
R
2015
C alendar November
SUNDAY
1
Daylight Savings
Time Ends
National Author’s Day
All Saint’s Day
National Family
Literacy Day
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
2
Daniel Boone born,
1734
International Space
Station Opened in
2000
3
National
Sandwich Day
4
Gail Haley
born, 1939
First Wagon Train
Reached CA (1841)
King Tut’s Tomb
Discovered (1922)
FRIDAY
5
Guy Fawkes Day
6
National
Nachos Day
SATURDAY
7
Hug-a-Bear Day
Scientist Marie Curie
born in 1867