Fall Programs @ The Nature of Words

Introducing the SpeakNOW Spoken Word Competition

This October, The Nature of Words will hold its first spoken word competition, titled SpeakNOW. Open to all high school students in Central Oregon, SpeakNOW is free to enter and winners receive a cash prize and read during the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition Awards Ceremony at the November Literary Festival.
SpeakNOW will take place on October 5 at 7 p.m. at PoetHouse Art, 856 NW Bond Street. Registration will start at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact programs@thenatureofwords.org.

Up Next at The Storefront Project: Spoken Word, Flash Fiction and Poetry

Starting in September, The Storefront Project students will write poetry and flash fiction with Jasper Lotus Hawkins, a recent graduate of Nairopa University’s MFA program in Poetry. In October, students will write and perform spoken word poetry with Micah Bournes, a Bend-based spoken word artist.
The Storefront Project is a free, drop-in after school creative writing program open to all middle- and high-school students. Workshops are every Monday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at NOW’s literary arts center at 224 NW Oregon Avenue. Students of all levels of experience are welcome.

Local Writers and Storefront Project Students Featured During First Friday

The Storefront Project students will be exhibiting their recent work at NOW’s literary arts center during the September First Friday Art Walk on September 2. Students will display broadsides, handbound books, and reading original poetry and stories from 5 to 8 p.m. On October 7, NOW’s First Friday will feature poet and short-story writer Suzanne Burns and poet and Crook County High School English teacher Jim Churchill-Dicks, reading their work from 5 – 8 p.m.

NOW Announces Fall Adult Class

This fall, NOW will offer a nature writing class, featuring Michelle DeSilva, two-time Rising Star Creative Writing Competition winner and librarian at COCC. DeSilva’s class will focus on nature writing and the inspirational landscape of Central Oregon.
Interested writers can contact programs@thenatureofwords.org for class dates and registration information.