#Virtualandia 2021 Event Program

LITERARY ARTS PRESENTS

2021 Grand Slam Championship April 29, 2021

The mission of Literary Arts is to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.

LITERARY ARTS’ YOUTH PROGRAMS Each year, Literary Arts’ Youth Programs serve more than 4,000 public high school students through a variety of literary opportunities.

In the Classroom • Writers in the Schools: semesterlong creative writing residencies.

• School visits by local and worldfamous authors.

• College Essay Mentoring Project: helping students with college and scholarship application essays.

In the Community • Student readings at local bookstores, cafés, and virtually.

• Publication of student work in annual anthologies and chapbooks.

• Youth writing classes and free admission for high school students at Portland Book Festival.

In the Concert Hall

Ramiza Koya was the Director of Youth Programs at Literary Arts from 2017–2020, and was a long-time WITS writer before that.

Ramiza passed away on June 5, 2020 after a long battle with cancer.

She is the author of The Royal Abduls, from Forest Avenue Press and earned her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Her fiction and nonfiction appeared in publications such as Columbia Review, Lumina, Washington Square Review, and Mutha Magazine. She had been a fellow at both MacDowell Colony and Blue Mountain Center. Her father was born in Fiji, her mother in Texas, and she was born in California.

• Students to the Schnitz: offering transportation, books, and tickets to attend Portland Arts & Lectures and Special Events.

Learn more at literary-arts.org.

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Thank you to our sponsors:

Words from our directors Literary Arts is proud to present #Virtualandia!, our first virtual youth poetry slam championship. Tonight, high school students from the Portland metro area will perform their original poetry for an online audience of people from across our community.

It is an honor to partner with public school librarians, teachers, administrators, slam poets, community judges, and families, as we work together to spread the news and support this digital initiative showcasing student creativity. Our collective efforts have resulted in a dynamic competition that reached dozens of participants who have been narrowed down to tonight’s 10 finalists—an immensely talented group of students representing high schools across our city.

We want to thank our sponsors for making this event possible. Their generous support provides opportunities for students to share their stories here in the digital realm, as well as in the concert hall and out in the community. We acknowledge and celebrate Nancy Sullivan and the PPS librarians for founding Verselandia!, our beloved city-wide poetry slam, that inspired tonight’s event.

We hope you enjoy tonight’s event. If this is your first experience with Literary Arts, we invite you to visit literary-arts.org to learn more about our other events and programming.

Again, thank you for joining us, and for showing up for our youth.

With gratitude,

Andrew Proctor Executive Director Literary Arts

Emilly Prado Director of Youth Programs Literary Arts 3

Tonight’s Slam THE RUNDOWN Welcome

Andrew Proctor, Executive Director of Literary Arts Emilly Prado, Director of Youth Programs MC

Anis Mojgani

THE RULES 1 Each poem must be an original piece by the poet.

2 Poets may not use props, costumes, or musical instruments.

3 Poets may not go more than ten seconds over the time limit.

Tabulation: A poet’s final score is tabulated from the remaining three scores after the highest and the lowest are tossed out.

Calibration Poet

Alana Anderson from Franklin High School’s performance will help warm up the judges.

Round 1

All submissions: $25 Powell’s gift card 10th–6th place: $100 Powell’s gift card

Ten poets, chosen in random order, will each have three minutes to perform.

5th place: $150 Visa gift card

Round 2

2nd place: $750 Visa gift card

Five finalists will each have three minutes to perform their second poems.

1st place: $1,000 Visa gift card

Performance by Anis Mojgani Winners Announced and Prizes Awarded!

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THE PRIZES

4th place: $250 Visa gift card 3rd place: $500 Visa gift card

Students Performing Tonight Sophia Atkins, Lincoln High School Gigi Bareilles, Franklin High School Jazlynn Davis, Parkrose High School Jourdan Dimoff, Grant High School Anna Gunderson, Franklin High School Emma Hayes, Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School Lilli Rudine, Franklin High School Shala Santa Cruz Krigbaum, Franklin High School Sadie Wallsmith, Grant High School Jordan Wolmut, Benson High School The Crew Championship Judges: Se-ah-dom Edmo, Maurice King, Mitchell S. Jackson, S. Renee Mitchell, Karis Stoudamire-Phillips Workshop Facilitators: Alex Dang, Jacque Dixon, Julia Gaskill, Jordan Wolmut, Jolly Wrapper Math Master and Time Keeper: Olivia Jones-Hall First Round Judges: Kathi Inman Berens, Carmen Teresa Bernier-Grand, Alex Brehm, Sandra Childs, Liz Crain,Tavé Fascé Drake, Celesta M Espinoza, Amelia Diaz Ettinger, Karla Forsythe, Meg Griffitts, Sara Guest, Kisha Jarrett, Michael Jonas, Brandon Lenzi, Briana Linden, Mary L Manning, Bill Merritt, Abby Nixt, Corrine Oishi, Liz Olufson, Ramón Pagán, Ann Whitfield Powers, Emilly Prado, Amy Prosenjak, Jennifer A. Reimer Recio, Dey Rivers, Sarah Rothenfluch, Karena Salmond, Alanna Sousa, Adam Strong, Alicia Tate, Kim Weyler, AC. Wiggan, Carl Wilson, Hannah Withers #Virtualandia! Intern: Charity Yoro #Virtualandia! Co-Producers: Olivia Jones-Hall and Emilly Prado

MC: Anis Mojgani is Oregon’s current Poet Laureate and the author of five books of poetry. His work has appeared on HBO, NPR, and in journals Bat City Review, Rattle, Buzzfeed Reader, Thrush, and Forklift Ohio, amongst others. A two time National Poetry Slam Champion and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, Anis has done commissioned work for the Getty Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Portland Timbers, and has been awarded artist residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, AIR Serenbe, and the Bloedel Nature Reserve. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Portland, Oregon, where he serves on the Board of Directors for Literary Arts. His latest collection is In the Pockets of Small Gods.

Logo Designer: Lucy Anderson is a selftaught artist, an aspiring concept artist for a gaming studio, and a current student at Gresham High School. She helped create the logo for the #Virtualandia! event. She has her own small shop on RedBubble called LucyCreates. This is her first time showcasing her art on such a large scale.

Besides logo work, she likes doing character art, animation, and painting.

Thanks Many thanks to the numerous librarians, teachers, youth, administrators, and parents who informed their community about #Virtualandia! and helped us put together this event! Our swag was printed by Level Headed Press and designed by Aaron Secrist.

We thank Nancy Sullivan and fellow PPS Librarians, founders of Verselandia!, for their ongoing partnership and for designing the beloved slam poetry competition that inspired East Side Slam! and this virtual iteration.

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ABOUT LITERARY ARTS Our mission is to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.

ENGAGE READERS: Portland Arts & Lectures brings the world’s most celebrated writers, artists, and thinkers to our community and connects readers and writers of all ages through classroom visits and workshops.

Portland Book Festival brings writers and readers of all ages together to celebrate a shared passion for books. This past year’s Festival was all online and free for all, running from November 5–21, 2020. View recordings of the virtual events at PDXBookFest.org.

Delve Readers Seminars cultivates community around the shared experience of reading. By gathering around books, we engage in dialogues with authors we love and artists who show us new perspectives.

The Archive Project Radio Show and Podcast features the most sought-after recordings from our Portland Arts & Lectures series, the Portland Book Festival, and other community events. Each week, new lectures are available to stream for free. Listen on OPB Radio Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m., on our website at literary-arts.org/archive, or wherever you get your podcasts.

SUPPORT WRITERS: Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships supports, promotes, and celebrates Oregon’s writers and publishers. In addition to awards and fellowships for emerging and established writers, the program also offers writing classes and literary events at our downtown center and produces the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour, which connects writers and readers throughout the state. In 2020 we awarded 150 Oregon writers, who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency funds of $1,000 each, with priority given to BIPOC writers.

INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION: Youth Programs inspires public high school students to write, publish, and perform their own creative writing. Writers in the Schools residencies bring working writers into classrooms.

Students to the Schnitz gives young people access to great books and influential authors.

The College Essay Mentoring Project pairs mentors with college applicants. And the annual Verselandia! and East Side Slam poetry slams showcase high school spoken word artists.

For more information, or to make a gift in support of our programs, visit our website at literary-arts.org.

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WHO WE ARE Literary Arts Staff Andrew Proctor, Executive Director Sophie Albanis Maggie Allen Amanda Bullock Lydah DeBin Jennifer Gurney Hunt Holman Olivia Jones-Hall Brandon Lenzi Allegra Lopez Jessica Meza-Torres Susan Moore Jules Ohman Liz Olufson Emilly Prado Valeria I. Ramirez Jyoti Roy Literary Arts Board of Directors Amy Prosenjak, Chair Jill Abere David Angeli Joan Cirillo Ginnie Cooper Amy Donohue Ann Edlen Sarah Gibbon Betsy Henning Jonathan Hill Mitchell S. Jackson Maurice King Deidra Miner Anis Mojgani Justice Adrienne Nelson Corrine Oishi Katherine O’Neil Ramón Pagán Bob Speltz Dennis Steinman

Jeoffrey Tichenor Chabre Vickers Amy Wayson Strunk & White Society An honorary society of distinguished advisors Gwyneth Gamble Booth Nancy Bragdon Larry Colton Theo DownesLe Guin Bart Eberwein Brian Gard Molly Gloss Carrie Hoops Jodi DelahuntHubbell Cecelia Huntington Susheela Jayapal Julie Mancini Brenda Meltebeke Jessica Mozeico Diane Ponti Michael Powell Per Ramfjord Halle Sadle Steven Taylor Jacqueline Willingham Thomas Wood Steve Wynne Development Council Bob Speltz, Chair Jill Abere Ann Barden Joan Cirillo Ginnie Cooper Amy Donohue Ann Edlen Sara Guest

Maurice King Jan Oliva Andrew Proctor Amy Prosenjak Chabre Vickers Jacqueline Willingham Carl Wilson Thomas Wood Patron Advisory Council Katherine O’Neil, Chair Jill Abere Seth Alley Kim Bissell Marian Creamer Kieran Curley Rebecca DeCesaro Marilyn Epstein Sarah Gibbon Susan Hathaway-Marxer Earl Hines Kristi Wallace Knight Phillip M. Margolin Katherine McCoy Carolyn McKinney Vanessa McLaughlin Lora Meyer Nancy Ponzi Anna Raman Jim Reinhart Barbara Sepenuk Roslyn Sutherland Kate Tuominen Kim Weyler Marcia Wood

Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships Advisory Council Anis Mojgani, Chair Tom Booth Nancy Boutin Julie Dixon Abbey Gaterud Betsy Henning Rhonda Hughes Cecelia Huntington Linda Leslie Meghan Moran Jyothi Natarajan Corrine Oishi Dennis Steinman Armin Tolentino Youth Programs Advisory Council Jonathan Hill, Chair Carmen BernierGrand Sandra Childs Jacque Dixon Bob Geddes Andre Goodlow Mary Hirsch Maurice King Briana Linden Andre Middleton Deidra Miner Anis Mojgani Joanna Rose Karena Salmond Claudia Savage Nancy Sullivan Catherine Theriault Amy Wayson Tracey Wyatt Sharon Wynde

Portland Book Festival Advisory Council Joan Cirillo, Chair Edward AshMilby Kathi Inman Berens Katie Boland Julie Bunker Liz Crain Sarah Gibbon Elina Lim Josha Nathan Justice Adrienne Nelson Olivia Olivia Katherine O’Neil Steph Opitz Craig Popelars Jon Raymond Sarah Rothenfluch Heidi Schulz Rob Spillman Alicia Tate Sage Van Wing Lidia Yuknavitch Gail Zuro Vision Plan Committee Ann Edlen, Chair Joan Cirillo Ginnie Cooper Amy Donohue Theo Downes-Le Guin Greg Goodman Susheela Jayapal Corrine Oishi Andrew Proctor Amy Prosenjak Jon Raymond Nathan Sasaki Jill Sherman Bob Speltz Dennis Steinman Chabre Vickers Tom Wood

Literary Arts: 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR 97205 Phone: 503-227-2583 Online: literary-arts.org You can also like us on Facebook.com/literaryarts or follow us on Twitter or Instagram @literaryarts.

Literary Arts is supported in part by:

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Celebrating thinkers, makers and doers.

91.5 FM | Full Spectrum News LA_4.75x3.75_2020.indd 1

OREGONLIVE.COM

12/18/20 5:31 AM

THIS IS OUR STORY There is a thread that ties this broad community together, connecting us all — urban and rural, stranger and friend, through history and hardship, shared goals and personal dreams. It’s our story, as Oregonians, all in it together. And we at The Oregonian/OregonLive are proud to help tell that story every minute of every day.

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Literary Arts Youth Programs Supporters Literary Arts receives generous support from individuals, businesses, and foundations. Thank you to those who have given $100 or more to our Youth Programs, between April 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.

Jill & Ken Abere AHA Broadway Books Kelley Burkett & Nicholas Kuhn Judy Butler Ellyn Bye Joan Corcoran Marian Creamer Michael E. Davalt Rebecca & Michael DeCesaro Theodore & Nancy Downes-Le Guin Lainie Ettinger Sarah Felix & Susan Fry First Tech Federal Credit Union Sarah & Kurt Gibbon Susan Hathaway-Marxer & Larry Marxer Henry L. Hillman, Jr. Foundation Herbert A. Templeton Foundation Hines Warner George & Arlene Janis Juan Young Trust Kinder Morgan Foundation Maurice & Dori King Geoffrey Koch Kathryn Madison & Jeffrey Wertz Phillip M. Margolin Carolyn & Larry McKinney Margaret McSorley Lora & Jim Meyer

Judy S. Moore Johanna Nelson & James Bohem Barry & Jane Newman NM Boedecker Foundation Katherine O’Neil & Toby Graff Alfred & Eileen Ono Oregon Arts Commission Oregon Public Broadcasting Martha Pedden Nathan Picklesimer Regional Arts & Culture Council Ruth Roth Melinda Samis Alan Schroeder Barb & Norm Sepenuk Leonie & Richard Smith Steel Crazy, Inc. Laura Stepp Ann M. Stinson Stoel Rives LLP Donald & Roslyn Sutherland John & Sandra Swinmurn Swinmurn Family Foundation Stephanie & John Volkman Kristi Wallace Knight & Eric Wallace Kim Weyler Clif & Patty White Merri Souther Wyatt

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This staggering passage from Homegoing changed me the moment I read it.”

— Abby AHA Account Executive

The need to call this thing ‘good’ and this thing ‘bad,’ this thing ‘white’ and this thing ‘black,’ was an impulse that Effia did not understand. In her village, everything was everything.

Everything bore the weight of everything else.

— Yaa Gyasi Author, Homegoing

ahainc.com

T O

Coming to Portland Arts & Lectures on May 18

AHA has been a creative partner with Literary Arts for nearly 10 years. Because we believe in the transformational power of words, ideas and new voices.

CONGRATS

#VIRTUALANDIA

FINALISTS! www.bodeckerfound.org

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YAA GYASI