First Draft Writers’ Series
Third Thursday of each month, always FREE

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Ursula LeGuin reading at First Draft.

The First Draft Writers’ Series brings authors and poets of note to the Pendleton stage to share new work. On the third Thursday of each month people who love the written word gather at the PCA’s Pearson Auditorium to hear our featured authors as well as three to five minute open mic readings by local emerging writers.

“Truly, [First Draft] was one of the best adventures of my writing career, right up there with winning the PNBA awards and being interviewed by Studs Turkel.”   – Craig Lesley

Our Open Mic readers add incredible life to First Draft. Whether you’re a professional, emerging literary artist, amateur or just get a burst of inspiration to write one thing, we’d love to have you read your original 3-5 minute piece for the audience. Up to ten people can sign up each month to share their work after the featured author and a quick Q&A. Just send us a note in the Zoom chat that you’d like to read.

NEXT: Join us for a reading with Leanne Grabel

Thursday, April 17, 2025
7:00 p.m. ZOOM ONLY

Zoom link Here
(Having trouble with the link? Text or call Roberta at 541-310-7413 and she’ll send it to you directly.)

Leanne Grabel Leanne Grabel is a writer, illustrator and performer. In love with mixing genres, Grabel has written & produced numerous multi-media shows, collaborating with various performers, musicians and artists. Grabel graphic memoir, Brontosaurus Illustrated, was published by The Opiate Books in 2022. My Husband's Eyebrows, illustrated prose poems, was published by the Poetry Box in 2022. Grabel’s Old With Jokes, a performance and chapbook, was created for ArtLab 2023. Waiting to Hate, Maybe was finalized and turned into an illustrated book for a Text/Image show that is up now at GA Gallery in Portland, OR. Grabel is the 2020 recipient of the Bread & Roses Award for contributions to women's
literature in the Pacific Northwest. Grabel is a Stanford graduate and a retired special education teacher who spent 20 years working with at-risk youth in the Portland area for Portland Public Schools and Multnomah Education Service District.

Q&A with Leanne:

Are there specific themes that run through your work? A sub-genre that you work within? 

For the past 15 years or so, I have been in love with graphic prose poetry. I started doing at least one illustration per poem and now that is all I want to do. I like a justified block of text visually to go with the image.

I usually write personal narrative, exploring universal human themes—most recently, aging, politics, family life, and so on. I wrote two books about a horrid rape that occurred while I was in college. The most recent is a fully illustrated “stretched memoir” called Brontosaurus Illustrated.

I have also spent years performing my work in collaboration with dancers and visual artists and musicians. Currently, I often perform with my husband doing backup vocals while I use rhythms and chords on a small synthesizer. I guess you could say that I am in love with mixing genres. Poetry for the page now seems a little “dull” to me.

Any interesting anecdotes that would give a feel for your point of view? 

Well, there is always humor in my work, even if the topics are trauma (rape, for instance). If I were braver, I would be a stand-up comedian. When I performed OLD WITH JOKES, my illustrated chapbook about aging, which also included a set of posters and postcards, the audience was roaring. We did show the images as I was performing the piece on a big screen behind us.

Why should someone who doesn’t know much about poetry [or insert your literary arts genre here], or thinks they don’t care for it, experience your work? 

I always try to entertain. When I went to my first poetry reading in 1975 after moving up to Portland from the Bay Area, I decided immediately I wanted to be more performative. I did not want to be a poet droning. So I’ve worked for years to be clear, accessible and entertaining, while also tackling very hard and universal topics. A listener/reader does not need to TRY to understand what I am saying. As I say, I love CLARITY and HUMOR and above all, HONESTY.

Check out the list of esteemed writers who have headlined First Draft since 2013.
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