Four-day Wordstock event starts today

Larry Colton, founder of the non-profit group Community of Writers, always wanted Portland to have a writing festival.

“I was in Fort Lauderdale several years ago on a book tour, sitting in a bar, and a writer friend asks if we had any great writing festivals in Portland, and at that time there wasn’t any,” said the published author.

Colton sought to change that, bringing Wordstock to Portland for the first time in 2005.

The four-day event, which starts today at the Oregon Convention Center, brings together writers of all kinds and features readings, workshops and other events.

Proceeds from the event will be given to Community of Writers, a non-profit group that promotes the improvement of writing instruction, as well as student achievements in writing in Portland’s K-12 city schools.

The event, now in its third year, includes a number of exhibitions ranging from workshops of hands-on strategies for writers of all levels, book readings from authors such as Carl Hiaasen and Dave Eggers and a book fair showcasing the writing talent of Pacific Northwest authors.

The event will also feature a radio variety show that will be broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting, and a poetry slam with two National Poetry Slam champions. Community of Writers and the City of Portland are sponsoring the event.

The majority of the readings and workshops are scheduled at the Oregon Convention Center.

Greg Netzer, the executive director of this year’s event, said he understands the importance of literary events for Portland residents.

“Wordstock is way of bringing a wealth of literary talent from across the country to Portland for a concentrated weekend of writers, books, and storytelling,” Netzer said.

“It’s like PICA’s TBA [time-based art] festival for book geeks like me.”

Netzer said he expects between 20,000 and 25,000 people will go to at least one of the events at Wordstock.

Colton said he has introduced some changes to the festival this year.

“From a financial standpoint we aren’t spending money for top name authors to come,” he said. “There is not as many superstars but the talent this year all around is top-notch.”

This year, Wordstock is offering a broader range of events, with more focusing on subjects such as graphic novels, sports writing, and poetry, Colton said.

He said he hopes that the average person who comes to an event at Wordstock will get an increased awareness and appreciation of education and literature.

“Writing is all about voice, style and discipline–we want to see that improved in schools,” he said.

Wordstock will be held through Sunday, Nov. 11. For more information, visit www.workstockfestival.com.