For more then three decades, the Port
Townsend Writers' Conference has been at the center of the literary conversation in the Pacific Northwest. However, if you are not a Conference participant, you can still take part in that conversation.

The readings and lectures associated with the Conference – which are free by the way (thanks to our Conference sponsors) – are a true gem in summertime Port Townsend. Artistic Director Cristina García has invited Chris Abani, Erin Belieu, Denise Chávez, Martín Espada, Dana Levin, Ana Menéndez, Bich Minh Nguyen, and Peter Orner to take to the stage for interesting and provocative readings and discussions about the craft of writing.

One of the most compelling speakers is Chris Abani. Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called "the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable." His novels include GraceLand and The Virgin of Flames. Here is a video of Chris Abani at the 2008 TED Conference.

View the complete readings and lectures schedule. And be sure to "like" Centrum's Facebook page, where we'll give you reminders each morning of the day's readings and lectures.