It's hard to believe that the Literature of Witness weekend is now over! From May 7-10 legendary poet Carolyn Forché (pictured, left, along wit poet and Crab Creek Review editor Kelli Russell Agodon) was in residence at Fort Worden leading a workshop in modes of reading "in witness" and how to write about often difficult events.

A warm weekend of bright sunny skies, cool winds, and great conversation, wine, and late-night gatherings with Carolyn and the Green Keys–the fourteen workshop participants.

And, it's hard to believe, but the weekend ended with the realization that the summer Port Townsend Writers' Conference is now fewer than two months away! All writing workshops have been sold out for several months, but there are two workshops right now that currently have openings: one in poetry, and one in creative nonfiction.

For more than three decades, aspiring writers, readers, translators, and editors have come to Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend to immerse themselves in the writing life.

In the park’s inspiring and supportive atmosphere, such literary figures as Ken Kesey, William Stafford, Margaret Atwood, James Welch, Richard Hugo, Alice Walker, Raymond Carver, Carolyn Forché, Richard Kenney, Terry Tempest Williams, Rebecca Brown, and many, many others made breakthroughs in their creative development through residencies, writing workshops, and readings.  

Whether you come to create new work, learn new techniques, or revise and rethink existing work, the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been since 1973 the center of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene.

The Conference will provide you with several options; you’re encouraged to tailor the schedule to arrive at a custom fit for what works best for you. There will be workshops, freewrites, readings, and activities throughout the day. We encourage you to participate in what interests you, but also to take time and space for yourself to read, write, and reflect. 

Registration is available here, as well as by calling our Registrar at 360.385.3012, x114. To build an experience tailored to your specific needs, just call me at 360.385.3102, x131.