Queer PDXpression - previously Queer Poetry Takeover

04/09/2024

Happy National Poetry Month, y’all! Mark your calendar for the next Q***rPDXpressions on Thursday 4/18 with featured poet Kelsey Atkinson !

Kelsey Atkinson (she/they) is a poet and recent Portland transplant from Chicago whose work combines playful satire with unique rhymes and rhythms, inspired by topics of nature, politics, school, neurodivergency, relationships, and more. They performed for the Slam Poetry team at Oberlin College and continued performing poems and songs at open mics and shows in Chicago. Kelsey has shared their work at social justice events including International Women's Day, LGBTQ+ gatherings, and several animal liberation conferences. They are also a songwriter, guitarist and budding drummer, and enjoy jamming out with friends and seeking out new collaborations. Check out more of their work on Instagram at and their website www.CambiumTrails.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 18th

Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM


203 NW 3rd Ave, PDX

$GAY AF aka - Give As You’re Able, Friends!
(Special shout out to ! Thank you for this acronym!)

Hosted by

Grab your poems. Grab a drink.
Grab some inspiration.

Accessibility: DM us or send an email to q***[email protected] to request ASL interpretation. Please reach out as soon as you can - we’ll do our best to schedule an interpreter!

Masking helps to keep our community safe! We encourage you to mask up while you're not actively eating, drinking, or sharing your poems 💞😷💞

Society Hotel is ADA accessible. Let us know if you have questions!

04/09/2024

Happy National Poetry Month, y’all! Mark your calendar for the next Q***rPDXpressions on Thursday 4/18 with featured poet Kelsey Atkinson !

Kelsey Atkinson (she/they) is a poet and recent Portland transplant from Chicago whose work combines playful satire with unique rhymes and rhythms, inspired by topics of nature, politics, school, neurodivergency, relationships, and more. They performed for the Slam Poetry team at Oberlin College and continued performing poems and songs at open mics and shows in Chicago. Kelsey has shared their work at social justice events including International Women's Day, LGBTQ+ gatherings, and several animal liberation conferences. They are also a songwriter, guitarist and budding drummer, and enjoy jamming out with friends and seeking out new collaborations. Check out more of their work on Instagram at and their website www.CambiumTrails.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 18th

Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM


203 NW 3rd Ave, PDX

$GAY AF aka - Give As You’re Able, Friends!
(Special shout out to ! Thank you for this acronym!)

Hosted by

Grab your poems. Grab a drink.
Grab some inspiration.

Accessibility: DM us or send an email to q***[email protected] to request ASL interpretation. Please reach out as soon as you can - we’ll do our best to schedule an interpreter!

Masking helps to keep our community safe! We encourage you to mask up while you're not actively eating, drinking, or sharing your poems 💞😷💞

Society Hotel is ADA accessible. Let us know if you have questions!

An original collection of poetry, drawings, and music. Satirical poems and songs about politics, nature, college, procrastination, and more.

02/05/2024

Mark your calendar for Q***rPDXpressions on 2/15 at Society Hotel with featured poet Jae Nichelle !

***

Jae Nichelle is a nationally-touring slam champion whose poetry has been featured on Write About Now and Button Poetry. She is the author of God Themselves --- a poetry book that is a salve, psalm, litany, and testimony all at once.

February 15th at Society Hotel
203 NE 3rd Ave

Open mic sign up at 7:30PM
Mic starts at 8:30PM

Grab your poems at see you there! 🎉

***

Need some writing inspo? Check out our highlights for prompts from our 24-hour Poetry Marathon ✨️ ✍️🏾

01/19/2024

Here are our reading/listening recommendations centering q***r Arab & SWANA poets. Links for all of these are in bio:

Listen: “Let Him Rest” - George Abraham

“Safe Harbor in Enemy Homes” - Rasha Abdulhadi

I Want Sky: A digital print collection
Edited by Miriam Bazeed

01/19/2024

Now, for some writing prompts! Thanks to .tolbert - who runs the phenomenal virtual poetry class Trans/Space is Expanding out of Tuscon - for inspiring Prompt #1!

✍️🏾PROMPT #1:
Happy New Year!!!🎉 Just as you greet a New Year, how do you welcome your identity shifts over time?
How do you relate to the familiar? How do you relate to your own newness?

✍️🏾PROMPT #2:
Everyone rings in the New Year differently. Often accompanied with new intentions & resolve. Write about your resolutions or intentions for 2024. What do you want for yourself, your community, or the world?

✍️🏾PROMPT #3:
BRRR! It’s COLD out there!! What does it mean to freeze? What does it mean to you
to thaw?

✍️🏾PROMPT #4:
Have you heard the phrase “Rest is Resilience”? If not, follow

What does it mean to rest? What does the act of resting look like for you? How does it feel to be well-rested?

✨️SHARE✨️
Share your poems on IG, tag ***rpdxpressions, and we’ll feature your work in our stories!

HAPPY WRITING, EVERYONE!!

***rpoetryprompts ***rpoets ***rpoetry

01/19/2024

This year is already off to a busy start! Not gonna lie, this month has gotten away from us. We’re forgoing January Q***rPDXpressions in favor of some much needed rest. We'll see you again next month on Thursday, February 15th, with a venue change! We'll be at Society Hotel downtown!

In the meantime, we'll be sharing writing prompts and recommended reading/listening!

Stay safe and warm out there, everyone!

12/22/2023

12/06/2023

Meet our next December featured poet:

✨️TASHON PHOENIX✨️


Tashon Phoenix is a non-binary creative, in Portland. They paint with words and acrylics, writing lyrics (poems) and creating abstractions on canvas.

Grab your poems. Grab a drink. Grab some inspiration.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21ST
Santé Bar
411 NW Park Ave

$5 suggested donation

Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM

with Tashon & Maxaroni N. Cheese

Hosted by

ASL interpretation available upon request. Please reach out two weeks before the event. Santé Bar is ADA accessible.

11/29/2023

Meet the first of our two December featured poets:

✨️Maxaroni N. Cheese 🧀 ✨️

Maxaroni N. Cheese (they/them) is here and q***r! They are a drag being, poet, dancer, and actor. As an artist, they focus on authenticity and showing resistance through q***r community, joy, and liberation. With a background in theatre and improv, they are a storyteller at heart. Maxaroni is unapologetically passionate about connection, wonder, and playfulness. Always learning and ever-changing, Maxaroni is ecstatic to see what the future holds for their growth and artistry!

“Writing is a realm I can enter freely without the fear of being misunderstood. It is a home for safety, clarity, and honesty—a tender place for my heart to land in whatever condition they may be in.”

-Maxaroni N. Cheese

Stay tuned for the deets on December featured poet:

✨️ Tashon Phoenix ✨️

Grab your poems. Grab a drink. Grab some inspiration.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21ST
Santé Bar

411 NW Park Ave

$5 suggested donation/NOTAFLOF
*Donations support our featured poets & future open mics!

Open Mic Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM

Hosted by

Covid safety: Please keep our community, immune systems, & nervous systems safe by masking up when you're not actively eating, drinking, or sharing your poetry on the mic.

ASL interpretation available upon request. Please reach out two weeks before the event. Santé Bar is ADA accessible.

11/25/2023

Mark your calendar for the next Q***rPDXpressions on THURS 12/21!

Q***rPDXpressions is an audaciously q***r poetry open mic for sharing our words & inspiring each other in community.

Stay tuned for the deets on our two featured poets, Tashon Phoenix & Maxaroni N. Cheese !

Grab your poems. Grab a drink. Grab some inspiration.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21ST
411 NW Park Ave

$5 suggested donation

Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM

Hosted by

ASL interpretation available upon request. Please reach out two weeks before the event. Santé Bar is ADA accessible.

11/25/2023

Mark your calendar for the next Q***rPDXpressions on THURS 12/21!

Q***rPDXpressions is an audaciously q***r poetry open mic for sharing our words & inspiring each other in community.

Stay tuned for the deets on our two featured poets, Tashon Phoenix & Ken (aka Maxaroni N. Cheese) !

Grab your poems. Grab a drink. Grab some inspiration.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21ST
411 NW Park Ave

$5 suggested donation

Sign ups 7:30PM
Show 8:30PM

Hosted by

ASL interpretation available upon request. Please reach out two weeks before the event. Santé Bar is ADA accessible.

11/18/2023

Time for a stretch break before we get into Hour 5! How are y'all doing out there? This is my recommended setup for a Poetry Marathon with plenty of water, coffee, and snacks to keep you going for the next few hours!

Thank you for joining me for this writerly feat! I’ve done this for the past 5 years and have found it to be a phenomenal and challenging creative endeavor. Over the course of a single day, you’ll end up with 24 new poems! That’s enough poetry to create an entire chapbook.

You’ll be using a lot of mental and creative energy. Go at the pace that’s right for you. That might be 1 hour, 6 consecutive hours (quarter marathon), 12 hours (half marathon), or all 24! Spread the prompts out over the course of a month, if that’s more your speed. Make sure to hydrate, take plenty of stretch breaks, and snack breaks!

I hope you enjoy the prompts below. Many of them were crowdsourced during the Q***rPDXpressions poetry open mics in September and October or from friends. I threw in a few of my own for fun, too!

If at any time you get to a prompt that you’re not vibing with, click this link for a random prompt: https://thepoetrymarathon.com/blog/random-prompt

This is more fun when you get to interact with other folks who are writing alongside you. Tag ***rpdxpressions on IG and I’ll add your posts to our stories.

💕

Given