Highbrow Magazine - portland https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/portland en Top Literary Cities in the U.S. https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3859-top-literary-cities-us <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/books-fiction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Books &amp; Fiction</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 03/28/2014 - 10:59</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1literary%20%28Stephen%20Cummings%20FLickr%29.jpg?itok=6PP_PNny"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1literary%20%28Stephen%20Cummings%20FLickr%29.jpg?itok=6PP_PNny" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>What determines a city as ‘literary?’ It’s not enough to have a large library, unique bookstores, or be the birthplace of a famous writer. Nor is it enough to be one of the <a href="http://millionairecorner.com/Content_Free/Top-5-Most-Literate-Cities.aspx">top literate cities</a> in the United States  Most literary cities have a strong writing program at one of their numerous colleges and universities, as well as bookstores and institutions hosting event after event. If anything, a literary city is a blend of the historical, cultural, and modern parts of literature, encouraging and inspiring future generations to appreciate and take part in the literary world.</p> <p>Below are a handful of popular literary cities (besides New York City) in the U.S.:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Iowa City</strong><strong>, IA</strong></p> <p>One of Iowa City’s literary claims is its strong writing programs:  the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (Flannery O’Connor graduated from here), the International Writing Program, and the nation’s leading non-fiction writing program -- to name a few. In addition, Iowa City is the only U.S. city that is a designated <a href="http://cityofliteratureusa.org/">“City of Literature” by UNESCO</a> (the others are all international), meaning the city promotes and encourages diverse literature and literary events. Other programs that solidify Iowa City as a literary city: Poetry in Public, which highlights local writers and displays their work on buses and in parks.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2literary%20%28dewitahs%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:474px; width:625px" /></p> <p><strong>Washington</strong><strong>, D.C.</strong></p> <p>The Library of Congress, the world’s largest library,  resides in the capital city with over <a href="http://www.loc.gov/about/history-of-the-library/">158 million items</a>—36 million of which are cataloged books and 69 million of which are manuscripts. On top of that, D.C. also has the Folger Shakespeare Library, a haven for the Bard’s biggest fans. The city boasts multiple bookstores—Politics &amp; Prose being the most famous—and has many reading series, poetry festivals and workshops as yearly staples. Busboys and Poets (whose name is a nod to Langston Hughes) is a restaurant-lounge-bookstore-event space that hosts poetry readings, slams, open mic nights and panels. <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/gallery/walking-tours/dc/index.html">The Poetry Foundation</a> also holds tours in D.C. (as well as in Chicago and NYC) that highlight areas relevant in the lives of poets past and present such as Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Myra Sklarew.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Atlanta</strong><strong>, GA</strong></p> <p>Margaret Mitchell put Atlanta on the literary map, when she penned her epic novel <em>Gone With the Wind</em>, but the city has more to offer than Southern Belles and top-notch barbeque. There are a variety of writing programs, reading series, bookstores, and publishers for literati. Emory University was named the <a href="http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/the-10-best-american-colleges-for-writers?utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_source=ExactTarget&amp;utm_campaign=%25%25__AdditionalEmailAttribute1%25%25">#1 Best American College for Writers</a> in 2011,  and budding writers can get published in <em>The Atlanta Review</em>; visit the <a href="http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org/About-Us/">Georgia Center for the Book</a>; or attend Dragon Con Atlanta or the Atlanta Queer Lit Festival.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3literary%20%28Wiki%29.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>San Francisco</strong><strong>, CA</strong></p> <p>October 7, 1955: Allen Ginsberg <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ginsberg-reads-howl-for-the-first-time">reads his poem ‘Howl’</a> for the first time in public at Six Gallery on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. This moment is credited as the birth of the Beat Generation. Besides this pivotal event in literary and U.S. history, San Francisco was also home to many other writers, journalists, and editors including Robert Milne, Herb Caen and Alice B. Toklas. The West Coast’s oldest library also calls San Francisco home—the Mechanic’s Institute Library was founded in 1854 for out-of-work gold miners. Today, the city by the bay is still a hub of literary activity. David Egger’s nonprofit organization, 826 Valencia, assists students and teachers with their writing.  Residents and visitors also have the city’s annual literary festival<a href="http://www.litquake.org/"> LitQuake</a>, which gave birth to the LitCrawl. Nearby U.C. Berkeley also boasts a top-rated English Lit. department, second only to Yale, and the anchor of the literary scene in S.F. is still City Lights Bookstore, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s unique collection of books in North Beach.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Chicago</strong><strong>, IL</strong></p> <p>One of Chicago’s literary festivals is the Printer’s Row Lit Fest, which celebrates its 30<sup>th</sup> anniversary this year. The festival started as a way to draw crowds to Printer’s Row neighborhood, which was Chicago’s bookmaking center, and is now considered one of the biggest free literary events in the Midwest (think panels, bookstalls, lectures, and reading). Chicago is the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, and home to the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Chicago is also home to <a href="http://www.quimbys.com/">Quimby’s</a>, an indie bookstore that specializes in independently published books, zines, and comics—as well as the Myopic Books Poetry series. The <a href="https://www.awpwriter.org/">Association of Writers and Writing Programs</a> has held its’ writing conference in Chicago three times in the past 10 years.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4literary%20%28JeffGunn%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:640px; width:480px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Boston</strong><strong>, MA</strong></p> <p>Boston may be primarily known for the American Revolution, but it was and still is a great literary city. Boston was home to famous writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Sylvia Plath. The city has a thriving literary scene with multiple reading series: there’s the New England Poetry Club, which is the oldest reading series in the U.S; the Boston National Poetry Month Festival in April and the Boston Book Festival in October. There are a few literary groups that meet as well, such as the Boston Haiku Society and Bagel Bards, where members get together and give each other feedback as well as have readings. Library and bookstore-wise, there’s the Boston Athenaeum (its collections numbers more than half a million volumes), the Cambridge Public Library, the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, and Lame Duck Books, which specializes in rare literature. Currently, independent writing center Grub Street won a planning grant from the Massachussets Cultural Council to <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2013/10/26/author-slept-here-boston-literary-community-pushes-for-literary-cultural-district/AYGRJvKI44OXzQIQU8CPjP/story.html">create a literary district</a> in Boston. If they succeed, it would be the U.S’ first literary district.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Portland</strong><strong>, OR</strong></p> <p>Nowadays, Portland is known as the home to the IFC comedy skit series ‘Portlandia.’ The city is as quirky and charming as portrayed, and it also has a big literary presence. First off, the ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohk-Ey01c9k">feminist bookstore’</a> does exist in Portland—In Other Words is a nonprofit, feminist community center with a bookstore for a storefront, a lending library and an event space. They’re stocked with mostly queer and feminist literature. Powell’s City of Books is one of the biggest independent bookstores: it has four floors with color-coded rooms, has its own Rare Books room and takes up an entire city block. Portland also has plenty of resources for writers: The Writer’s Dojo offers workshops and memberships with access to the space, and the Independent Publishing Resource Center is a must for the production of zines, books, comics and more. Reading series include the Portland Arts &amp; Lectures and the Mountain Writers Series. To complete a literary stay, there’s the <a href="http://portlandlibrary.heathmanhotel.com/request.aspx">Bedside Book Package</a> at the Heathman Hotel, which has over 2000 autographed books for guests to borrow.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/6literary.jpg" style="height:467px; width:623px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Gabriella Tutino is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/literary-cities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">literary cities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/literature" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">literature</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/arts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the arts</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bookstores" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bookstores</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/famous-bookstores" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">famous bookstores</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/iowa-city" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">iowa city</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/berkeley" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Berkeley</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/san-francisco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">San Francisco</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/portland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">portland</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/boston-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">boston</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/atlanta" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">atlanta</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-york-city" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New York City</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/washington-dc" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Washington DC</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/authors" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">authors</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/writers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">writers</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/writing-programs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">writing programs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chicago" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chicago</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Gabriella Tutino</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Stephen Cummings (Flickr); dewitahs (Flickr); Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:59:12 +0000 tara 4504 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3859-top-literary-cities-us#comments Hello Portland, Home of Hipsters, Foodies and Breathtaking Scenery https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1627-hello-portland-home-hipsters-foodies-and-breathtaking-scenery <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/travel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Travel</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 10/03/2012 - 14:50</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/portland-portland.jpg?itok=c_VHR5e7"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/portland-portland.jpg?itok=c_VHR5e7" width="318" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Aside from skinny jean-clad peeps wallowing around and being ironic, Portland has a lot to offer. And yes, people will say “Hi” to you in this town of trees, friendly folks, serious coffee and bounties of craft beer.<br /> <br />  </p> <p><strong>Nature, Please</strong><br /> Though not on par with Seattle’s rain, Portland often sees light drizzles that last a few days. The city also sees wet winters that include snow and ice. Avoid visiting December-March if you want to participate in outdoor activities.<br /> <br /> Portland is known as the City of Roses. International Rose Test Garden is a great place for a romantic and/or leisurely walk. April through October is the best time to see thousands of rose bushes.<br /> <br /> The Lan Su Chinese Garden is a lovely break from the hustle-bustle of the city. It features hundreds of China’s 30,000+ plant species. You can take a guided tour or relax in the Teahouse, with beautiful views just outside.</p> <p><br /> Forest Park is a fun adventure, with trails for hiking, walking, and running. Its Wildwood Trail (30.2 miles long) is part of the <a href="http://www.40mileloop.org/history.htm">40-Mile Loop</a> system, which makes Portland’s wonderful natural lure accessible from various areas.<br /> <br /> Sauvie Island, another outdoor escape, is 10 miles north of Portland. Sturgeon Lake is there for swimming and kayaking, and Walton Beach is the main beach area. There’s also Collins Beach, which is a mile long and has been partially a nude beach since the 70s.<br />  </p> <p>Waterfront Park is also a relaxing place for a leisurely walk or run. Check out the Saturday Market, with local arts and crafts and food booths. It’s the biggest continually operating outdoor arts and crafts market in the country, according to its Website.</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/portlandMounthood%20%28Irisha%20Z%29.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px" /><br />  </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Coffee Talk</strong><br /> <br /> Stumptown Coffee Roasters has gained worldwide attention and is still revered as Portland’s best by many locals. The seeds are hand-picked, beans are roasted locally with precise care, and the cups are affordable. There are five locations in Portland and two in Seattle. Check out the one on Division Street to see where it all began. In 2009, they opened one in New York City, located on W. 29th St. The coffee is offered at various other establishments throughout New York City.<br /> <br /> There are many other independent roasters worth checking out. Barista in the Pearl District, Heart Coffee Roasters, Water Avenue Coffee, Public Domain Coffee, Coava Coffee Roasters, and Ristretto Roasters are good ones to refuel and hang out.<br /> <br /> World Cup Coffee is another gem, and has a location in Powell’s City of Books. Grab a cup and browse the store, which takes up an entire block and is filled with more than a million unique books, new and old.<br />  </p> <p><strong>Suds</strong></p> <p><br /> With 31 breweries, Portland has become a craft beer mecca. You can take a brewery tour along Distillery Row or sip at any number of brewpubs, which brew and sell beer on site. BridgePort Brewpub, located in the Pearl District, is one popular spot.<br /> <br /> Local breweries include Full Sail, Bridgeport, Hair of the Dog, Cascade, and Rogue in Newport.<br /> <br /> Also check out the architecture of the Weinhard Brewery Complex, where the Blitz-Weinhard Brewery ran for 140 years. Grab a beer at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern, which opened in 2004 in the Brewhouse Building. Choose from over 100 beers on top, kept cold by a special ice rail on the bar top.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumportland%20%28georgeMiquilena%20Wikipedia%29.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Come Hungry</strong><br /> <br /> NW 23rd Ave. is a great place for shopping and restaurants, but food knows no limits in Portland. Definitely a foodie town, here are some suggestions of places to eat.<br /> <br /> Experience the legendary and infamous <a href="http://voodoodoughnut.com/">VooDoo Donuts</a>, where you can eat one of 90 different donuts -- and get also married. Though in the past they had a NyQuil donut laced with Pepto-Bismol, the offerings are a little more sane these days. And yes, they hold wedding ceremonies with donuts and coffee included.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.montageportland.com/">Le Bistro Montage</a>, in the Central Eastside Industrial District, is one of Portland’s most celebrated restaurants, with a Creole/Cajun menu. Get the mussel shooters.<br /> <br /> Another restaurant, now with locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, is Pok Pok. Southeast Asian fare can be found here in an informal setting.<br /> <br /> Craving pig’s ears? It’s the signature dish at <a href="http://www.aviarypdx.com/">Aviary</a>, and it’s served over coconut rice with Chinese sausage and avocado.<br /> <br /> At <a href="http://beastpdx.com/">Beast</a>, unleash your wild side with food from Top Chef Master/James Beard finalist Naomi Pomeroy. The restaurant features a six-course tasting menu that changes weekly.<br /> <br /> Watching films while dining is now the latest trend to sweep Portland. Enter movie brewpubs, a natural progression in the marriage between dining and entertainment. Food, a movie, and a house-made brew never sounded better. Check out <a href="http://www.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1975826_1975753_1975741,00.html#map">The Kennedy School, The Mission, or The Bagdad</a> for good food and cinematic viewing.</p> <p>Recently ranked as <em>Businessweek’s</em> fifth best city in the U.S. (surpassing New York), Portland – and the Pacific Northwest in general – has been luring away the cache that California exclusively owned on the West Coast. Portland, along with Seattle, now ranks as not only a premier tourist hub, but a top-notch destination for those seeking the good life.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumportlandcoffee%20%28sean%20dreilinger%29.jpg" style="height:401px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong><br /> <em>Beth Kaiserman is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p> </p> <p><em><strong>Photos: A. Paradi (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arlene_Schnitzer_Concert_Hall_Jerry_Seinfeld_on_marquee.JPG">Wikipedia</a>, Creative Commons); Jeff Hollett (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trillium_Lake_at_Mount_Hood_in_Oregon_1.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, Creative Commons); Christopher (Mr. Thomas--<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Portland_Oregon.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, Creative Commons); Sean Dreilinger (Creative Commons)</strong></em></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/portland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">portland</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oregon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Oregon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/seattle" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Seattle</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pacific-northwest" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pacific northwest</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lan-su-chinese-garden" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">lan su chinese garden</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/forest-park" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">forest park</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/suavie-island" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">suavie island</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stumptown-coffee" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stumptown coffee</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barista" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barista</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pearl-district" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pearl district</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/voodoo-donuts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">voodoo donuts</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/full-sail" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">full sail</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rogue-brewery" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rogue brewery</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/beast-restaurant" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">beast restaurant</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/naomi-pomeroy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">naomi pomeroy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Beth Kaiserman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:50:06 +0000 tara 1668 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1627-hello-portland-home-hipsters-foodies-and-breathtaking-scenery#comments