Readings and Lectures from the historic Port Townsend Writers' Conference. It all started in 1974 with the founding of the Conference by novelist Bill Ransom, who envisioned an egalitarian, non-hierarchical gathering where the emphasis was on the craft of literary writing.
Such writers and welcomers as Jim Heynen, Carol Jane Bangs, Sam Hamill, and many others continued this emphasis on the writing craft over the next few decades, and the Conference has become an annual pilgrimage for many.
Whether you’re seeking to create or revise new work, find writing community, or simply desire a writing retreat in an inspirational location, Centrum is at the heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene. The list of Port Townsend Writers’ Conference faculty members is long and distinguished.
Bill Ransom reading from the 1977 Writers Conference
Bill Ransom was born in Puyallup, Washington, in 1945, and he began full-time employment at the age of eleven as an agricultural worker. He attended Washington State University on track and boxing scholarships, and the University of Puget Sound on a track scholarship. He received his BA in Sociology and English Education from the University of Washington in 1970.
From 1965 to 1970 Ransom worked as an expeditor on a Quick Engine Change team, building and repairing military and commercial jet engines. He studied American Minority Literature and Old and Middle English on an NDEA Title IV fellowship at the University of Nevada, Reno, then began a pilot project with the Poetry in the Schools program in Washington state. He received his MA in English from Utah State University. He founded and directed the popular Port Townsend Writers Conference for Centrum and appeared in two feature films: An Officer and a Gentlemanand The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (CBS).
He was a firefighter, firefighting basic training instructor, and CPR instructor for six years; and an Advanced Life Support Emergency Medical Technician for ten years in Jefferson County, Washington. He volunteers with humanitarian groups in Central America.
Ransom has published novels, poetry collections, numerous short stories and articles. Learning the Ropes (Utah State University Press), a collection of poetry, short fiction and essays, was billed as “a creative autobiography.” Three of his short stories from this collection have been selections of the PEN/NEA Syndicated Fiction Project. His poetry has been nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
14 Aug 2020
William Pitt Root Craft Lecture from 1979 Writers Conference
From the archives of the Port Townsend Writers Conference we’re pleased to present a craft lecture by William Pitt Root, given at the 1979 Conference.
Root’s poetry collections include White Boots: New and Selected Poems of the West (2006), PEN West Poetry Award finalist Trace Elements from a Recurring Kingdom: The First Five Books (1994), and The Storm and Other Poems (1969).
He is the recipient of the Southern Review’s Guy Owen Prize and three Pushcart Prizes as well as a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University and other fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Root is the poetry editor for the literary journal, Cutthroat.
13 Aug 2020
Arthur Sze Reading from 1998 Writers Conference
From the archives of the Port Townsend Writers Conference, a reading by the poet Arthur Sze, given at the 1998 Conference.
Born in New York City in 1950, Arthur Sze is a second-generation Chinese American. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, Sze is the author of eight books of poetry, including The Ginkgo Light (Copper Canyon Press, 2009), Quipu (2005),The Redshifting Web: Poems 1970-1998(1998), and Archipelago (1995). Other collections include River River (1987), Dazzled (1982), Two Ravens (1976; revised, 1984), andThe Willow Wind (1972; revised, 1981).
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