Helvetia Winery

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The First Thursday Writers & Artists Series is a monthly event designed to bring together writers, painters, photographers, poets, and people who appreciate them, in the inspiring setting of Helvetia Winery.  This series will provide a welcoming space for people to connect, share their creative work, and build lasting artistic and professional communities Each month we host a speaker to kick off the evening.  This month Margaret Sáraco will be our guest. This is an in-person free event!

Thursday, February 5th, 6:30-8:00 pm. 

Fireside readings and discussion, and of course, wine. 

Information & Optional Reservations:
https://buytickets.at/helvetiavineyardswinery/2027065

Address: Helvetia Winery, 23269 NW Yungen Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97124

Take Highway (26) northwest from downtown Portland, 13 miles. Turn right at Helvetia Road exit (61B). Go north 3.5 miles. Turn right at Bishop Road and follow the signs to Helvetia Vineyards.

Readings in Jan. & Feb.

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Please join me at one or both of my readings—virtual in January and an in-person in February. These are free events. Click on the links provided for more information.

01/22/2026 Fixed and Free Reading, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 5:30-8:30 MST, with Sterling Warner. 

About the event:  I will be reading around 6:15 pm and Sterling will be reading around 7 pm with an open mic before, between, and after.   To get on the open mic waiting list, email Billy Brown at Welbert53@aol.com. 

Zoom link Meeting ID is 989 4335 7065 and the passcode: 212030. Note: This event is in MST, please adjust for your time zone. 

02/05/2026 First Thursday Author & Artist Series, Helvetia Winery, Hillsboro, Oregon, 6:30 pm -8:00 pm PST. 23269 NW Yungen Rd, Hillsboro, OR 97214. 

About the event: “The First Thursday Writers & Artists Series is a monthly event designed to bring together writers, painters, photographers, poets, and people who appreciate them, in the inspiring setting of Helvetia Winery.  This series will provide a welcoming space for people to connect, share their creative work, and build lasting artistic and professional communities.”

Directions: Take Highway 26 northwest from downtown Portland, 13 miles. Turn right at Helvetia Road exit 61B. Go north 3.5 miles. Turn right at Bishop Road and follow the signs to Helvetia Vineyards. 

If you would like to register in advance for this free event, go to the Eventbrite page.

JANUARY VIRTUAL READINGS

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Please join me at one or both of my readings. They are free and have open mics. Click on the links provided to enter the Zoom Rooms.

01/08/2026 Parkland Poets, Stony Plain, Canada. 7 pm MST (6 pm PST 9 pm EST). Reading with Lauraine Saretsky and Angela Waldie. The password is 2026.

01/22/2026 Fixed and Free, Albuquerque, NM. 5:30-8:30 MST. Reading with Sterling Warner. To get on the open mic list, email Billy Brown (Welbert53@aol.com). There are limited spots. Meeting ID is 989 4335 7065 and the passcode: 212030. 

Correction!

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The reading is Friday (not Thursday!)

FEATURED READING! You are invited to attend a virtual  poetry reading featuring Ken Holland, Guy Reed and myself on Calling All Poets,  Friday, 11/7/ at 4 pm PST (7 pm EST). Follow the instructions on the website to register. There is a $5 admission fee ($4 if you are a member.) The hosts, Mike Jurkovic and Greg Correll, host a generous open mic. 

Announcements

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Hello friends and family.

FEATURED READING! You are invited to attend a virtual  poetry reading featuring Ken Holland, Guy Reed and myself on Calling All Poets,  Friday, 11/7/ at 4 pm PST (7 pm EST). Follow the instructions on the website to register. There is a $5 admission fee ($4 if you are a member.) The hosts, Mike Jurkovic and Greg Correll, host a generous open mic. 

INDIE GIFT BOOKS! Human Error Publishing and NatureCulture® have pioneered a new model in independent publishing. According to their Facebook page,  “Indie Gift Books is a collaboration of independent publishers helping to get the word out about each of them and the many great authors they have published for those looking for the perfect gift for themselves or family and friends.” I was invited to attend a reading and record some work from my books with Human Error Publishing, along with the publishers and writers from Cottey House Press, Hercules Publishing, Images from the Past, Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, Metaphysical Fox, National Beat Poetry Foundation, NatureCulture®, Perugia Press, and Pierce Press. Check out the videos here.Ads for Indie Gift Books will be running on National Public Radio for the next couple of weeks.  

POLITICS! On the political front, I just discovered two notable websites through Rick Lupert’s Poetry Superhighway that connect writers and activists: Writers for Democratic Action and Poets Against Racism. I am intrigued. There are many. 

From now on, I will be sending my newsletter every two months instead of monthly with an occasional announcement letter.  If you have writing news to share, email me so I can mention your achievements and events. My next newsletter will be the November/December 2025 issue.

POETRY READING TODAY 10/6/25

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Hope you can make it!

 Poetry Near and Afar. Oceanside Library Reading Series. Virtual. 7 pm EDT (4 pm PDT.) Free. “We are delighted to announce the return of Poetry Near & Afar! This series, started during lockdown in 2020, brings together poets from around the world. Poetry: Near & Afar, is an online poetry reading with two features: one from the NY area and one from “afar”. Features get 20 minutes and then we have an open mic (one non-epic-length poem, please!) Monday, we feature poets from Oregon and right here in Oceanside, New York.”

October Newsletter

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News Flash! My story, Her/She/Me, won the Ginosko Literary Journal Flash Fiction Contest for 2025. Click on the link to the website, or you can read it on my social media pages.

Hello friends and family.

I am writing to you from the City of Roses where we love getting together for coffee, walking through our many parks, wandering down to the river, listening to music and much more. Portland is a great city brimming with energy and countless activities, contrary to what you might be hearing in the news or from our government. I have been writing, attending workshops, and hitting the streets to protest all that is wrong with our country. If you are interested in joining the resistance, go to 50501 (50 Protests. 50 States. 1 Movement.) or Indivisible to connect to local protests and national initiatives. None of us can afford to be silent.

As always, there are opportunities for writers, announcements of new books published, and more. Check out the hyperlinks for more information. And thanks for joining me on this journey. Please remember, if you have writing news to share, email me so I can mention your achievements and events in my newsletter. Stay in touch!
Talk soon, 

Margi

Where can you buy my books in Portland and beyond?

Upcoming Publications

  • The Songs of Summer: Poems about Baseball. “Everybody is a Mets Fan Today,” Tom Erickson, Ed Werstein, editors.
  • The Telephone Game is “a message, changing forms as it travels across the world from artist → artist.” This project has 1350 artists in more than 900 cities and 64 countries. The project will launch on October 10th with artist get-togethers. I will be joining the one in Portland.
  • Unbroken: A Reel Poetry Anthology. Pen and Leaf Press. “I Do Not Have to Be Good.”
  • Ginosko Literary Journal. Winner of the 2025 Flash Fiction Contest. “Her/She/Me”. The story is online and will appear in print. 
  • The Fringe 999 Poetry Forum. “Vision.” Issue 3.1 Laura Daniels, editor.

Upcoming Readings 

Newly added!  10/6/2025 Poetry Near and Afar. Oceanside Library Reading Series. Virtual. 7 pm EDT (4 pm PDT.) Free. “We are delighted to announce the return of Poetry Near & Afar! This series, started during lockdown in 2020, brings together poets from around the world. Poetry: Near & Afar, is an online poetry reading with two features: one from the NY area and one from “afar”. Features get 20 minutes and then we have an open mic (one non-epic-length poem, please!) Monday, we feature poets from Oregon and right here in Oceanside, New York.”

  • 11/7/2025 Calling All Poets. Virtual reading. 7 pm EDT. Follow the instructions on the website to register. There is a $5 admission fee ($4 if you are a member.) A generous open mic. Usually 5 minutes. Register for the virtual call ahead of time.  
  • 12/11/2025 Parkland Poets Open Mic Host. 6 pm PST (9 pm EST).
  • 01/08/2026 Parkland Poets Featured Reading. 6 pm PST (9 pm EST).
  • 4/14/26: Word Fest, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428   22nd Ave, Longview, WA, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT. My first featured reading in the Pacific Northwest.

Podcasts and Videos

  • Ameerah Shabazz, editor of Whisper, Whisper, Shout, interviewed me for her When Women Speak podcast. Ameerah is an amazing poet, spoken word artist, visual artist, editor, and interviewer. This was a great conversation. I also had an opportunity to read a poem by Anita Nahal during the podcast, one of the 80+ contributors to the anthology, Subscribe to Ameerah’s podcast. Read the anthology. And share. (Click on this link to purchase the book: Whisper, Whisper, Shout.)
  • For Poetry of Protest and Struggle, September 1, 2025, I recorded my poem, “A Good Storyteller” (originally published in Poetry X Hunger and Mary Oliver’s  poem “Tecumseh.” Steve Bloom, curator and creator, wrote “Anyone who would like to participate in the Poetry of Protest and Struggle project we are projecting three videos per year, one every four months, and we are always looking for new voices. Send a sample of your work to steve@stevebloompoetry.net.”
  • The Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) hosted a virtual reading called “Share your Works in Progress.”  Amazing writers! I read a section of one chapter from my novel, very much in progress. 


Recent Publications

Mentions

Made new friends at the Italian American Writer’s Association reading, who recently published:

-and-

  • Life Aid 4 Palestine Performed by Do It Now (Paul Richmond (spoken word) & John Sheldon (harp guitar). Their remarkable piece was part of a whole afternoon of artists who donated their time to raise money and awareness for the genocide in Palestine at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, VT.
  • Finally, my apologies to Paul Rabinowitz, whose book, Syncopated Rhythms, is being released on November 28, 2025, not 2026 as incorrectly noted in my last newsletter. Paul’s book is available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press.