Christopher Luna at Art At The Cave by Parmalee Paula Cover
Christopher Luna leads creative writing workshops and classes year-round. He is also accepting new coaching clients and manuscripts for editing. If you are looking for writing coaching, editing/manuscript review, or information about poetry and memoir classes, send Christopher an email via printedmattervancouver@gmail.com.
The best way to stay up-to-date on his offerings is to subscribe to The Work, Christopher Luna’s monthly newsletter for poets in Southwest Washington and the Portland metro area: https://christopherlunapoetry.substack.com/
According to Brittany Mishra, a current participant in Christopher Luna’s weekly Zoom poetry writing workshop, “I’ve attended many poetry workshops, but The Work stands out for its creative constraints and consistent inspiration. Chris’s passion and his workshop materials create a safe space to be vulnerable, take risks, explore new ideas, and find joy in the writing process.”
As Rae Latham, a past attendee of Christopher’s Monday morning workshop at Multnomah Arts Center, attests, “Christopher is the poetry alchemist who helps us discover gold.” For Rule Brand, the MAC poetry workshop “has been a refuge, a crucible, a weekly reunion of sensitive minds, a relief from the outside world, a deep delve into the receptacle that holds thoughts needing to be given air, a chance to let go, an acceptable purging exercise, etc. So much gratitude for carrying us forward, opening the ‘doors’ to your house of poetry, & most of all, sharing your encouragement & insight.”
About Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous (co-authored with his son Angelo for The Poetry Box), Christopher’s former teacher Lisa Jarnot writes that “Christopher Luna is a true heir to the Beat and New York School traditions of candor and grandeur.”
Christopher Luna is very pleased to offer workshops to those who would like to meet in person as well as those who prefer online instruction.
POETRY WRITING
Poetry Writing at Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW CAPITOL HWY • PORTLAND, OR 97219 • (503) 823-2787
Spring 2026 Poetry Writing with Christopher Luna
Mondays 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
March 30 – June 1
No class May 25.
$354 [9 sessions], MAC Room 7
Register here: https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/portlandparks/activity/search/detail/194493
Engage in the craft of writing poetry as you give form and focus to expression through words. Suitable for all levels, explore poetry through weekly prompts and writing exercises. Students will also have the opportunity to read, share, and respond to one another’s works in a group setting that is highly supportive of all writing styles.
Upcoming Sessions
Summer Part One: June 22 – July 13 (four weeks)
Summer Part Two: July 20, July 27, August 3, August 17 (four weeks)
Fall: September 28 through December 5 (10 weeks, no class November 23)
THE WORK
POETRY WORKSHOP
Excited about trying your hand at a poetry writing workshop but feeling nervous about what to expect?
Read What happens during The Work poetry writing workshop? Information for newcomers.
IN PERSON AT THE ARTS HUB
The Arts Hub
1007 E Mill Plain Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98663
2-5 pm
The Second Saturday of every month
9am-12pm
The fourth Saturday of every month
The Saturday edition of The Work takes place at the Arts Hub, located at 1007 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98663. The cost for this workshop will be a $25 suggested donation, to be paid to the Arts Hub. Pay via cash, check, or at the following link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/christopher-luna-workshops-theartscentered
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
The Work takes place at the Arts Hub from 2:00 – 5:00 pm on the second Saturday of the month.
The Work also meets from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm on the fourth Saturday of every month.
The Work is a drop-in poetry writing workshop for beginners as well as more experienced writers. Poetry encourages empathy and compassion, and sparks the shifts in consciousness which lead to healing, personal growth, and an interest in fighting for progressive social change.
We will read and discuss poetry, and write several new poems together. Each workshop will feature at least three timed writing exercises.
2026 Saturday afternoon workshops will take place on January 10, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13, July 11, August, September 12, October 10, November 14, and December 12. This workshop will not meet in August.
2026 Saturday morning workshops will take place on January 24, February 28, March 29 (Sunday), April 25, May 23, June 27, July 25, August 22, September 26, and October 24. This workshop will not meet in November or December.
I am very grateful to Leah Jackson for providing me with a space to hold my poetry workshop for many years. We will continue to collaborate on projects and workshops including my in-person memoir writing group. Please stop by and continue to support Niche Wine Bar, Riverview Tower 900 Washington Street #130 Vancouver, Washington 98660.
I am also very grateful to Birdhouse Books for providing a cozy, friendly environment for the workshop for several years. Please continue to support Birdhouse Books in their new location at Ronald Records, 1005 Main St, Vancouver, WA 98660.
THE WORK ON ZOOM
There is also a Monday evening version of the workshop that meets on Zoom from 6:00 – 8:30 pm on the second and fourth Monday of the month, except where noted. The cost for this workshop is a $20 suggested donation. Upcoming Monday evening workshops will take place on January 12 and 26, February 9 and 23, March 9 and 23, April 13, May 11 and 25, June 15 and 29, July 13 and 27, August 10 and 24, September 14 and 28, October 12 and 26, November 9 and 23, and December 14.
RSVP to Christopher Luna via printedmattervancouver@gmail.com to receive a Zoom invitation to participate in this workshop.
TUESDAY MORNINGS ON ZOOM
The Work
Every Tuesday
10am – 12:30 pm
$20 per workshop
Those who have the time to make a deeper commitment to their writing development can participate in a weekly online workshop that meets year-round on Tuesday mornings from 10-12:30. The cost for each session is twenty dollars, payable via check, CashApp (ChristopherLuna9), PayPal (christopherjluna@gmail.com), or Venmo (username @Christopher-Luna-66). Some prefer to pay for several classes or several months in advance. Contact Christopher Luna for more information.
MEMOIR WRITING
MEMOIR IN PERSON AT MULTNOMAH ARTS CENTER
7688 SW CAPITOL HWY • PORTLAND, OR 97219 • (503) 823-2787
Monday afternoons at Multnomah Arts Center
1:00-4:00 PM
Winter 2026 Memoir Writing with Christopher Luna
March 30 -June 1
No class May 25.
$354 [9 sessions], MAC Room 7.
16 yrs + (6 seats)
This workshop is full.
Document your memories for your family and/or future publication. Complete short timed writings as well as weekly take-home assignments. Give and receive feedback in a safe, informal, small-group setting.
MEMOIR WRITING IN PERSON AT NICHE WINE BAR
Niche Wine Bar
Riverview Tower
900 Washington Street #130
Vancouver, Washington 98660
nichewine@gmail.com
360-253-1742
Thursday Afternoon Memoir Writing
May 7 – June 25
2-5 pm
$300 (payable to Christopher Luna)
Open to all skill levels. The class will be limited to six participants. Contact printedmattervancouver@gmail.com for information about openings.
Join Christopher Luna every Thursday for eight weeks as he leads writing exercises based on a variety of example memoirs.
In May and June we will write to prompts based on Bread of Angels by Patti Smith:
Book Description from Penguin Random House:
“God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper,” writes Patti Smith in this moving account of her life. A post–World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex where we enter the child’s world of the imagination. Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with the king of tortoises, and searches for sacred silver pennies.
The most intimate of Smith’s memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years where the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative role models as she begins to write poetry then lyrics, ultimately merging both into the songs of iconic recordings such as Horses, Wave, and Easter.
She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred Sonic Smith, with whom she creates a life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Here, she invents a room of her own, a low table, a Persian cup, inkwell and pen, entering at dawn to write. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start a family.
A series of profound losses mark her life. Grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life and, finally, writing again—the one constant in a life driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Smith on the road again, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live.
Upcoming 2026 Workshops
July 2 – August 27 (No workshop on August 6)
October 1 – November 19
MEMOIR WRITING ON ZOOM
Note: Contact Christopher regarding openings.
Tuesday Afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00
May 5 – June 23
July 7 – August 25
October 6 – November 24
The class will be limited to six participants.
Cost: $250
PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER 