Praise for the Land
Inviting The Conversation rents space and makes professional offerings in Oregon City, on land that was taken unjustly—by manipulation and force—from various tribes now gathered as the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. ITC supports the Oregon Land Justice movement, which acknowledges a collective obligation to the Earth and which supports the sovereignty and access of the First Nations. Ownership of the Earth is a collective delusion. We are all here by the grace of the land.
Upcoming Offerings
Apprenticing Ourselves to the Unknown: A Six-Part Introduction to the Skill of Grieving
Series Description | Location: Zoom | Time: Tuesdays 4:30-6:30pm PST beginning March 11 | Cost: Range for series attendance: $300 - $500. Please reach out if finances are an obstacle.
To Register: Please reach out via the contact page or email. In your message, please include some information about yourself, the shape-texture-weight-tone of your grief, and what it is that most draws you to this series. Please only reserve a place if you are committed to attending the entire series. Space is limited to 10 per cohort. I am happy to answer any questions so that you can make an informed decision about whether this series is right for you.
Poetry & The Beautiful Masculine: A Four-Part Introductory Workshop
This is a four-week, in-person series for those who identify as men. More specifically, it is for men looking to connect more deeply with their own capacities for reflection, intuition, commitment, embodied play, village-building, and beauty-making.
Our time together will be part experimental eloquence, part rigorous remembrance, part quiet contemplation, part courageous conversation, all wholesome homecoming.
At least, these are my deep wishes—
and you will bring your own—
and we will meet at some third place.
Location: 500 Abernethy Rd, #202, Oregon City | Time: TBD | Cost: Range for series attendance: $160 - $240. Please reach out if finances are an obstacle. | To Register: Please reach out via the contact page or email. Space is limited to 8 per cohort.
My gratitude to Matthew Stillman for introducing me to the memorization technique we’ll use to internalize these well-wrought compositions. Matthew also offers poetry memorization workshops online. You can learn more about his offerings by subscribing to his Substack. He also has a Facebook page called Committed to Heart, Committed to Memory.
Death: Out of the Shadows: A Film Screening and Panel Q&A
Why do we relate to death and change in the way that we do? What is the cost of relating to them in this way? Has it always been this way? Could it be otherwise? What can we do to make it so? These are some of the questions that “Death - Out of the Shadows” feels around the edges of by way of interviews with traditional and conventional medical professionals and death workers, many from the Pacific Northwest. Join us for a rich experience of reflection and connection.
Location: Clinton Street Theater - 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202 | Time: February 16th, 2025 at 3:00pm | Cost: $10/person (Buy tickets on the Clinton Street Theater’s Website) | View Film Trailer
Recorded Talks
Grief: Time Is Not Enough | NUNM Grand Rounds Presentation | May 15th, 2017
Courage for Today, Preparing for Tomorrow | Oregon Memorial Association | 2020 Annual Meeting Recording | September 12, 2020