Upcoming Events
Workshop: Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists
Join us for Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists.
Nothing captures a reader like a powerful voice. Voice is charisma on the page. It is sonic and propulsive, and whether it belongs to a character or a narrator, the ability to bring a voice to life is essential.
This is a 4-week, generative workshop for writers who want to dive deeper into voice, and for artists interested in transitioning to writing. Classes are designed with a decidedly a Rock 'n Roll flair. They will be a mix of mini craft lectures, creative prompts, and fun assignments to explore new voices that fascinate us. There will be surprise guests and occasional prizes.
All writers and artists at any level of experience are welcome.
Vanessa Veselka is author of the novel, The Great Offshore Grounds, which was nominated for the 2020 National Book Award and won the Oregon Book Award. Her first novel, Zazen, was awarded the 2012 PEN / Bingham Prize for debut fiction and was re-released as a Vintage Classic. Her short stories are in Tin House and Zyzzyva, and her essays appear in The New York Times, GQ, and The Atlantic. She has been at various times, a musician, a homeless teenager, a union organizer, and a night cab driver.
Duration: September 22 – October 13
Time: Meets Tuesdays from 6:30–8:30 PM
Location: l'école buissonnière, 711 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
(upstairs of Mother Foucault's Bookshop)
Cost: $275
Available Spots: 20
Please note: There is no elevator. While our intention is to make workshops accessible, we have some limits. Please reach out with needs and we will attempt to accommodate to the best of our ability.
Programa de Español: The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
ALTA Afterparty with Zephyr Press
Saturday, October 24
6:00 pm and onward
ALTA afterparty at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop! Stop by the shop for a translation open mic and family style dinner, followed by readings by Jeffrey Diteman and four Zephyr Press translators: J. Kates (Russian), Dan Rosenberg (Slovene), Karen Kovacik (Polish), and AKaiser (Catalan). Refreshments and the reading are free, $20 for the optional family-style dinner.
This event is presented in conjunction with ALTA49, the American Literary Translators Association's 49th annual conference.
Jeffrey Diteman is a literary translator, scholar and educator working with French and Spanish. He has translated many outstanding writers, including Oulipo founder Raymond Queneau and Colombian storyteller Amalialú Posso Figueroa, with work appearing in Harper's Magazine, Latin American Literature Today, and The Massachusetts Review. Diteman's translation of the historical novel The Anarchist Who Shared My Name by Pablo Martín Sánchez was published by Deep Vellum in 2018. His co-translation of the abolitionist novel The Maroons by Louis Timagène Houat (with Aqiil Gopee, Restless Books 2024) was a finalist for the French-American Foundation's 2025 translation prize.
J. Kates, a minor poet and a literary translator, has published two books and three chapbooks of his own poems, and more than a dozen translations of Russian and French poetry. He has edited two anthologies of Russian translations and is a past president of the American Literary Translators Association. He was expelled from the board of directors of the New Hampshire Poetry Society for allegedly threatening another member, whom he has never met, with decapitation.
Dan Rosenberg co-translated Slovenian poet Miklavž Komelj’s Hippodrome, and his translation of Komelj’s new and selected poems, Night Is More Abstract, was just released by Zephyr Press in 2026. Rosenberg’s own poetry collections include Bassinet, cadabra, The Crushing Organ, and three chapbooks. His work has won the American Poetry Journal Book Prize and the Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest. A former Tompkins County Poet Laureate, Rosenberg currently co-hosts the Yetzirah Reading Series, serves as poetry editor for Pinyon, and teaches writing, literature, and translation theory at Colorado Mesa University.
Karen Kovacik, a poet and translator of contemporary Polish poetry, is the recipient of a Fulbright Research Grant to Poland and two translation fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her translation of Jacek Dehnel’s Aperture (Zephyr Press, 2018) was a finalist for the 2019 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. With Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Mira Rosenthal, she translated Krystyna Dąbrowska’s Tideline (Zephyr, 2022). Kovacik is also the editor of Scattering the Dark, an anthology of Polish women poets (White Pine, 2016), and the author of three collections of poetry. Her poems and translations have appeared in American Poetry Review, Georgia Review, Granta, World Literature Today, and others. A former Indiana Poet Laureate (2012-2014), she is Professor Emerita of English at Indiana University Indianapolis.
AKaiser is the Pushcart Prize-nominated author of <glint> (Milk & Cake Press) and an NEA-awarded translator of Catalan, French & Spanish. AK’s doctorate is in Translation & Intercultural Studies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, under tutelage of Poet & Translator, Francesc Parcerisas. Poems, translations, photos and academic work have appeared in, among others, Allium, l’Avenç, Amsterdam Quarterly, Feral, Four Way Review, Ginosko, Harvard Review, MPT, with podcast, Pen + Brush: In Print, POETRY, Poetry International, and The Rumpus. "Astronaut, or Blues Singer" (<glint>) breathes in song thanks to Mel.lif.lu.ous. Translation of <Unnameable>, poems by Anna Gual (Zephyr Press, 2025). https://akaiser.org & @ak.approximations
Les Salons: The Foucault Centennial (1926–2026) The Foucault Laboratory
LES SALONS: Quarterly Public Conversations on Literature, Philosophy & the Arts
Starting this Fall, L'École Buissonnière invites you to a quarterly event celebrating landmark moments in French intellectual and artistic history.
Inspired by the tradition of the French literary salons, these evenings bring together writers, philosophers, artists, scholars, and curious minds for conversations that cross disciplines and generations.
Rather than formal lectures, each Salon invites thoughtful dialogue where scholarship, literature, and the arts become part of Portland's public cultural life.
The Foucault Laboratory: Power, Knowledge, and Freedom
Michel Foucault transformed the way we think about madness, institutions, language, and power. One hundred years after his birth, this Salon explores why his questions remain urgent today and what they can teach us about freedom, education, archives, and the stories societies choose to preserve or silence.
Inspired by the spirit of l'école buissonnière, we'll ask how curiosity, dissent, and unconventional ways of learning continue to shape public life.
What is knowledge?
Café littéraire "Toussaint: Memory & Invisible Connections"
This fall and winter, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language.
Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
Toussaint: Memory & Invisible Connections
La Toussaint : honorer les absents
Explore French traditions of remembrance, the symbolism of flowers and cemeteries, and the ways literature, photography, and seasonal rituals keep memory alive across generations.
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Café littéraire "Winter Lights & Traditions"
This fall, L'École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation gathering rooted in literature, art, seasonal traditions, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by the French tradition of cafés as places of ideas, curiosity, and imagination, these 90-minute gatherings offer a slow and welcoming approach to the French language. Each session opens a cultural doorway through short literary texts, visual arts, historical references, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
Rather than striving for perfect fluency, we cultivate something different: the pleasure of reading the world in French—through stories, images, memory, and conversation.
Each gathering explores a seasonal theme that reveals how language, literature, and everyday traditions continue to shape French culture and the wider Francophone world.
Winter Lights & Traditions
Lumières, calendriers et traditions de la Table
Discover French winter traditions—from Lyon's Festival of Lights to Advent calendars, Provençal customs, and everyday rituals that bring warmth, beauty, and meaning to the darkest season.
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Programa de Español:The Soul of Latin American Art Advanced Conversation Course
Ready to fall in love with the rhythm, depth, and poetic cadence of Spanish?
Join us at L'école buissonnière for an immersive course, conducted entirely in Spanish for advanced speakers, that explores how art shapes our world.
Each 120-minute session (with a cozy 10-minute break) is a laboratory of expression.
We break down the walls between subjects, approaching several distinct topics in every class to give you a fuller sense of Latin American identity.
Through the lens of culture, we dive into literature, music, painting, film, and more.
You'll explore the minds of masters like Julio Cortázar and Violeta Parra, among others, and discover the psychological and historical weight behind their masterpieces.
Through interactive exercises, you'll practice reading, writing, and speaking. The heart of our class lies in conversation circles, giving you the floor to engage in deep, meaningful debates.
Come stretch your fluency, satisfy your curiosity, and experience the pulse of Latin American culture!
Limited to 10 participants.
Practical Information
When: Twice monthly on Wednesdays, October 7 – February 24
Time: 5:30–7:30 pm
Where: L'École buissonnière, above Mother Foucault's Bookshop
Level: Advanced
Instructor: Consuelo Miranda Albónico, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Group size: Up to 10
Price per class: $50
Workshop: Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists
Join us for Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists.
Nothing captures a reader like a powerful voice. Voice is charisma on the page. It is sonic and propulsive, and whether it belongs to a character or a narrator, the ability to bring a voice to life is essential.
This is a 4-week, generative workshop for writers who want to dive deeper into voice, and for artists interested in transitioning to writing. Classes are designed with a decidedly a Rock 'n Roll flair. They will be a mix of mini craft lectures, creative prompts, and fun assignments to explore new voices that fascinate us. There will be surprise guests and occasional prizes.
All writers and artists at any level of experience are welcome.
Vanessa Veselka is author of the novel, The Great Offshore Grounds, which was nominated for the 2020 National Book Award and won the Oregon Book Award. Her first novel, Zazen, was awarded the 2012 PEN / Bingham Prize for debut fiction and was re-released as a Vintage Classic. Her short stories are in Tin House and Zyzzyva, and her essays appear in The New York Times, GQ, and The Atlantic. She has been at various times, a musician, a homeless teenager, a union organizer, and a night cab driver.
Duration: September 22 – October 13
Time: Meets Tuesdays from 6:30–8:30 PM
Location: l'école buissonnière, 711 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
(upstairs of Mother Foucault's Bookshop)
Cost: $275
Available Spots: 20
Please note: There is no elevator. While our intention is to make workshops accessible, we have some limits. Please reach out with needs and we will attempt to accommodate to the best of our ability.
Café littéraire "Harvest, Wine & Poetry"
This fall and winter, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language.
Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
Harvest, Wine & Poetry
Les vendanges : terroir, ivresse et poésie
Discover the world of French vineyards through literature, poetry, and sensory language, and explore how landscape, taste, memory, and the idea of terroir have shaped French culture for centuries.
Workshop: Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists
Join us for Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists.
Nothing captures a reader like a powerful voice. Voice is charisma on the page. It is sonic and propulsive, and whether it belongs to a character or a narrator, the ability to bring a voice to life is essential.
This is a 4-week, generative workshop for writers who want to dive deeper into voice, and for artists interested in transitioning to writing. Classes are designed with a decidedly a Rock 'n Roll flair. They will be a mix of mini craft lectures, creative prompts, and fun assignments to explore new voices that fascinate us. There will be surprise guests and occasional prizes.
All writers and artists at any level of experience are welcome.
Vanessa Veselka is author of the novel, The Great Offshore Grounds, which was nominated for the 2020 National Book Award and won the Oregon Book Award. Her first novel, Zazen, was awarded the 2012 PEN / Bingham Prize for debut fiction and was re-released as a Vintage Classic. Her short stories are in Tin House and Zyzzyva, and her essays appear in The New York Times, GQ, and The Atlantic. She has been at various times, a musician, a homeless teenager, a union organizer, and a night cab driver.
Duration: September 22 – October 13
Time: Meets Tuesdays from 6:30–8:30 PM
Location: l'école buissonnière, 711 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
(upstairs of Mother Foucault's Bookshop)
Cost: $275
Available Spots: 20
Please note: There is no elevator. While our intention is to make workshops accessible, we have some limits. Please reach out with needs and we will attempt to accommodate to the best of our ability.
Films on the Green in Portland - Persepolis
On Saturday, September 26, Films on the Green in Portland, OR, will make its debut with a screening of Persepolis.
This event is organized by Villa Albertine and the Albertine Foundation and L’école buissonnière.
With the support of TV5MONDE and JCDecaux
Villa Albertine’s Films on the Green festival is dedicated to providing free access to French cinema across the United States with outdoor screenings. Learn more.
Persepolis
Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
Starring Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux
In French with English Subtitles.
2007, PG-13, 1h35, France
A coming-of-age story told through the eyes of Marjane, a young Iranian girl growing up in Tehran and Vienna. She avidly follows the events that lead to the Iranian revolution and the downfall of the Shah’s regime. With the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Marjane comes to see herself as a revolutionary…
Based on the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, L’Association, 2000, France.
This event is free and open to the public. We encourage you to RSVP, but no ticket is required.
Reinventing artists’ residencies, Villa Albertine is creating a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. It offers tailor-made residencies for global creators, thinkers and cultural professionals. Explore our magazine, events, and programs for professionals.
Albertine Foundation
Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French American relations through innovative cultural and educational programs. In close partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, Albertine Foundation administers grant programs across diverse creative disciplines including visual and performing arts; cinema; and literature, while also supporting exploratory residencies for creative professionals and thinkers across the United States. Albertine Foundation also contributes to promoting French language learning in the United States and funds new opportunities for students, professors, and researchers in the spheres of secondary and higher education. Albertine Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation by Internal Revenue Service determination. Contributions from corporate, foundation, and individuals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
L’école buissonnière is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the conditions for art, literature, music, and subversive play to thrive. Its mission is to build, hold, and promote spaces for art, literature, literary translation, and scholarship, with the goal of increasing expression, connection (spiritually, emotionally, communally), and other forms of relational action, and to encourage the development of new writers, artists, photographers, scholars, translators, and, most crucially, readers.
Legendary independent bookshop in Southeast Portland, always buying foreign and domestic books. Specialties include literature in translation, foreign language, Philosophy, poetry, and general interest.
New, used, rare, and hard to find books.
Open daily, frequent events and readings.
Café littéraire "Lire le monde en français"
This fall and winter, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language.
Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
To start this Fall program, we will explore how French has become a language of creation far beyond France, inspired by the screening of Persepolis for the first edition of Films on the Greene organized by Villa Albertine and the Albertine Foundation , and L’école buissonnière.
Workshop: Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists
Join us for Writing with a Strong Voice: An Intensive for Writers, Musicians, and Other Artists.
Nothing captures a reader like a powerful voice. Voice is charisma on the page. It is sonic and propulsive, and whether it belongs to a character or a narrator, the ability to bring a voice to life is essential.
This is a 4-week, generative workshop for writers who want to dive deeper into voice, and for artists interested in transitioning to writing. Classes are designed with a decidedly a Rock 'n Roll flair. They will be a mix of mini craft lectures, creative prompts, and fun assignments to explore new voices that fascinate us. There will be surprise guests and occasional prizes.
All writers and artists at any level of experience are welcome.
Vanessa Veselka is author of the novel, The Great Offshore Grounds, which was nominated for the 2020 National Book Award and won the Oregon Book Award. Her first novel, Zazen, was awarded the 2012 PEN / Bingham Prize for debut fiction and was re-released as a Vintage Classic. Her short stories are in Tin House and Zyzzyva, and her essays appear in The New York Times, GQ, and The Atlantic. She has been at various times, a musician, a homeless teenager, a union organizer, and a night cab driver.
Duration: September 22 – October 13
Time: Meets Tuesdays from 6:30–8:30 PM
Location: l'école buissonnière, 711 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
(upstairs of Mother Foucault's Bookshop)
Cost: $275
Available Spots: 20
Please note: There is no elevator. While our intention is to make workshops accessible, we have some limits. Please reach out with needs and we will attempt to accommodate to the best of our ability.
Conversamos en Español / Spanish Conversation Classes
Conversamos en Español
Únete a nuestras clases de conversación en español, cada dos semanas (2 horas por sesión), con Consuelo — escritora chilena, amante del arte y los idiomas.
Nivel: Intermedio–Avanzado
Hablaremos de: literatura, pintura, cine, política/derechos humanos, comida
Clase de inicio: viernes 18 de septiembre de 2026
Horario: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Precio: $50 por sesión
Lugar: Mother Foucault's Bookshop, 715 SE Grand Ave, Portland
Grupo pequeño.
Cupos limitados. Registro requerido con anticipación.
Spanish Conversation Classes
Join us for Spanish conversation classes, held every two weeks (2 hours per session),
with Consuelo, a Chilean native, a writer, a language admirer, a pet lover, and a music devotee.
Level: Intermediate–Advanced
We'll talk about: literature, painting, film, politics/human rights, food
Intro class: Friday, September 18, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Price: $50 per session
Location: Mother Foucault's Bookshop, 715 SE Grand Ave, Portland
Small group. Limited space. Registration required in advance.
Book Release Party: The Weather Keeper
A discussion about Time, Place, the nature of Belonging, and the role of the picture book. Signed copies available!
Moderated by: Claudia Zoe Bedrick of Enchanted Lion
With: Nelly Buchet - author, Elizabeth Haidle - illustrator
September 8th,
Doors open at 6:30
Starts at 7:00 pm
715 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
Free event
Other People's Poems (OPP) at Mother Foucault's
Other People's Poems (OPP)
Memorize someone else’s poem and come recite it (or just listen).
Friday, August 7
7 PM sharp
715 SE Grand Ave
Other People's Poems (OPP) at Mother Foucault’s
Other People's Poems (OPP)
Memorize someone else’s poem and come recite it (or just listen).
Friday, July 3
7 PM sharp
715 SE Grand Ave
Poetry & Strings | A fundraiser for L’école buissonnière
On Friday, June 26, from 5-9 pm, please join us for a fundraiser to support ongoing payments on and improvements to the Historic Nathaniel West Building No. 1, home to Mother Foucault’s Bookshop and l'école buissonnière, a nonprofit dedicated to creating the conditions for art, literature, music, and subversive play to thrive. This fundraiser, a rare evening combining poetry and strings, will also support l’école buissonnière’s ongoing and upcoming programs and services.
The fundraiser will be held at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, located on the border of Portland’s inner-southeast industrial district. Founded in 2009, Mother Foucault’s Bookshop specializes in books in translation, foreign language books, poetry, and philosophy. The bookshop offers a perfectly cozy, unique space to enjoy poetry and string music.
Tickets: Sliding Scale - $10-15. Please RSVP here and pay at the door (Cash or Venmo).
Doors at 5 pm.
Fundraising/Mingling 5-6 pm.
Event at 6 pm.
With Poetry Readings from
Maudie Ainsworth, Ed Skoog, Shawn Levy, Joshua Pollock, Kayla Kennett, Grace, Pablo Murillo-Edwards
Musicians
Hannah Morton - Kitchen Congregation (solo project of Hannah Morton) crawls under your skin and performs in your heart. She writes sincerely from memory and experience using vivid, surreal, dreamlike imagery. She gently sweeps us from the tender to the epic. Every song contrasting, and complimenting the wide array of complicated feelings we all share. There is an obvious attempt at honest self expression, and innovation within her chosen discipline. Her dedication to her practice is apparent in her confident poise. Hannah is an artist that makes those intangible ubiquitous feelings tangible with great effect.
Alexis Mahler - Michigan-made, and classically trained, Mahler has made a musical home for herself in Portland, Oregon. Quieting rooms with her intimate blend of classical, jazz, and folk - she has endeared herself to audiences across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Her music contains thoughtful, elegant strings layered with memorable, and sweetly delivered vocal melodies. In her own words: “Music should be connective, accessible, expressive, expansive, often imperfect, healing - a release”.
The beauty and power that Alexis Mahler creates with her voice and cello is simply mesmerizing. With patient and confident phrasing, a soothing resonance of vulnerability and strength, Mahler has delivered a poignant and intimate EP titled Away that draws us directly into her being. Songs of heartbreak, taking space, rebuilding a life, self care, or maybe — self survival. These are pertinent emotions in a world that is pleading to wake up tomorrow more empathetic than it did today.” — Glide Magazine
Yucky Star - You may know Kate Koller as the player of dreamy cello lines that make you drool, yucky star is all the magic you’ve always known to come from kate & then some. What was once in danger of becoming a collection of unfinished songs is finally making its way to the ears of listeners in portland & soon beyond, and the world is all the better for it. Their stream of consciousness lyrics flow like honey. With distinctive guitar parts in sticky nonstandard tunings you might be tempted to steal.
Emma Smith - Emma Smith is a cellist, guitar player and singer / songwriter based in Portland, OR.
Joe Kye - Joe Kye is a musician and storyteller based in Portland, Oregon. Joe’s music is a tapestry of his many influences as a Korean American immigrant. His latest project explores his roots, melding Korean traditional sounds with everything from jazz to electronic music. Tenderhearted and peaceful, Joe’s work fosters a sense of deep internal reflection, healing, and spirituality. Joe’s recorded a Tedx Talk, been featured on NPR’s The World, and was a 2023 Oregon Arts Commission Fellow.
“You’re a different kind of doctor. A soul doctor.” - A Filipino Mom
Andrew Jones - PDX Bassist, improviser, songwriter, arranger and recording / mixing engineer
Autumn Bradford - Cellist, collaborator and member of the post metal band - Larkspur - Autumn has performed on several pdx stages and become engrained into the PDX string scene since relocating to Oregon.
Twin Bridges - Twin Bridges (Zachery G) is a cellist & songwriter from New Mexico, currently in Portland, OR. Twin Bridges creates live loops on cello and the project features a band of friends playing woodwinds, brass, bass and drums. Twin Bridges songs can be described as pensive, dark and melodic. Twin Bridges will be releasing their second full band album this winter on AudioSport Records.
Other People's Poems (OPP) at Mother Foucault’s
Other People's Poems (OPP)
Memorize someone else’s poem and come recite it (or just listen).
Friday, June 5
7 PM sharp
715 SE Grand Ave
Allen Ginsberg Centennial at Mother Foucault's
Allen Ginsberg Centennial Reading
Hosted by Dan Raphael and Christopher Luna
Featuring Casey Bush, Darren Daniel, Katherine Factor, Benjamin Fisher, Mimi German, Leanne Grabel, Christopher Luna, Morgan Paige, dan raphael, Brian Rohr, Willa Schneberg, Alex Vigue, and Joe Wheeler reading poems by Allen Ginsberg on his 100th Birthday.
Learn more about Allen Ginsberg including information regarding other centennial readings planned across the country at the Allen Ginsberg Project: https://allenginsberg.org/
SOCIETY Screening — Aurora San Miguel: Juvenalia 1
Saturday, May 30, 2026 — 7pm
A screening, organized by Aurora San Miguel, of first films by Chantal Akerman, David Cronenberg, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Joanna Hogg, Todd Solondz, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Lars von Trier.
This event is organized by SOCIETY
art, its discourses and histories
711 SE Grand Avenue, Second Floor.
12–5 and by appointment societysocietysociety.com
Translation Tuesday at Mother Foucault's
Translation Tuesday at Mother Foucault's
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Translation Tuesday double feature with Jeremy Klemin reading translations of fiction and non-fiction by Portuguese writer António Lobo Antunes, and Jen Mendez reading excerpts from their translation of German author Hans Peter Richter's YA historical novel. The reading will be followed by a short Q&A.
Refreshments will be provided!
Jeremy Klemin’s writing and literary translations appear in AGNI, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. His work has received support from the Fulbright Program, Disquiet International, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from Oregon State University, and was named a 2026 Literary Arts Oregon Literary Fellow to support his in-progress essay collection about skateboarding, disability, and public space.
António Lobo Antunes, who has been called “one of Portugal’s preeminent writers” by The New York Times, was born in Lisbon in 1942. The son of a physician, he too became a doctor and then spent four years in the Portuguese army during the Angolan War. His book on that war, South of Nowhere, was internationally praised and followed by other widely translated and much-honored novels, including Act of the Damned, Explanation of the Birds, and The Natural Order of Things. He passed away in March 2026.
Jen Mendez is a German to English translator with a focus on literary translation. Originally from Seattle, they now reside in the Portland area, where they graduated with a BA in German Language and Literature from Portland State University. At the beginning of 2026, Jen stepped into the position of Vice President of the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS), a regional chapter of the American Translators Association, and they frequently commute to Seattle to attend events with the organization’s NW Literary Translation Division. Jen is currently hard at work on a secret translation project that is set to be released in 2027.
Hans Peter Richter is an award-winning German author and academic from Cologne. Having come of age during WWII, Richter served as a lieutenant between 1942 and 1945, where his experiences inspired the trilogy of semi-autobiographical young adult novels for which he is best known: Friedrich, I Was There, and The Time of the Young Soldiers. The book Friedrich was awarded the prize for best young adult novel from the Sebaldus-Verlag in 1961. More than just an author, Richter studied psychology and sociology after his time in the war, and from 1973 on, he taught scientific methodology and sociology at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
Monthly Café Littéraire — French Conversation Classes “The Art of Argumentation à la Française”
This winter and spring, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language. Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
MAY 3rd | The Art of Argumentation à la Française
L’art de l’argumentation à la française
Seasonal focus: La Fête du Travail — le 1er mai & le muguet
From 10:30 to 12 pm (90 minutes)
📍 Practical Information
When: First Sunday of each month, February–May
From 10:30 to 12pm (90 minutes)
Where: Mother Foucault’s Bookshop
Group size: Limited to 10 participants
Pricing: Full bundle: $90
→ Includes all 4 sessions + a convivial Garden Party (a French-style apéro) celebrating French culture at the end of the cycleSingle session: $20
Drop-in: $25
Celebrate International Day of the Book at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop!
Mother Foucault's Bookshop is bringing International Day of the Book to Portland. International Day of the Book is an annual event organized by UNESCO to promote reading and publishing. It has its roots in the Catalonian celebration of St. George's Day, or the Day of Books and Roses, during which lovers exchange books and roses as tokens of affection.
A celebration of literature, love, and Spanish and Catalan language and culture, the event will also support local nonprofit Street Books, a mobile library that provides community, resources, and advocacy for people living outside or at the margins in Portland.
12 pm — Open to All
The event is free and open to the public. The Bookshop will have books and roses—as well as other flowers—for sale. 10% of their proceeds will go to Street Books, who will join the celebration by providing services outside the shop.
7 pm — Evening Program
The nonprofit l'école buissonnière will present an evening program inside Mother Foucault's Bookshop inspired by the traditional celebration of St. George's Day in Catalonia. Readings of Catalan and Spanish-language literature will accompany music and a version of jocs florals (floral games, a Catalonian literary competition similar to an open mic). Refreshments will also be served.
The evening's readings will be organized by two Spanish Language Scholars, Andreu Borrego Asensi and Angeles Bellitti.
““It is a pleasure to celebrate this day with Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, who also maintains the hope that things can be done well despite the constant onslaught; they also see in books the gathering point of their community. Even though Spain and the rest of the world enjoy Book Day, in Sant Jordi something extraordinary happens: the festivity of the book but also of love. To unite both concepts is not a coincidence: annotations, doodles, recommendations, underlining, presents... all manifestations where the traces of a social space struck by literature are observed… There is something extraordinary in a population that dedicates one day to books and its literature.”
”
Workshop: Writing Through the Collapse
Tuesdays, April 7 – May 5, 2026 | 6:30 – 8:30pm
Writing Through the Collapse is an ecosystem co-created by those who wish to surrender to the word of their own artistry. Designed as a supportive and generative space in which to deepen, begin, or confront your writing practice within an increasingly terrifying time.
In this workshop we bring reflection, resistance, and submission to the art and survival of creation. A ritual and a devotion to ourselves and to the altar(s) of the dream space.
What happens in between the words and the page?
Who do you carry with you? What does ownership look like?
Guided by your co-facilitators R. Stranger & Makayla Terrell this five-week workshop centers hybrid work spanning prose, poetry, visual art, or anything from the in-between.
In this workshop, we will look at a range of texts from revolutionary thinkers and world builders to invite our creativity to counter the disillusionment that we are witnessing in real time.
Monthly Café Littéraire — French Conversation Classes “Read Little, Read Together”
This winter and spring, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language. Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
APRIL 5th | Read Little, Read Together
Lire peu, mais lire ensemble
Seasonal focus: Poisson d’Avril médiatique & la tradition du chocolat et des œufs de Pâques
From 10:30 to 12 pm (90 minutes)
📍 Practical Information
When: First Sunday of each month, February–May
From 10:30 to 12pm (90 minutes)
Where: Mother Foucault’s Bookshop
Group size: Limited to 10 participants
Pricing: Full bundle: $90
→ Includes all 4 sessions + a convivial Garden Party (a French-style apéro) celebrating French culture at the end of the cycleSingle session: $20
Drop-in: $25
Monthly Café Littéraire — French Conversation Classes “The World of the Francophonie”
This winter and spring, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language. Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
MARCH 1st | The World of the Francophonie
Le monde de la francophonie: Aimé Césaire and Négritude: poetry as resistance, identity, dignity
From 10:30 to 12 pm (90 minutes)
📍 Practical Information
When: First Sunday of each month, February–May
From 10:30 to 12pm (90 minutes)
Where: Mother Foucault’s Bookshop
Group size: Limited to 10 participants
Pricing: Full bundle: $90
→ Includes all 4 sessions + a convivial Garden Party (a French-style apéro) celebrating French culture at the end of the cycleSingle session: $20
Drop-in: $25
Monthly Café Littéraire — French Conversation Classes "The Café as a Place of Thought"
This winter and spring, L’École Buissonnière invites you to a monthly Café Littéraire, a French conversation class rooted in literature, seasonal culture, and thoughtful exchange.
Inspired by French cafés as places of ideas, debate, and imagination, these gatherings offer a slow, intimate approach to the French language. Each 90-minute session opens a thematic doorway through short literary texts, guided conversation, and gentle creative practices.
The focus is not performance or fluency at all costs, but presence, curiosity, and pleasure in thinking together.
Each month highlights a seasonal cultural moment in France, including traditions that shape language and collective imagination.
FEBRUARY 1st | The Café as a Place of Thought
Le café comme lieu de pensée
Seasonal focus: La Chandeleur (crêpes, light returning)
We’ll explore how cafés have shaped French intellectual and artistic life, read a short text together, and reflect—en français—on solitude, presence, and the art of being together.
From 10:30 to 12 pm (90 minutes)
📍 Practical Information
When: First Sunday of each month, February–May
From 10:30 to 12pm (90 minutes)
Where: Mother Foucault’s Bookshop
Group size: Limited to 10 participants
Pricing: Full bundle: $90
→ Includes all 4 sessions + a convivial Garden Party (a French-style apéro) celebrating French culture at the end of the cycle
Single session: $20
Drop-in: $25