History

Established in 1999, the Attic Institute is many things to many people. It's a private literary studio and a school for creative engagement. It's a think tank about the relationship between writers and civic life and a consultation center focused on the process of making new art.

Above all, the Attic Institute is a haven for writers.

Our unique knowledge studio is dedicated to engaging ways to create, explore, and innovate, to generating and participating in important and lively conversation about the creative process, and to reflecting on ideas, the imagination, and civic life, as well as on artistic, cultural, and social experience.

The Attic Institute's history in Portland began in a large attic space on Hawthorne Boulevard that was the location for both founder David Biespiel's writing studio and for what was for many years known as the Attic Writers' Workshop.

But the larger story of the Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon, begins in the time of Ancient Greece. 

As the prestige dialect of Athens, Attic Greek was the language of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Aristotle and other Greek philosophers and poets who so influenced Western Civilization that their works have been studied throughout the world for centuries.

That's the spirit of learning at the heart of the Attic Institute today, a spirit of ambition and dedication for writers and for experiencing and interpreting the world.

A private and independent studio, the Attic Institute focuses on creative inspiration. Workshops are designed to encourage and develop your talent. They help you focus and become accountable to yourself. And they invite you into the camaraderie and community of other imaginative individuals. Small, supportive, and intensive, the Attic Institute workshops are safe and inspiring place where you'll receive generous attention for your creative pursuits.

In 2010, over 500 participants attended classes, joined programs, and scheduled private conferences with our outstanding Consult Group.

Together, Hawthorne Boulevard and the Attic Institute make for an oasis for writers and writing. Often participants meet before workshop for an coffee at Common Grounds, or afterwards, at the dessert & wine bar at the Sapphire Hotel. Powell's used bookstore, Bread & Ink Cafe, vintage clothing shops, & the Baghdad are all within walking distance of the studio. 

The Attic Institute is a nexus for a vibrant community, where writers have developed literary friendships, seeded collaborations, writing groups, & magazine start-ups. From 2005-2010, the Attic Institute was the home for the rebirth and revival of the prestigious literary journal, Poetry Northwest.

Attic Institute participants have signed with publishers and agents, been accepted into residencies and graduate programs, embarked on literary businesses of their own, and simply become more connected to good writing and reading. We can't guarantee the whole gamut for everyone, but we can guarantee a personal focus on your development as a writer, as well as the crafting of individual pieces.