What we do
Our poetry community in Bend offers a free generative writing space and a spoken word open mic on the second Sunday of every month.
Why we do it
After Roe v Wade was overturned, Irene and Mello started talking about having a space to express themselves due to the state of affairs in our country. Out of this seething disbelief, Raging Writers Spoken Words (RWSW) was born. We are grateful to Spork for allowing us to use their space every month. We been going for almost 3 years now!
We want to provide a platform for those whose voices are often silenced or marginalized. This can, and is not limited to, queer, trans, immigrants, women, people of color, people with disabilities, non-english speakers, individuals experiencing houselessness and neurodiverse folx.
If you got something to say, please know that your voice is welcome here.
When and Where
Our next event is happening on February 8th, 2026.
We meet on the second Sunday of every month from 2-4pm at Spork in Bend. On the rare occasion this doesn't happen, please check here, your email or instagram for updates.
What it looks like
We start our generative writing at 2pm. Please arrive 5 minutes ahead of time to sign in and get your handouts. The handouts will have the poetry and/or writing will be working with. Handouts can be limited so feel free to sit next to someone and share. A good way to meet some new people! The handouts are yours to keep so feel free to write on them as you please. In case you don't have paper and a pen, we will have some provided for you.
We begin by reading poems that typically center around social justice and/or current events. After reading the poems, we discuss what comes up for us. Self-reflection prompts are then provided that offer questions for the reader. This is our writing time. Writers can follow the prompts or completely ignore them and go wherever they wish.
We then start the open mic around 3pm. There will be a sign up sheet for performers. Performers can choose to perform something they thought of 5 seconds ago or something they've been working on for 5 years. This is spoken word so keep the props at home. Each poet gets 5 minutes to perform. On days when our list doesn't fill up, we will have an encore round for performers to go up to the mic again.
The (important) Details
This space has zero tolerance for hate speech or any other form of discrimination. We are striving to create safer spaces, as such, all forms of oppressive behavior, such as cultural appropriation, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, fatphobia, transphobia, homophobia, and ableism, will not be tolerated.
The kitchen of Spork is closed. No food or drinks will be served. Water is available. Also please no outside food and we love your dogs, but please leave them at home.
For the non-writers and non-performers out there, you are welcome to join us, imbibe in the creative atmosphere and lend us your ears and hearts to the words and stories being shared.
This is a choose your own adventure event. Some folks enjoy participating in the writing portion, while listening during the spoken word open mic. Others may only want to attend the open mic. And others still may only want to attend the writing. Any and all combinations are welcome. This is all about what is best for you.