At Portland Book Festival, in November, you may have noticed an icon on t-shirts, posters, and social media of Literary Arts’ red umbrella dropping bombs. The graphic read “Drop Wells Fargo” and “Literary Portland for Palestine.” The shirts were a next step in a call to action, which grew loud in late summer and shows signs of continuing long after the 2025 lit fest has passed.
A new collective formed around the issue says they’re intentionally raising awareness across the street from Literary Arts at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop. An upcoming reading titled 4 Palestinian Poets presents an opportunity to hear Lena Khalaf Tuffaha—winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry.
In late July, a number of writers and local arts organizations penned a letter asking Literary Arts, the nonprofit that has run Portland Book Fest since 2015, to turn down sponsorship and funding from financial institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
“Literary Arts has foregrounded many writers who speak truth to power… in that spirit, we ask you to say ‘no’ to sponsorship from banks that profit from and facilitate the destruction of Palestine, that are deeply implicated in the global arms trade overall.…,” the letter states, noting the banks’ dealings with US weapons manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and Israel-based Elbit.
Literary Portland for Palestine’s letter garnered over 400 signatures from nationally recognized authors like Naomi Klein and Torrey Peters and local powerhouses like Anis Mojgani, Walidah Imarisha, and Jon Raymond. It was signed by Oregon Book Award winners, Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship recipients, and Omar El Akkad, who serves on the Literary Arts board.
Literary Arts responded with a form rejection, writing to the Mercury and other outlets: “We are aware of concerns raised regarding Portland Book Festival sponsorships and take seriously the values and voices of the literary community.” The statement went on to explain that sponsorships help keep ticket prices affordable.
The tone of the letter suggested a potential boycott, but many signers were present at the fest, some wearing the “Drop Wells Fargo” shirts as they read their work, handing out sheets of poems by Palestinian poets with purchases, or discussing the issue onstage.
A new collective of around 25 local writers and arts organizations calling themselves Literary Palestine for Portland consolidated from the debate, even as Literary Arts itself never publicly engaged with the ask.
“I think that we really coalesced around the Portland Book Festival and we were still in the stages of figuring out where we wanted our focus to be,” says author and educator Sara Jaffe, a founding member of Literary Portland for Palestine who read from her new book Hurricane Envy at the fest. Jaffe explained that the majority of those organizing felt that there hadn’t been enough time allowed for the fest to divest from its sponsors, so they turned their attention to raising awareness.
According to Jaffe, the group’s attention remains focused on Literary Arts, but they began to ask themselves what they could do alongside asking Portland Book Festival to divest. “When we were contacting people and asking them to speak up [at Portland Book Festival], we definitely heard back from some: Literary Arts is such an important organization. They’re not the bad guys, etc.. ” Jaffe says. “But it’s because of these relationships… it’s these grassroots connections that are the places where we can try to affect this kind of change. You know, we’re not talking to Wells Fargo. Why would we talk to Wells Fargo?”
Now with an upcoming reading at Mother Foucault’s—picked partially for its placement across the street from Literary Arts’ bookstore and headquarters—Literary Portland for Palestine signals that their rally cry will continue to grow in volume. And because they’re a literary organization, they’re doing it with poems.
The 4 Palestinian Poets event presents an opportunity to hear National Book Award winner Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, along with Philadelphia-based Ahmad Almallah, whose third collection Wrong Winds was published by local press Fonograf in 2025. Portland poets Jaye Nasir and Veera Sulaiman round out the bill.
Jaffe and another organizer Jeff Alessandrelli say this is merely one of many more events to come. The reading is free to attend, but mutual aid fundraisers Creators for Gaza will have a table where people can donate or purchase prints, herbal tea, and other offerings to provide direct aid to families in Gaza.
Replying to the event’s flyer, a commenter asks: “What can attendees expect at this event?” The flyer artist responds: “Poets reading poems.”
Literary Portland for Palestine presents 4 Palestinian Poets at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, 715 SE Grand, Fri Jan 9, 7 pm, FREE, more info at literaryportlandforpalestine.com
Suzette Smith
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