Pendleton Center for the Arts hosts monthly author reading

Published 8:23 am Monday, July 14, 2025

Dale Hom poses for a photo Dec. 9, 2021, during a book signing in Walla Walla. (Dale Hom/Contributed Photo)

PENDLETON — Anyone can celebrate the written word as part of a virtual monthly series featuring authors writing in the Northwest.

Pendleton Center for the Arts hosts its First Draft Writers’ Series on the third Thursday of each month and has done so since 2013. Each iteration features an author or poet from the Northwest sharing some of their work — often new or upcoming publications — followed by a question and answer session and an open mic reading. Since the program’s inception, Pendleton Center for the Arts Director Roberta Lavadour said she estimates 100 authors have been featured.

Next up, on Thursday, July 17, is Dale Hom, who will share bits of his graphic novels as well as discuss his process and inspiration behind the books. The session starts at 7 p.m. on Zoom — for the link, visit pendletonarts.org.

Much of Hom’s inspiration comes from “a sense of place, his cultural identity (as a Chinese-American growing up in the West), and human interactions with the natural world,” according to the art center’s website.

His work often involves nature, after he spent his career in the U.S. Forest Service. Hom lives in the Seattle area and began writing and illustrating graphic novels after retiring.

Lavadour said the goal of First Draft is to “celebrate the written word, the spoken word, and infuse the community with an art form that we sometimes don’t get a lot of exposure to.” She added that the community of Pendleton, as well as outside the city limits, participates in the series. One regular even attends online from Illinois.

“It’s always a lovely community of people,” she said. “Every time I’m there, it is a profound experience and I would not have missed it for the world.”

Between the featured authors and up-and-coming artists sharing their work, attendees hear a variety of interesting and insightful pieces, according to Lavadour. She said writing has a special way of reminding people they’re not alone in the world.

“Sometimes the thought of listening to poetry sounds as dull as can be,” she said, “but if people give it a try and tune in, I think they might be surprised by the response that they have and how much they connect to it.”

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