Angela Allen

A longtime Portland, Ore., journalist and reviewer by day, poet by night, and photographer when the light is good, I write and shoot pictures with sharpness and candor, keeping the colors in mind.

Teaching

I teach school children, college-bound students and adults about the arts of writing and photography — and the art of discovering them. I’ve worked with Wordstock Writers, Literary Arts Writers in the Schools, and Right Brain initiative, based in Portland, and taught throughout rural schools in eastern Oregon as the Fishtrap Writer-in-Residence.

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Kind Words for the Writer!

“Ms. Allen helps me correct my essays and gives me great structure. She also improves my vocabulary tremendously through great exercises. She helps me expand my overall writing brain by doing fun creative writing exercises.” Shiva, 8th grade, Portland, Ore.

Note: Shiva entered the University of Pennsylvania as a freshman in Fall 2017. He was accepted by early admission to the Ivy League school in 2016.

Latest News, Events & Clips

Photo credit. Portland Opera

Portland Opera’s `Journeys”

Six short pieces about the Black experience prove compelling. See Angela’s review.

Journeys to Justice

See Angela’s story about Portland Opera’s newest endeavor.

Bending genres

DBR composes to create — and to build a more just world. See Angela’s story.

Photo courtesy CMNW.

Fond Farewell

Clarinetist extraordinaire David Shifrin retires after 40 years as artistic director at Portland’s Chamber Music Northwest. See Angela’s story.

Her Own Wings, The Williamette Valley Chamber Music Festival

Making music in the barrel room

The Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival string players recorded an album of Gabriela Lena Frank’s compositions in the J. Christopher Wines' barrel room. See Angela’s story.

In the virtual vineyards

This August, music goes virtual with Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival. See Angela’s story. Photo by Rachel Radiasher.

Food and art

Angela takes a look at how some great food can become great art. See her story.

Opera and jazz

Charlie Parker opera, Eugene Onegin and PDX Jazz fest rev up the winter. See Angela's story.

American Operas

Portland Opera’s "American Quartet" hits a high comic chord. See Angela’s review. Photo of Angela Niederloh by Kate Szrom.

On a roll

Composer Jessie Montgomery is taking her music into another genre: opera. See Angela’s Classical Voice North America story. Photo by: Jiyang Chen.

1,000 Words

Photograph of an antique child's doll lying on a deck next to cut daffodils in afternoon sunlight.

End of Childhood

Daffodils don’t make its loss easy, but spring comes around.