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

`Vesper Flight’ takes off

See Angela’s story about Portland composer Kenji Bunch’s newest premiere.

Lee leads a magical `Appalachian Spring’

See Angela's Oregon Arts Watch story about the Chamber Music Northwest performance.

Catalina Cuervo as Frida and Bernardo Bermudez as Rivera.

‘Frida’ proves hot as the weather

See Angela’s review of the 95-minute piece about the unconventional Mexican artist.
Photo by Trace Downen.

Catalina Cuervo as Frida and Bernardo Bermudez as Diego Rivera in Anchorage Opera’s ‘Frida’.

Bold new season

Portland Opera has new leadership and a gutsy season ahead. Read Angela’s story. Photo by Kathleen Behnke, courtesy of Anchorage Opera.

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.

1,000 Words

Kentucky’s Handmade Stone Walls

Miles of tidy hand-laid stone walls, or “fences," spread their beauty over central Kentucky. This one borders Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, about 45 minutes from Lexington, Ky. Parts of the walls are almost 200 years old, and they need regular repair. No mortar bonds the rocks.