Creating Inlandia events and how you can be a part of the process

INLANDIA LITERARY JOURNEYS

Cati Porter Contributing columnist

Presenters from the Blacklandia event “Unmasking Strength: Rewriting the Rules of Masculinity,” are James Coats, left, Ipyani Lockert, James Woods and Richard Allen May III. Courtesy of Janine Pourroy Gamblin — Inlandia Institute

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We’re friends, right? Maybe you’ve been to an Inlandia event or workshop. Perhaps you’ve even had occasion to wonder where our program ideas come from. Today, I want to pull back the curtain.

A lot of thought and effort goes into every program or project, and we do our best to try to consider every angle. I want to illuminate some of that thought, some of that effort, and invite you in.

I’m going with the tried-and-true method of who, what, where, when, why, and how, except not in that order. But there’s a reason for that. Just keep reading. Let’s start with WHY:

Inlandia’s tagline is “Celebrating our region in word, image, and sound.” To me, that means community. I’ve lived in Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and Riverside. The Inland Empire is my home, and I’m betting it’s your home, too.

Now for the WHERE: I don’t know if you know this, but despite being rooted in place, Inlandia has no “home” venue. Instead, we turn to our partners who allow us to hold our programs in their community spaces.

Our longest-running event and workshops venue is the Riverside Public Library. Our newest is the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Museum in Rancho Cucamonga. We also hold virtual events on Zoom.

How about the WHAT: Inlandia’s mission is to “recognize, support, and expand literary activity in all of its forms in the Inland Empire.” Maybe it’s a book launch, a community discussion, or workshop on writing or getting your work published.

As to the WHEN, this depends on the venue. What are their hours? What days are they open? Other considerations include, do they charge an entry fee? If so, are there any days when they don’t? This is important because we try to keep Inlandia’s events free.

The WHO is a little easier, and determined by the WHAT. The hard part is lining up all of the moving parts — the WHERE and the WHEN with the WHO and the WHAT.

Now how about that HOW.

Our HOW is called the Programs Committee. Once a month, the committee meets with me and Inlandia’s Programs and Marketing Coordinator Janine Pourroy Gamblin and together we debrief on recent events, confer on upcoming ones, and plan for the future. Many of the ideas for events and programs come out of this committee.

We’ve recently come to the realization that we’ve been doing things inside out. We’ll decide the WHAT, then figure out the WHERE and the WHEN, and unless there’s an obvious WHO (think: book launch) then we’re having to fill those WHO slots with whomever is available. Sometimes things fall through and we’re having to come up with a whole new WHO and WHAT to fit the predetermined WHEN and WHERE. (e.g. Colonel Mustard with Candlestick in the Library on First Thursdays Artswalk.)

This is where you come in.

Have you ever had an idea for an Inlandia program? We want to hear from you. It’s really simple. I promise. One page. Give us the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW. Not quite in that order.

WHAT: What are you proposing? Give it a name. Tell us what it is.

WHO: Is there a presenter you have in mind? Your friend? Your dad? Your old professor? Yourself? If you can make the connection, we can make the ask. Better yet, if you’ve already asked them and they’ve said yes, tell us.

WHERE: Do you have a preferred venue? How about the library? Or a furniture store? A street corner? Again, we can make the ask, or if you’ve already asked and they’ve said yes, tell us.

WHEN: Give us a few options for dates, because this is often the tricky part.

WHY: Why do you think this is necessary? Who will it serve? Youth? A particular subset of our community? The general public?

HOW: Send an email to: programs@inlandiainstitute.org. Put “proposal” in your subject line.

There’s no deadline. The committee meets monthly. We’ll review proposals as they come in and get back to you as soon as possible. All programs that are accepted will be for after July 2025.

The best proposals will fit one of Inlandia’s core programs (creative writing workshops, free public literary and cultural events, and/or creative literacy for youth and teens). We especially want ideas for programs that we couldn’t have thought of ourselves, and that don’t have an outrageous price tag. The more money involved, the less likely we can make it happen.

But if it’s a great idea, with a great why, we’ll give it our best try.

Cati Porter is a poet, essayist, and executive director of Inlandia Institute. Learn more about her writing life at www.catiporter.com and her work with Inlandia at www.inlandiainstitute.org.