Reimagining Masculinities: Conversation with Matthew Nienow & Wayne Scott

WHAT IS THE STORY BOYS AND MEN ARE TOLD about how to be fathers and husbands, and how does it change when they’ve made big human mistakes? How, in the aftermath of crises—whether it’s addiction, depression, or infidelity—do men reimagine masculine identities that allow them to move more peacefully and safely in the world? This workshop, in a comfortable neighborhood setting, is a conversation between two men, both writers and psychotherapists, about themes germane for therapists working with male-identified clients.

Matthew Nienow's book of poetry, If Nothing (Alice James Press, 2025), tackles his struggle with addiction, mental health, and shame through poems that build a new vision of how to be a man moving into accountability. Wayne Scott’s memoir, The Maps They Gave Us (Black Lawrence Press, 2025), follows a married couple, a straight feminist woman and a queer/bisexual man, moving down the path toward divorce, who work with a quirky couples counselor who helps them invent a new template for partnership.

Using their personal stories as springboards, both writers are forming new, evolved narratives about masculinity that break up the patriarchal templates they inherited. Nienow and Scott will explore the questions: What does it mean to reimagine masculinity in an era where toxic manhood is glaringly, aggressively dominant across Western cultures? How does shame become a portal to new ways of being? How are narrative-building and psychological healing connected? And what are the implications for psychotherapists who work with male-identified clients?

This workshop, free to participants, in space donated by much beloved Rose City Book Pub in Portland, Oregon, combines select readings from If Nothing and The Maps They Gave Us, along with discussion between the authors and questions from participants about working with men in their healing processes.

Two CEUs (clinical) are approved through the National Association of Social Workers (Oregon Chapter).

PLEASE NOTE: Seating for this free continuing education event is limited. We ask participants to register in good faith to attend and cancel their registration if they decide not to attend, so that another person can sign up.

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