A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
By Clare Hodgson Meeker, WITS Writer-in-Residence Don’t ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but what problems do they want to solve. ―Jaime Casap, Google Global Education Evangelist On my first day of a nine-week residency with third graders at Whittier Elementary, I gathered the students on a bright throw rug […]
By Matt Gano, WITS Writer-in-Residence when the poems with long lines salted raw on page make you aware of your meat, mark them with an asterisk, for the sky she fills with ink Over the past year, fellow writer Aaron Counts and I have had the privilege of mentoring Seattle’s first Youth Poet Laureate (YPL), […]
We were so lucky to have Allison Augustyn, Seattle writer and editor (and former SAL staff member!), join us for our recent event with Jacqueline Woodson. Allison is a writer of young adult fiction, and she has also written for the Chicago Sun-Times, Seattle Times, and the Field Museum. We are delighted to have a special guest blog […]
By Nikkita Oliver, WITS Writer-in-Residence Sitting in a tiny interview room, Jeanine Walker asks me, “How do you feel about working with middle school students?” My gut instinct? “Oh, no way.” My professional interview response? “I prefer high school students.” The outcome: I am currently a writer-in-residence at Washington Middle School—and I love it! For […]
As part of our Required Reading series, we share a list of three essential works for each of SAL’s featured writers. Up this time: multi-talented writer, art historian, and photographer Teju Cole. Open City Glancing at the title Open City, obvious associations spring to mind: open-minded, open-hearted, open-ended. Yet, the more sinister interpretation of “open city” is its literal definition: a city announcing that it […]
Meet Nichole Coates, SAL’s brand new WITS Program Associate! Passionate about supporting the talents, aspirations and abilities of youth from all backgrounds, she has spent the last several years teaching literacy, leadership and social emotional learning to youth in communities from Wisconsin to White Center. We asked Nichole five questions about her new role with WITS, how […]
Twelve fun links from around the web. This is what the SAL office looks like everyday. Missing Linda Pastan’s elegant voice after her November reading? “How do we know when a photographer caters to life and not to some previous prejudice?” Finally, a book club you don’t have to leave the house for. Florian Schulz […]
This post was first featured on Literary Hub on April 15, 2016. You may find the original post here. How Teju Cole Helped Me Make Peace with the Nigerian Scam Artist: Ijeoma Oluo on Reconciling her Nigerian-American Identity These words, popping up on my twitter feed, were the words that endeared me to Teju Cole […]
By Imani Sims, WITS Writer-in-Residence It is Day Six in a ten-day intensive with middle school students who have the best examples of poetic devices: “What is a Metaphor?” A shy hand goes up and I call on them. “A comparison between two things not using like or as.” “Good! Can anyone give me an […]
The Numbers There’s this tree I see every day I count every little baby bird one… two… three… four… perfect little birds I keep walking thinking about all the homework I have counting out every assignment