SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Three Questions: Travel Writer Kim Brown Seely

Perhaps this Thanksgiving weekend you’ll be joining the tens of millions of Americans on the road, or—in light of the recent election—hiding at home from certain relatives, eyes blurry as you scroll through your Facebook feed. Either way, this is a great time for a virtual escape. Luckily, we have Kim Brown Seely, a local writer who […]

Read More

Introductions: Nick Offerman

On October 28 at Benaroya Hall, Nick Offerman – star of NBC’s Parks and Recreation and America’s premier evangelist for making things – had us in stitches over his new book about woodworking, Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Workshop. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced Nick, the first in SAL’s 2016/17 SAL Presents […]

Read More

What SAL’s Reading: Fall Edition

Ruth Dickey, Executive Director: “I am currently reading Walk Through Walls by Marina Abramović, which has stunned and moved me, and Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón. I was so captivated by Ada’s reading that I tried to purchase the book that evening, but Open Books had run out (and then I struck out at both Phinney […]

Read More

Friday Roundup

Twelve fun links from around the web. From Frantumaglia, a new collection of writings by Elena Ferrante. On Fresh Air: Viet Thanh Nguyen on his escape from Vietnam. Rachel Zucker has a new podcast up with Shane McCrae! (See her on the 14th.) Who’s going to Wordstock in Portland? Emma Straub is. Five books making […]

Read More

Timothy Egan

Introductions: Timothy Egan

On October 26 at Benaroya Hall, National Book Award-winning author and journalist Timothy Egan joined us for a night of time travel, discussing the research process and emotional journey he takes when bringing his American portraits to life. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced Tim for this event, the second evening in SAL’s 2016/17 Literary Arts Series. By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Associate Director It […]

Read More

Timothy Egan

How Timothy Egan Time Travels

“I’m sort of an accidental historian. . . I’m a storyteller first and foremost,” said Timothy Egan of how he creates his vivid portraits of little-known historical figures. “There’s no such thing as boring history—only boringly told history.” On October 26, for his 2016 Literary Arts lecture, Egan walked us through the go-to sources that have lent texture to his accounts and, to himself […]

Read More

“Lantern” by Myhanh Wong

Lantern You’re sitting in class. The teacher drones on and on. On her desk sits a lantern. Decorative yet functional. You think of the different scenarios of why you would use that lantern. In your mind you travel forward in time with that lantern. You’re sitting in a bunker, waiting for nothing to happen. The […]

Read More

Poet Lucia Perillo

Remembering Lucia Perillo

Everyone at SAL is deeply saddened to hear the news that poet and essayist Lucia Perillo has passed away at the age of 58 in Olympia, Wash., a place she called home for many years. A MacArthur fellow, Lucia authored seven collections of defiant and sharply humorous poetry, including Inseminating the Elephant in 2009, which was a finalist […]

Read More

Roxane Gay

CYOS: A Choose-Your-Own Literary Adventure

If you could curate your own series of authors and thinkers to come to Seattle, who would you choose and why? Besides starting up your own local reading series, the closest you can get to a literary-style Choose Your Own Adventure is probably SAL’s Create Your Own Series, in which you can pick any four of our events […]

Read More