SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Category: Behind the Scenes

SAL’s Executive Director from 2007-2012, Linda Bowers

The Evening Star: Remembering Linda Bowers

SAL is sad to share the news that Linda Bowers (SAL’s Executive Director from 2007-2012) has died. Our deepest sympathies go to her partner and community of friends. In her memory, we are honored to share this reflection by her partner, Greg Olson.   The Evening Star In the three months since Linda’s death I’ve […]

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The Great Punctuation: Alice Notley & Mother-Bright-Appearance

By Sierra Nelson, WITS Writer-in-Residence I first encountered Alice Notley’s work seeing her read in Seattle for the Rendezvous Reading Series cosponsored by Subtext. It was 1999. It was Hugo House, which had just barely hatched. I was in my mid-20’s, not even hatched, in my first larval year of an MFA, second year performing […]

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Roxane Gay

Introductions: Roxane Gay

On February 22 at Town Hall Seattle, the remarkable feminist writer Roxane Gay shared from her first collection of short stories, Difficult Women, and spoke on “the grace beyond this disgrace” in post-election America for SAL’s 2016/17 WYNK Series. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced Roxane, and Ijeoma Oluo moderated the Q&A session. By Ruth […]

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Billy Lynn’s Long Half‑Time Walk book cover

The Relevance of Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk

By Michael Overa, WITS Writer-in-Residence Americans love the art of the spectacle. And if you’re talking business, there’s nothing like a giant American flag and patriotic music to sell whatever it is you want to sell. It becomes a dangerous cocktail, this concoction of flag-waving jingoism, capitalism, and pageantry. Billy Lynn’s Long Half Time Walk […]

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On Ross Gay and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

By Gabrielle Bates I feel like a different type of tenderness might be emerging.—Ross Gay When Ross Gay read for the SAL Poetry Series last week, it was exactly what I needed. I dare say it was exactly what we all needed. All of us streaming into that auditorium from the cold—carrying our bodies quickly, […]

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Scream Out the Bad: An Evening with Marina Abramović

By Amelia Peacock, SAL’s Community Engagement Coordinator “It’s about to get really loud.” Those six simple words from the Town Hall House Manager proved an oddly poignant introduction to my evening with Marina Abramović. Two minutes later, the sound of 900 people screaming themselves into cathartic bliss gave me more context. It was an unearthly […]

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Indies First logo

Indies First: SAL Instagram Takeover

Book nerds, it’s time to use your powers for good! On Small Business Saturday, November 26, Indies First will be unfolding at an independent bookstore near you. This national campaign to support local indies was launched by Sherman Alexie in 2013, a day where thousands of authors volunteered as guest booksellers across the country. In an open letter to fellow […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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