A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
On a ship bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, religious renegade Anne Hutchinson founded what might count as the very first American book club: a group of English women, disgruntled at being shut out of discussions, met to analyze the weekly sermons. In the centuries since, book clubs have been vehicles for many kinds of concerns; but always, they are efforts to […]
On April 21st, writer, photographer, and art historian Teju Cole delivered a sweeping lecture on heritage, craft, and political responsibility at Town Hall Seattle for SAL’s 2015/16 Literary Arts Series. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced his talk and moderated their conversation that evening. By Ruth Dickey, SAL Executive Director In a passage I love in Every […]
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 […]
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 Justine Chan A few months after the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, my family and I took our usual summer family trip there. For some bizarre reason, the travel package even threw in a free month-long stay at the gaudy Metropole Hotel, the “epicenter” of the SARS outbreak. And so, my parents stayed there […]
On March 23, novelist Emily St. John Mandel delivered a thought-provoking lecture about civilization, art, and apocalypse at Town Hall Seattle for SAL’s 2015/16 Literary Arts Series. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced her talk and moderated their conversation that evening. An incredible fever overtook the Seattle Arts & Lectures staff last summer – it […]
This piece was first featured by Literary Hub on March 18, 2016. You may find the original post here. When the Apocalypse is Your Religion: On Leaving the Church and Finding a Haven in Science Fiction By Rachel Kessler I grew up anxiously awaiting the apocalypse, a taste of ashes in my mouth. I dreamed […]
By Jeanine Walker, WITS Writer-in-Residence My final day of teaching with my 4th & 5th grade students at Leschi Elementary School was last Thursday. I would call it bittersweet, but I’m not sure that’s the right word—there was plenty of sweetness from the students (free hugs! a delightful card! an orchid!)—but saying goodbye to them […]
Greg Stump is a WITS Writer-in-Residence at SAL and has been a regular contributor to The Stranger for more than a decade. He is the co-creator of the comic book series Urban Hipster, a former writer and editor for The Comics Journal, and the creator of the weekly alternative-newspaper comic Dwarf Attack. He teaches […]
By Christina Gould, Patron Services Manager As a SAL staff member, I usually have the privilege of catching a glance at the celebrated author prior to opening the house for our events—the moment when my expectations based on the things I have read and the reality of the person being here, in the flesh, come […]