SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Category: Poetry Series

“A Poem of Silence” by WITS Student Saioa Ouyoumjian

Words. Everywhere and nowhere. Everything begins with them, a poem, a friendship, a thought. To have silence, is to have words. To have peace, is to have words. Floating around you unseen. You think then speak allowing the words to spring to life. Blossoming terrible or wonderful. Words dance around you being heard, being told. […]

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There’s the Overthrow and There’s the Rebuild

This essay is part of a series in which Seattle Arts & Lectures partners with Poetry Northwest to present reflections on visiting writers from the SAL Poetry Series. On Friday, October 15, Kaveh Akbar read and discussed his work with Lena Khalaf Tuffaha at the Hugo House. This event is still available to attend online until October 22 […]

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Introductions: Kaveh Akbar

By Rebecca Hoogs, Interim Executive Director A couple of years ago, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha and I were talking about dream poets to bring to the Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Poetry Series, and Kaveh Akbar was one of those dreams. His first book, Calling a Wolf a Wolf, had just been published to great acclaim. Steph […]

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Create Your Own Series: Your SAL, Your Way

Tickets go on sale today for our Create Your Own Series subscriptions, which allow you to curate your own SAL experience with four tickets to four events of your choice. The question then becomes, how and who to choose? You might select speakers from different series—Literary Arts, Poetry, Journalism, Women You Need to Know (WYNK), […]

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Introductions: Alberto Ríos

By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Interim Executive Director It is my great pleasure to introduce Alberto Ríos to you. He is the author of fourteen books and chapbooks of poetry, three collections of short stories, and a memoir. His most recent collections of poetry include Not Go Away is My Name and A Small Story About […]

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“R” by Roberto Contreras

Roberto Contreras, of Licton Springs K-8 School, read this poem to open our 2020/21 Poetry Series event with Alberto Ríos on Friday, May 28, 2021. Written during the 2019/20 school year with WITS Writer-in-Residence Arianne True.

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Introductions: Natalie Diaz

By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Interim Executive Director Natalie Diaz is the author of two acclaimed collections of poetry: When My Brother Was an Aztec and Postcolonial Love Poem. She is a poet, a scholar and student of the Mojave language, a basketball player, a professor, and, if you follow her on Instagram, you know that […]

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“The Book Thief” by Juliana Agudelo Ariza

Juliana Agudelo Ariza of McClure Middle School read this original comic to open our Poetry Series event with Douglas Kearney. This comic was written during the 2019/20 school year with WITS Writer-in-Residence Greg Stump. Performed on the digital SAL stage on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

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Introductions: Toi Derricotte

By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Associate Director Toi Derricotte is the author of six collections of poetry, including “I”: New and Selected Poems, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2019. She is also the beloved co-founder, with Cornelius Eady, of Cave Canem, which was established to remedy the under-representation and isolation of […]

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