A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
By Letitia Cain, WITS Writer-in-Residence & SAL Event Manager It’s a Scottish tradition to open the front door of your house at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve to welcome in the new year, then rush to open the back door to let go of the past year. It’s a way of ushering […]
By Matt Gano, WITS Writer-in-Residence I hate the word “lecture.” I’ve always considered teaching poetry as a “conversation.” I hope to learn along with my students by talking about creative ideas, to open space in the classroom to unpack concepts such as “writing from the body,” “poetry as an economy of language,” “write what you […]
By Arianne True, WITS Writer-in-Residence This past week, my classes focused on details – what and where they are, and putting them into our own writing. We defined details, went over senses, and totally rocked an exercise on noticing them all around us in the classroom. For practice finding details in poems, we read Ada […]
By Karen Finneyfrock, WITS Writer-in-Residence I’ve have success and fun in the classroom connecting students with poetry that feature the seasons or the weather. Each November, I bring my fifth grade classes the poem “This is a Letter” by Rebecca Dunham. Young students are especially drawn to images like “the broken confetti of late fall leaves.” […]
When we receive submissions for the Elaine Wetterauer Writing Contest, each year we are reminded of the wisdom, heart, and love of language that Elaine continues to inspire in youth today. The Language Arts Department Chair at Nathan Hale High School, Elaine Wetterauer was a warm and passionate educator who impacted the lives of thousands of students, […]
Cuando Estás Conmigo Dulzura era una cosa que no tenía. Entonces, cuando abriste la puerta estaba tan feliz. Tú haces brillar la habitación. Me trajiste afuera de la tumba. Tú me enseñaste que el mundo puede ser precioso. Pero el mundo es más precioso Cuando estás conmigo. When You Are With Me Sweetness was something […]
Tomorrow, Thursday, November 30th, poet and nonfiction author Kevin Young will be presenting on his latest work, Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News, and in conversation with Seattle writer Melanie McFarland at Benaroya Hall. Tickets are just $10 as part of our 2017/18 Hinge Series, and they’re still available here or […]
Emotionless Thoughts Rhyming is my nature and words are my dreams Because everything I say doesn’t look but it sees The future’s right in front of us but people are blinded By the harsh facts, so they always try to hide it
Fruit Stand Carve red into me, use your whole arms to entangle my body. I want to feel protected and warm, blue-warm like a star nearing expansion. I’ve been told I’m not humbled enough. I want you to hold me; my knees have failed and gone somewhere else. You allow yourself to let me fall […]
At our 2017/18 Poetry Series event with A.E. Stallings, folk songwriter Jaspar Lepak dazzled our ears with an original song as part of the Bushwick Book Club program — it’s on repeat at the SAL offices right now! Below, listen to Jaspar’s song, which asks, “Why should the Devil get all the good tunes?” and read the […]