A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
The F Train Maybe she didn’t get the job Maybe the hiring manager found her height overbearing, That she reeked of women who frighten men Maybe he caught sight of the pendant on the chain around her neck Hanging just above the hemline of a new-looking grey cardigan. A tarnished beauty on the shore of […]
This essay is part of a series in which Poetry Northwest partners with Seattle Arts & Lectures to present reflections on visiting writers from SAL’s Poetry Series. At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, Richard Kenney will read at Seattle Central Community College—Broadway Performance Hall. Tickets are still available! By Jason Whitmarsh In 1997, I moved from […]
Que significa ser bilingue A lot of people think, it can be easy La dificultad sigue Want to practice on a daily basis I just wanted to talk to them Nomas una conversación I want to hear their stories Porque no tomas el acción Why don’t you study? Porque te cuesta Your family came to […]
the lady in the elevator called, “look at that rainbow!” and we all did, sticking our necks out past the doors to get a good look. we are so starved for pretty things. but there was no rainbow, only the faintest smudge of purple against the cotton fluff of clouds spread across the sky like […]
Ode to Pitbulls Given a bad name Sweet as honeydew melon So violent everyone says not even in the top five Gone through more than imaginable Pity the pitbull Lonely star in the night sky Everywhere I look there are pitbulls chained and muzzled But what about the others Abused like the trees we tear […]
It’s the tree that fills me with serenity. the green that towers me with hope. the roots that surround me in the twists and turns of sound. those roots that have grown to help me find mine. the limbs that make me long for touch. the smell that brings me back to that safety. It’s […]
My name is Chimamanda Danita Egboh My name means I am gifted. She does not know what she is made up of. She wants to be special like the others. She sings in the church, but only when the others do, too. She doesn’t realize her talent is hidden from everyone. She knows there’s […]
I am a star floating in the sky. I am a ballerina dancing in the moonlight. I am a moon sparkling in the starlight. I am a dream about roses dancing in the rain. I stand in good relation to me and my mom because I am alive. I am alive.
Sundays at Seven Sunday mornings rising. Not of the faith, never been to church, but here I am in the biting air like a street vendor with a cotton candy cart; my breaths spun-sugar white. They pull up with no announcement, no fanfare— faces turned, expecting, though. Here we are; off we go. No people […]
Dibujar Con este lápiz Para encontrar Lo que no es fácil Con puntas de grafito Para crear Rostros, paisajes y el infinito Me gusta practicar Mi estilo en un borrador Es fácil de frustrar Es muy tentador Soy programador Tengo persistencia Soy luchador No olivden mi presencia Soy un soñador No lo sé mostrar Soy […]