SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

“Ideas in the Clouds” by WITS Student Flavia Sethy

Ideas in the Clouds Take me home ………what is that can we start ……….do we ever Why do you fly, not walk ……….Why do you walk, not fly Who are you ……….Who are you Why is the sky beautiful ……….is anything Give me an answer ……….are there answers Are we there yet ……….are we ever […]

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“Freedom Poem” by WITS Student Kai Ogata

Freedom tastes like a hearty soup, Warming the esophagus and stomach, Potatoes and herbs, soft beef, Freedom is a sour lemonade, The sugar sunk to the bottom, Crunchy ice, that good kind, Freedom tastes like fro-yo, Nilla wafers, popping boba, Gummy bear toppings, Freedom sounds like laughter, Not those forced ones, the ones with a […]

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“Lorelei” by Keegan York

I can’t tell you how it kills me. …..Song like the bleeding heart of fire ……….breeds the incandescent waver of ……………water rapt in wrapping ‘round ………………..the pearl. Invincible, the stretch and tear of blue on white …..seethes with the spirit of the moon. ……….I have a second sense for hollowness. ……………I receive the buoyant aura […]

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Introductions: Celeste Ng

By Rebecca Hoogs, Executive Director It is now my immense pleasure to introduce Celeste Ng. Every year we ask you, our SAL audience, who you would like to see on the SAL stage, and every year Celeste Ng’s name in the top ten most requested authors. It is thus a special delight to make your […]

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Introductions: Maggie O’Farrell

By Rebecca Hoods, Executive Director It is now my immense pleasure to introduce Maggie O’Farrell. Born in Northern Ireland and now a resident of Edinburgh, O’Farrell is the author of nine novels, a memoir, and two books for children. I came to her work first through her 2017 memoir, I Am, I Am, I Am: […]

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“Jen Wave” by WITS Student Markarius Paine

It was a cold and wet evening on January 5 just outside of downtown Seattle. There was an amazing baby being born on South Main Street in a small brick apartment building. In unit number 5, there was a small cry and a curious meow and at 5:47 that evening, Jen Aronian Wave was born. […]

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“A Guide to Darkness” by WITS Student Mars Park

Mars Park wrote this poem while a student at Hamilton International Middle School with WITS Writer-in-Residence Sara Brickman. Mars read this poem to open our SAL Presents event with Celeste Ng on October 17, 2022.    

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“Song I’ll Sing” by WITS Student Elisa Pérez

If you want … I will sing. If not … I will hum. If you’re sad, I’ll give you a beat. A song I’ll sing is my dream. It is something that belongs to me. It’s loud, even with no sound. It’s quiet when it’s loud. I don’t care if you don’t listen but this […]

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Welcome, Jennifer Lobsenz, SAL’s New Youth Programs Director!

We’re delighted to introduce you to Jennifer Lobsenz, SAL’s new Youth Programs Director! You may know Jenne already from her work at the intersection of the arts and social justice in Seattle, such as Path with Art, City of Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights, where she recently worked as a Racial Justice Analyst, and  beyond. […]

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Introductions: Abdulrazak Gurnah

By Rebecca Hoogs, Executive Director It is now my immense pleasure to introduce Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah. We are here tonight to celebrate Gurnah’s tenth novel, Afterlives, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature almost exactly one year ago today, as well as to honor his long career in literature. Gurnah’s books have been […]

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