A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
“Ever since Daemond started coming to my third period class, I have found a healthy way to express my emotions and thoughts. I look forward to being taught by him every Friday and learning why writing poetry really matters.” These words come from a ninth-grade WITS student at Franklin High; they’re only a minute sampling of […]
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 […]
By Vicky Edmonds, WITS Writer-in-Residence Hearing the poetry of children has been one of the most meaningful experiences in my life. I am awestruck at getting to hear that kind of sincerity nearly every day. It’s why I remain a teaching artist after 26 years, even though it’s the most challenging work I’ve ever done. […]
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 […]
Although she makes it look effortless, being an office dog at a literary arts organization isn’t all naps and kibbles. We sat down with Lannan, Executive Director Ruth Dickey’s new pup, to ask the real questions about life as SAL’s mascot. Here are her tips for success, along with a surprising personal motto (hint: it […]
Burning When you tease me, I feel like I’m burning, and you lock the oven with words like, “I hate you.” As I burn, I try to put out the flames with tears, but you just laugh. Sometimes I put the flames out on others. I think the flames will go out, but they just […]
Rebecca Hoogs calls the extraordinary husband and wife duo, Colleen Rain and Neil Tennyson, “the wonder vols behind it all.” Dedicated SAL volunteers for the past several years, they’ve mastered the details, small and large, that help make our events memorable. Here, they share their behind-the-scenes involvement (from wine to auctioneering to book arches), what books are currently […]
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 Anastacia Tolbert, WITS Writer-in-Residence *I’m wearing faded blue jeans spotted with white paint, a long, un-tucked NASA t-shirt, a burgundy hooded sweater, a pageboy hat, stripped socks and black flats. The teacher has already told them a “professional writer” from WITS is coming. They haven’t Googled me but have formed ideas on what a […]
We were thrilled to have Sjohnna McCray join us from Savannah, GA for our recent event with Tracy K. Smith and Joshua Roman. Sjohnna’s book, Rapture, was selected by Tracy K. Smith as the winner of the 2015 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets and is forthcoming from Graywolf Press this April. […]