A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
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. […]
By Michael Overa, WITS Writer-in-Residence The first day of a new class, I’ve begun a rather nerve-wracking experiment (as if simply standing in front of thirty seventh or eighth grade students I’ve never met before wasn’t enough.) The experiment goes something like this: shortly after my partner teacher’s introduction – and before explaining any more […]
By Peter Mountford, WITS Writer-in-Residence When I was in middle school I had this magical power, which was very useful. The way it worked was that if I wanted a teacher to not call on me I could camouflage myself, or become invisible. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but I […]
By Anastacia Renee Tolbert, WITS Writer-in-Residence Tracy K. Smith’s Duende (2007) opens with: This is a poem about the itch. That stirs a nation at night. —”History” […]