A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment: Karen Russell

Libby Lewis Photography

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Sherman Alexie Loves

A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment: Karen Russell

Past Event: Friday, February 17, 2017

At Town Hall Seattle—The Great Hall

This event is part of the Sherman Alexie Loves Series.

Sherman Alexie and Jess Walter will host a live recording of their podcast, “A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment.” The evening will include appearences by Karen Russell, author of the bestselling Swamplandia, Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Angel Gardner, and folk musician Naomi Wachira.

This series is in partnership with novelist, poet, and playwright Sherman Alexie. He has published 25 books, including The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and War Dances. His most recent work is a children’s book called Thunder Boy Jr.

Jess Walter, a National Book Award finalist and recipient of the Edgar Allen Poe Award, is the author of six novels including Beautiful Ruins and The Zero, the short story collection We Live in Water, and a nonfiction book on the Ruby Ridge Siege, Every Knee Shall Bow.

Karen Russell, novelist and short story writer, is one of today’s most celebrated and vital writers. Her first collection of short stories, St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, was longlisted for the Guardian first book award. Her novel, Swamplandia! was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and shortlisted for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. Her most recent work, a collection of lavishly imagined short stories, Vampires in the Lemon Grove, was published in the same year she won a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.” Her short stories have also been featured in publications such as The Best American Short Stories, Granta, The New Yorker, and Oxford American. A native of Miami, Russell currently lives in Portland, OR.

The daughter of a Kijabe pastor, Naomi Wachira joined the traveling family band at five years old, spreading the good word through gospel song. This explains the beautiful harmonies on her album, for as she says “In my family everyone sang and everyone knew their part. Harmony was second nature for us.” Larger African concepts also play a part in Naomi’s music, like the Zulu idea of Ubuntu. This concept means “I am because we are,” and it’s a community-based worldview that focuses on caring for each other. This is why the songs on Naomi’s debut album sound so alive. They’re plucked from her own life, powered by her Northwest musical community, and imbued with her own sense of hopefulness.

Angel Gardner is 20 years old and is the current Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She has been writing for over ten years now, on her own and as a youth ambassador with the Pongo Teen Writing Program. She believes that the best type of creative writing is the kind without barriers that makes you shift and sweat. Her community advocacy includes work with the Mockingbird Society and New Horizon Ministries, organizations that support youth experiencing homelessness through advocacy and working towards systemic change. She is the mother to a little boy who is her world and brings out the best of her and her writing. She plans to keep writing as long as she lives.

Event Details

Town Hall Seattle—The Great Hall

1119 8th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

View directions.

Transportation & Parking

Town Hall Seattle is centrally located at 1119 8th Ave, on the corner of 8th and Seneca. Their venue is served by frequent bus routes, is near access to light rail stations, and close to a number of parking options nearby. Please see their website for more details.

Accessibility

Open Captioning is an option for people who have hearing losses, where a captioning screen displaying the words that are spoken or sung is placed on stage. To make a request for open captioning, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10. Please note: for in-person events at Town Hall Seattle, we appreciate a two-week advance notice to allow us time to secure captioning services. 

Closed Captioning is an option for people who have hearing loss, where captioning displays the words that are spoken or sung at the bottom of the video for online events. Captioning is available for all online events; click the “CC” button to view captions during the event.

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are devices that people with hearing loss use in conjunction with their hearing device (hearing aids or cochlear implants). Town Hall Seattle has a hearing loop system, so you can switch your T-coil hearing aid to telecoil to have the stage’s microphones transmitted directly to your hearing aids. To pick up a headset, check in with any Town Hall usher when you arrive.

Sign Language Interpretation is available upon request for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals. To make a request for interpretation, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Sign Language Interpretation” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process and we will contact you to confirm details. Please note: we appreciate a two-week advance notice to allow us time to secure interpretation.

Wheelchair Accessible Seating and Accessible Restrooms are available in all sections at Town Hall Seattle, which is fully accessible to ticket holders with physical mobility concerns. Town Hall Seattle recommends that visitors use the 8th Avenue Entrance for events in the Great Hall, and elevators with Braille signage go to all levels within the Hall. The venue has all-gender, ADA-accessible restrooms on the lobby and Forum level. To reserve seating for a specific mobility concern, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Wheelchair Accessible or Alternative Seating Options” during ticket checkout, and we will contact you to confirm details. For more details on accessibility features at Town Hall, click here.

Guide and service dogs are welcome.

All-gender restrooms are available.

We are pleased to offer these accessibility services at our venues, and they are provided at no additional cost to ticket holders. Please contact us with any questions and feedback about how we can be more accessible and inclusive. Our Patron Services Manager is available at boxoffice@lectures.org, or Tuesday-Friday, from 12 noon–5 p.m., at 206.621.2230×10.

For more accessibility information, please head to lectures.org/accessibility. If you would like to make accessibility arrangements you do not see listed here, please contact our box office or select “Other Accommodations” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process, and we will contact you to confirm details.