Literary Arts

Azar Nafisi

Benaroya Hall — S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium

February 28, 2006

Event Description

Azar Nafisi captured worldwide attention with Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (2003), a publishing sensation that spent seventy weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and is translated in over thirty languages. Such fame could hardly be anticipated for a modest professor of English literature, but Nafisi’s inspired teaching, intellectual integrity, and personal courage melded in an exceptional memoir of global appeal.

Nafisi taught at the University of Tehran as the Islamic revolution raged around her. She was fired in 1981 for refusing to wear the veil. For two years before leaving Iran in 1995, Nafisi held secret classes on forbidden Western literature in her home. Seven young women passionately related Lolita, Madame Bovary, and Pride and Prejudice to their lives. Oppressed in their daily lives, they claimed intellectual freedom by studying great literature.

Nafisi lives in Washington, D.C. She teaches at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies and directs the Dialogue Project, promoting democracy and human rights. She writes for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Stunning…a literary life raft on Iran’s fundamentalist sea.Margaret Atwood

Event Details

Venue

Benaroya Hall — S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium

200 University Street
Seattle, WA 98101

View directions.

This event will be held in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, the largest event space at Benaroya Hall.

Benaroya Hall is located at 200 University Street, directly across Second Avenue from the Seattle Art Museum.

By Car

From Southbound I-5
Take the Union Street exit (#165B). Continue onto Union Street and proceed approximately five blocks to Second Avenue. Turn left onto Second Avenue. The Benaroya Hall parking garage will be on your immediate left. The garage entrance is on Second Avenue, just south of Union Street.
From Northbound I-5
Exit left onto Seneca Street (exit #165). Proceed two blocks and turn right onto Fourth Avenue. Continue two blocks. Turn left onto Union Street. Continue two blocks. Turn left onto Second Avenue. The Benaroya Hall parking garage will be on your immediate left. The garage entrance is on Second Avenue, just south of Union Street.
From Northbound I-5 via Westbound I-90
Take the 2C exit for I-5 North. Follow signs for Madison Street/Convention Place and merge right onto Seventh Avenue. Turn left onto Madison Street. Proceed three blocks and turn right onto Fourth Avenue. Continue four blocks. Turn left onto Union Street. Continue two blocks. Turn left onto Second Avenue. The Benaroya Hall parking garage will be on your immediate left. The garage entrance is on Second Avenue, just south of Union Street.

By Public Transit (Bus & Light Rail)

Benaroya Hall is served by numerous bus routes. Digital reader boards along Third Avenue display real-time bus arrival information. For details and trip planning tools, call Metro Rider Information at 206.553.3000 (voice) or 206.684.1739 (TDD), or visit Metro online. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, served by light rail, has a stop just below the Hall (Symphony Station).

Parking

The 430-car underground garage at Benaroya Hall provides direct access from the enclosed parking area into the Hall via elevators leading to The Boeing Company Gallery. Enter the garage on Second Avenue, just south of Union Street. Maximum vehicle height is 6’8″. ChargePoint charging stations are available for electric vehicles. Visit the Benaroya Hall website for event pricing.

Parking is also available at:

The Cobb Building (enter on University Street between Third and Fourth avenues).
The Russell Investments Center (enter on Union Street between First and Second avenues).
There are many other garages within a one-block radius of Benaroya Hall, along with numerous on-street parking options.

Open Captioning is an option for people who have hearing loss, where a captioning screen displaying the words that are spoken or sung is placed on stage. This option is present at every event at Benaroya Hall.

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 during an online event. Captioning is available for all streaming 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). Benaroya Hall has an infrared hearing system, which transmits sound by light beams. Headsets are available in The Boeing Company Gallery coat check and the Head Usher stations in both lobbies.

Sign Language Interpretation is available upon request for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals for both in-person and online events. To make a request for interpretation, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230 x10, or select “Sign Language Interpretation” from the Access Requirements 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 our venues, and our venues are fully accessible to ticket holders with physical mobility concerns. Among other features, Benaroya Hall has designated parking spaces adjacent to elevators in their parking garage. Elevators with Braille signage go to all levels within the Hall. To reserve seating for a specific mobility concern, you may select “Wheelchair accessible seat” during ticket checkout, and we will contact you to confirm details. For more details on their accessibility features, click here.

Guide and service dogs are welcome.

Gender neutral 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 Monday-Thursday from 12:00pm – 5:00pm and Friday from 10:00am – 1:00pm at 206.621.2230 x10.

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 accessibility accommodations” from the Access Requirements section during your ticket checkout process, and we will contact you to confirm details.

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Azar Nafisi

Event Description