James Welch Prize Reading: In-Person & Online
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Poetry

James Welch Prize Reading: In-Person & Online

Past Event: Thursday, November 3, 2022

At Hugo House—Lapis Theater

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In Person & Online

Co-Presented by Poetry Northwest and Hugo House

The second annual James Welch Prize reading, celebrating two Indigenous poets from the U.S., is presented in partnership with Hugo House and Poetry Northwest, featuring judge Elise Paschen and winners Halee Kirkwood and Melanie Merle.

Judge Elise Paschen, an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, is the author of, most recently, The NightlifeBestiaryInfidelities (winner of the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize), and Houses: Coasts. As an undergraduate at Harvard, she received the Garrison Medal for poetry. She holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees from Oxford University. Paschen received the Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs Medal in 2019. Her poems have been published in Poetry Magazine and The New Yorker, among other magazines, and in numerous anthologies, including The Best American Poetry 2018 and A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry. She is the editor of  The Eloquent Poem: 128 Contemporary Poems and Their Making as well as the New York Times best-selling anthology, Poetry Speaks to Children, and co-editor of Poetry Speaks and Poetry in Motion, among other anthologies. Former Executive Director of the Poetry Society of America, she is a co-founder of Poetry in Motion, a nationwide program which places poetry posters in subway cars and buses. Paschen teaches in the MFA Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute and lives in Chicago with her husband and their two children.

Winner Halee Kirkwood is a 2022 Inaugural In-Na-Po Poetry Fellow, a 2022 Minnesota State Arts Board grant recipient, and a 2019-2020 Loft Mentor Series Fellow. They received their MFA from Hamline University. Their work is forthcoming in Poetry, and has been published in Poem-A-Day, Water~Stone Review, Lunch Ticket, Pinwheel Poetry, Muzzle Magazine, Cream City Review, and others. They are the faculty editor of Runestone Journal, a national undergraduate literary annual. Kirkwood is a direct descendant of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. 

Winner Melanie Merle is a member of the Chickasaw Nation, and she grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After working for her tribe as a writer in the multimedia department, Merle moved to Denver, where she teaches for Lighthouse Writers Workshop, supporting their outreach efforts, leading creative writing workshops in transitional rehabilitation facilities. She is also an associate editor for the literary and art journal, Inverted Syntax. Last year, Merle was honored to be chosen a finalist for the inaugural James Welch Prize. The published piece, “DownRiver,” as well as another, “Above Ground,” were then anthologized in Infinite Constellations: Speculating Us, forthcoming from The University of Alabama Press. Merle is proud to carry on the artistic traditions of her family and to nurture them in her three children.

Event Details

Hugo House—Lapis Theater

1634 11th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

Know Before You Go

COVID-19 Policies

The safety of our patrons, artists, community partners, staff, and volunteers continues to be important to us. At this time, facial masks are encouraged but not required for entry, and proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test is no longer required. However, health and safety protocols are subject to change. Before attending events, please check your pre-event email for the most up-to-date information.

Can't find your tickets?

All tickets have been emailed for this event, so be sure to check your inbox for an email from [email protected]. Call us at 206-621-2230 x10 if you can’t find them.

For in-person attendance: Your e-tickets come attached in a PDF with your ticket order confirmation email. Present on your mobile device or bring your printed ticket to the venue the night of the event. Check your pre-event email for details on COVID safety precautions.

For online attendance: If you purchased a digital pass, SAL will send a pre-event reminder email with instructions to log in and access the online stream two days before the event. The night of your event, return to lectures.org/event/james-welch-prize and enter the password where prompted. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will be available for viewing for a week after the event.

SAL will also send an email the day of the event, containing the same information. If you have opted out of receiving SAL emails, you will miss this important information—please email us at [email protected] and we will assist you.

Have a question for the speakers?

Want to ask the authors something? Send your question to SAL at [email protected]—it might be asked onstage!

Books

Our partner bookstore, Open Books: A Poem Emporium, will have books available for purchase at their table in the lobby and on their website.

Patrons & Grand Patrons, Have a Drink on SAL!

Patron & Grand Patron seating includes a pre-event drink ticket! Check your pre-event email for details.

Transportation & Parking

Public transportation: The new Hugo House is a short walk from the Capitol Hill light rail station and the First Hill streetcar (Broadway & Pike-Pine stop), and within a half-mile of many buses.

Parking: A pay parking lot is available nearby at the Greek Orthodox Church at 13th and Howell, or at Seattle Central College’s Harvard Garage at 1609 Harvard Avenue. Street parking is also available but not guaranteed. The garage beneath Hugo House is for tenants only.

Accessibility

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. Open Captioning is available upon request for all events at Hugo House. To make a request for Open Captioning services, please contact us at [email protected] or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Open Captioning” during your ticket checkout process, and we will be in touch with you to confirm details. For events at Hugo House, we appreciated a two-week minimum notice to arrange open captioning.

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. Captioning is available for all online events; click the “CC” button to view captions during the event.

Assistive Listening Devices, including Hearing Loop Assisted Listening Systems at Benaroya Hall, Town Hall, and Hugo House, are available at all of our venues. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected] or 206.621.2230×10.

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 [email protected] or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Sign Language Interpretation” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process. 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. If you would like more information or to make specific arrangements, please contact us at [email protected] or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Wheelchair Accessible or Alternative Seating Options” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process.

Guide and service dogs are welcome.

Gender neutral restrooms are available.

For any further questions or requests, or to offer Seattle Arts & Lectures feedback on how we can be more accessible and inclusive, please reach out to our Patron Services Manager at [email protected] or 206.621.2230×10.

Sponsors

Poetry Series Sponsor

Charles B. & Barbara Wright

Essay Sponsor