Please join us for an online evening of delights and inspiration at Words Matter 2021 to ensure that Seattle Arts & Lectures can continue to cultivate transformative experiences through story and language with readers and writers of all generations.

Natalie Diaz is the author of two poetry collections: When My Brother Was an Aztec and Postcolonial Love Poem. The New York Times Book Review called her most recent work “no doubt one of the most important poetry releases in years, one to applaud for its considerable demonstration of skill, its resistance to dominant perspectives and its light wrought of desire.” The Q&A will be moderated by Laura Da’. This event is online only and will be pre-recorded.

“America’s funniest science writer” (Washington Post), the ever-curious and darkly irresistible Mary Roach is the author of books like Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, books that are about human beings as much as they are about the human body. Her forthcoming book is about the often fraught encounters between animals and people. This event will be live and online only, with moderator Deborah Blum. Please note: this event begins at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).

A New Yorker staffer and investigative writer, Patrick Radden Keefe is the author of three books, including the New York Times best-selling book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. The book is a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and its devastating repercussions. Keefe is also behind the new podcast, Wind of Change, about the wild story behind the classic metal ballad.

Now in a digital format, Local Voices presents a unique opportunity to eavesdrop on the works of SAL’s Writers in the Schools resident writers. View the event as a Zoom Webinar on May 12th at 7:00 p.m, or catch it streaming on Facebook Live! Click “Learn More” to see the line-up of readers.

One of our most popular events of the year, each Moth Mainstage features simple, old-fashioned storytelling, by five wildly divergent raconteurs who develop and shape their stories with The Moth’s directors. Theme, host, and storytellers to be announced in spring! This event is live and online only.

Alberto Ríos is the author of fourteen books and chapbooks of poetry, three collections of short stories, and a memoir. He has garnered acclaim as a writer who uses language in lyrical and unexpected ways, containing elements of magical realism, to reflect on his Chicano heritage. Q&A with Donna Miscolta. This event will be online only and pre-recorded.

Ocean Vuong is a poet and fiction writer whose work considers class, queerness, family, and identity. His epistolary novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), was an immediate and enduring bestseller described by the Los Angeles Times as a “series of high notes that trembles exquisitely almost without break.” Q&A moderated by singer, songwriter, and artist Perfume Genius. This event will be live and online only. Please note: this event begins at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).