A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
On March 28, lauded social justice lawyer and author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, captivated a sold-out Benaroya Hall with his lessons in the “power of proximity” and hope. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced Bryan as part of SAL’s 2016/17 Literary Arts Series. This event also celebrated the winners of SAL’s annual Elaine Wetterauer Writing Contest. […]
On February 22 at Town Hall Seattle, the remarkable feminist writer Roxane Gay shared from her first collection of short stories, Difficult Women, and spoke on “the grace beyond this disgrace” in post-election America for SAL’s 2016/17 WYNK Series. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced Roxane, and Ijeoma Oluo moderated the Q&A session. By Ruth […]
On October 28 at Benaroya Hall, Nick Offerman – star of NBC’s Parks and Recreation and America’s premier evangelist for making things – had us in stitches over his new book about woodworking, Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Workshop. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced Nick, the first in SAL’s 2016/17 SAL Presents […]
On October 26 at Benaroya Hall, National Book Award-winning author and journalist Timothy Egan joined us for a night of time travel, discussing the research process and emotional journey he takes when bringing his American portraits to life. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced Tim for this event, the second evening in SAL’s 2016/17 Literary Arts Series. By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Associate Director It […]
On October 5th at McCaw Hall, Ada Limón—the wildly generous and truthful poet whose “heart wants her horses back”—read from her book Bright Dead Things and gave us all excellent writing advice. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced and interviewed Ada for this event, which opened SAL’s 2016/17 Poetry Series. By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Associate Director For a […]
On September 19 at Benaroya Hall, international bestseller Ann Patchett spoke of the life-changing process of writing about her own family in her new novel, Commonwealth. SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced and interviewed Ann for this event, which opened SAL’s 2016/17 Literary Arts Series. By Ruth Dickey, SAL Executive Director I first fell in love with Ann […]
On December 1, SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced Srikanth Reddy‘s thought-provoking lecture, “Like a Very Strange Likeness and Pink,” a talk that examined the question of likeness. Reddy spoke as part of a co-presentation of SAL’s Poetry Series and the Bagley Wright Lecture Series on Poetry. By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Associate Director It is a delight to introduce […]
The evening of Wednesday, November 18, SAL Director Ruth Dickey introduced acclaimed writer Anthony Doerr to a buzzing, brimming auditorium, at Benaroya Hall. Perhaps you, like me, were wary of All the Light We Cannot See. I picked it up because a friend recommended it and then was afraid to begin. A book about World […]
On November 10, Linda Pastan brought her quiet but powerful literary presence to McCaw Hall for SAL’s 2015/16 Poetry Series. SAL Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs introduced her and moderated their conversation that night. It is an honor and delight to introduce Linda Pastan, who is here to celebrate and read from poetry across her long career, including […]
On October 29, SAL Executive Director Ruth Dickey introduced Ta-Nehisi Coates to the resounding applause of a sold-out crowd at McCaw Hall, for SAL’s 2015/16 Literary Arts Series. I first met Ta-Nehisi Coates 20 years ago, when we were two of the youngest members of WriterCorps, in Washington DC. WriterCorps placed writers in traditionally underserved communities […]