Lucille Clifton, writ large

From time to time, we highlight the work of Kingston, Washington, based Expedition Press, which creates beautiful letterpress renditions of poetry. While most of Myrna Keliher’s work is on the scale of cards, books, and broadsides, she sometimes ventures into larger prints.

In fact, Publishers Weekly last week featured some of Expedition’s really-big work in “Expedition Press Delivers Poetry on a Grand Scale.” Expedition’s 40-foot-long plywood mural shares Lucille Clifton’s words, “i continue to continue.”

The huge piece was exhibited at the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute in February and will be on display this week at the AWP Conference. Attendees can also find Expedition Press at booth 1341 at the AWP Bookfair.

AWP off-site, March 9

Here are a few of the AWP Seattle off-site events scheduled for Thursday, March 9, 2023:

Literary Rule Breakers: AWP 2023 offsite event – 1:00-2:00pm – at Seattle Coffee Works
To some artists, rules are actually challenges! At this event seven published writers will briefly explain what “rule” they are breaking and read a piece that in some way breaks a rule. Maybe in form or style, or simply through a character that doesn’t play by the rules. Come listen, drink tasty coffee, and chat with writers! Featuring: Jennifer Moore, Matt Bell, Katie Berta, Kelly Kathleen Ferguson, Josh Davis, Alyse Bensel, and Jennifer Pullen.

RHINO Poetry & Hypertext Review – 3:00-5:00pm – at Caffe Ladro
RHINO Poetry & Hypertext Review join forces at AWP next week. Stop by the table for free stuff and come to the reading on Thursday, 3/9 from 3-5 pm at Caffe Ladro: 801 Pine Street in Seattle! Free coffee, tea, and snacks.

A Dozen Nothing AWP Offsite Poetry Reading – 4:30pm – at Chop Suey
To celebrate seven years of bringing you some of the best poetry on the web, A Dozen Nothing presents the ultimate AWP offsite, featuring twenty-two fantastic poets from around the country at the legendary Capitol Hill music club, Chop Suey. Doors open at 4:30, so come early, buy a drink, and relax before the reading begins at 5:00 pm. 21 and over, no cover. Readers: Colleen Louise Barry, Mary Biddinger, Bill Carty, Jason Crawford, Nicelle Davis, Gabriel Dozal, Knox Gardner, Elizabyth Hiscox, Charles Jensen, Robert Lashley, Denis Mair, John Marshall, Trey Moody, Sierra Nelson, Shawnte Orion, Sarah Pape, Rena Priest, Todd Robinson, Lily Someson, Arianne True, Elizabeth Vignali, and Jason Whitmarsh. Check out their work at http://www.ADozenNothing.com! Questions? Please email us at adozennothing@gmaildotcom

Water~Stone Review AWP Offsite Reading – 5:00pm – at The Tasting Room
Featured readers include contributing poetry editor Ed Bok Lee, and contributors Sin Yong-Mok, Kathryn Savage, Jake Levine, Jose Hernandez Diaz, and Joseph Holt.
No registration required. Just show up, sip some delicious offerings from The Tasting Room, and enjoy listening to our featured readers!

The Greensboro Review at AWP ’23 – Offsite Reading – 5:30-6:45pm – at The Rendezvous Seattle
Join The Greensboro Review in Seattle at an offsite event on Thursday 3/9, 5:30 – 6:45 PM in the Grotto at the historic Rendezvous & Jewelbox Theater.
Recent and forthcoming journal contributors will read their poetry and fiction to celebrate the coming release of our 113th issue (as well as 58 years of continuous publication). Featured readers include: Rose McLarney, Bill Hollands, Phoebe Oathout, Mike Good, Dan Albergotti, Candace Walsh, Jim Whiteside, and Emma DePanise. We regret the downstairs Grotto space is not ADA accessible.

Come as You Are: a reading produced by Leah Umansky + Dena Rash Guzman – 6:00-9:00pm – at A/NT Gallery
WHO: Robert Lashley, Sarah Gilbert, Meg Day, Nathan McClain, Zeina Hashem Beck, Dena Rash Guzman + Leah Umansky
Prelude: Music by Mark Brunke (guitar)
WHAT: verses + chords + vino

AWP23 Offsite Reading: Veliz Books, BOA Editions, & Noemi Press – 6:00pm – at the Seattle Public Library
Join us for an in-person reading at the beautiful Seattle Public Library, 10th Floor Reading Room! Featuring readings by: Molly Bendall, Tina Cane, Sehba Sarwar, Anthony Sutton, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Sandra Simonds, Jessica Q. Stark, Nawall Nader-French, Angela Pañeredando, and Casey Rocheteau.

Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow: A Trans-Genre Cabaret – 7:00-9:00pm – at Gallery 110
Features poets as early media film tellers (Benshis) performing new scripts to silent films, to now media poets spinning DJ jams around ChatGPT. Featured Poets: Katy Bohinc, De Kai, Henry Goldkamp, Greta Jane, Sean F. Munro, Roxi Power, Margaret Rhee, Mark Scroggins, Rodrigo Toscano, and Ronaldo V. Wilson.

AWP Offsite: Black SWANA Lit – 7:30pm – at Northwest Film Forum
Mizna launches the Black SWANA Takeover Issue with Safia Elhillo, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Samah Fadil, and Umniya Najaer. Join Mizna in Seattle for a night of Black SWANA literature and music. Coinciding with the national literary conference in Seattle, AWP 2023, Mizna presents an offsite event to launch the Black SWANA Takeover Issue. This reading will feature guest editor Safia Elhillo as well as Romaissaa Benzizoune, Samah Fadil, and Umniya Najaer. Ladin Awad will be MCing the reading and DJing a dance party to follow. This event takes place at the Northwest Film Forum on March 9, 2023, doors at 7:30pm, reading starts at 8pm. Space is limited. RSVP REQUIRED
COVID SAFETY: NWFF requires masks for all patrons while in the building; read more here: bit.ly/nwffcovidsafety
For AWP attendees, also be sure to catch Mizna’s panel at AWP and visit us and RAWI at Booth 939 in the AWP book fair.

AWP 2023: Situated Sublimities – 7:30pm – at Beneath the Streets
Join us for an evening of poetry, featuring readings of newly published work by Elizabeth Metzger, Meghan Maguire Dahn, John James, Austen Leah Rose, J. Mae Barizo, Patrick James Errington, Kelly Weber, and Julia Guez.
Venue: Beneath the Streets, 102 Cherry St, Seattle, WA

#AWP23 Lit Up Thursday – 8:00pm – at Elliott Bay Book Company
An AWP Literary Reading & Party Hosted by: The Adroit Journal, American Poetry Review, Kenyon Review, and Pleiades, featuring Sarah Ghazal Ali, Victoria Chang, Chen Chen, Chanda Feldman, Saúl Hernández, Faylita Hicks, Luther Hughes, K.Iver, Danny Lang-Perez, Dana Levin, Philip Metres, Chloe Garcia Roberts, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, Erika T. Wurth, with DJ Gold Chisme. After Party to follow next door @Oddfellows. First 100 attendees will receive a free drink ticket for the After Party.

Seattle Civic Poet

Congratulations to Shin Yu Pai, who has just been selected as 2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet.

The Civic Poet serves as a cultural ambassador for Seattle’s rich, multi-hued literary landscape and represents Seattle’s diverse cultural community. In addition to annual City events, the Civic Poet fosters community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public, and other artists, while celebrating the literary arts.

job opps

Hugo House, in Seattle, is one of the most influential literary centers in the region. If you have the interest and qualifications, you could be part of the Hugo House story as it continues through ongoing changes. Hugo House is currently doing job searches for Executive Director, Development Director, Finance Director, and Operations Supervisor, as well as instructors in all genres. Have a look at the Hugo House Jobs & Internships postings.

Short Run

Get your fill of comics from emerging and established artists tomorrow, Saturday, November 5, 2022, 11:00am – 6:00pm, at the Short Run Comix & Arts Festival. On hiatus since Short Run 2019, the FREE event will feature about 250 comix and small press artists exhibiting at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion.

Sunday in Seattle

You are invited to join Folio and Poetry Northwest for their first annual poetry party on Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 3:00pm. Make new friends and reconnect with old ones. There will be food, wine and beverages. And short readings and poetry games. For poetry-lovers and poets of all stripes — bring a friend! Location info and RSVP.

planning for spring

This just in from Josh Fomon, Board President for Seattle City of Literature:

Hi! My name is Josh Fomon and I’m the Board President for Seattle City of Literature. I’m reaching out today because the Seattle literary community has an incredible opportunity to show the rest of the country why our city is a UNESCO City of Literature.

As you may know, Seattle will host the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference March 8-11, 2023, at the Seattle Convention Center. For those who may not be familiar, AWP is a conference that hosts literary panels, readings, and a gigantic book fair, while organizations, magazines, and presses typically host over 100 off-site readings and parties.

Last time AWP was held in Seattle, in 2014, over 14,000 people attended. I’m hoping with your help, we can make next year even better. That’s why I’m reaching out with a few questions, opportunities, and requests for you. Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas, too!

Is your organization holding any off-site events during AWP?

Seattle City of Literature is creating a printed and digital schedule and map for Seattle-specific events to be dispersed throughout the city ahead of AWP for our community. Please let us know if you are holding any off-site events as soon as you are able. I know a lot of places have already started to book, so if you would like to do something, I’d suggest starting to plan now. If you want to do something, but don’t know where to start, please reach out!

Is your organization tabling at the AWP book fair?

If you haven’t already secured your table for the AWP book fair, Hugo House’s Rob Arnold had a great idea: Trying to coordinate all of the Seattle organizations in a bloc together to show how strong our literary community is. Let me know if you are interested in trying to make this happen! Early registration discounts tables at $650 until Nov. 22, and on Nov. 23 the price rises to $800. Booths are available as well, but are more expensive. Both options include two passes to the full AWP conference. We highly recommend Seattle orgs to partner and split costs!

Free Saturday book fair opportunity:

Earlier this year, we chatted with AWP and they let us know that they have a free opportunity for smaller organizations to table at the book fair on Saturday. If your “organization grosses less than $20,000 per fiscal year, is a registered non-profit, and is local to the Seattle area” you should apply for this opportunity! No AWP conference has ever maxed out on all of the available tabling spots, so please take advantage of this opportunity before December 8, 2022, if you qualify!

AWP Community Scholarship and Work Exchange Programs for attendees

If you or someone you might know are interested in attending the AWP conference for free or in exchange for volunteer work, AWP has two options.

The first is the AWP Conference Scholarship Program, which has a deadline of December 8, 2022: “anyone may apply, AWP encourages those who identify as people of color, disabled, LGBTQIA+, and/or low-income to apply. Membership is not required to apply. This year, 75% of conference scholarships will be awarded to local Seattle residents.” In our call with AWP, this was another area where historically they have never maxed out on providing scholarships, so please share widely!

The second option is AWP’s Work-Exchange Program, which is intended for “current students, adjunct professors, or someone in need of assistance to cover the cost of the conference.” In exchange for training and four hours of volunteering, AWP will provide you a waived conference registration. The deadline to apply is January 27, 2023.

Furthermore, here is a link to register for the conference with the associated fees. I’d like to point out there is a Saturday-only attendance option for $25 if the cost is prohibitive for the entire conference! [Also note that Early-Bird rates end November 22 and there is a virtual-only option.]

—-

Seattle City of Literature is so excited to celebrate Seattle’s literary community this spring and look forward to championing everything you all are doing!

Do be in touch about any questions, opportunities to share, and anything else you might have on your radar! Looking forward to connecting and thank you so much for everything you do in our community!

All the best,
Josh Fomon
President of the Board
Seattle City of Literature
info@seattlecityoflit.org

Humble Beginnings

Town Hall Seattle invites you to “the first chapter of something big: an annual Writers Festival that pays tribute to everything we love about the written word.”

Volume I: Humble Beginnings happens Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17, 2022, at Town Hall’s historic building, 1119 8th Avenue. There will be readings, books for sale, book signings, a community area featuring local literary organizations, plus food, and lots more. Seattle’s Civic Poet Jourdan Imani Keith will offer the opening invocation on Friday evening. Tickets are available for both in-person and virtual attendance.

AWP2023 registration now open

The AWP Conference & Bookfair returns to Seattle in March 2023 and early-bird registration is now open. There are in-person and online options, as well as member, non-member, and student pricing. Reduced prices will continue through November 22, 2022. Not sure? Have a look at the 87-page Tentative List of Accepted Events for #AWP23 for a description of panels, discussions, pedagogy, etc., on offer, to say nothing of the bookfair, and on- and offsite readings.

Hot Off the Press

Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery (Seattle) promises comics, art, poetry, prose, music, and more by over 50 indie artists from the Northwest and beyond at the 8th annual Hot Off the Press Book Fair on Saturday, July 9, 2022. It’s free. Details on the Fantagraphics Events page and on Facebook.