Seattle, WA. Seattle Arts and Lectures is launching its new season of literary events and providing online access to the public. Throughout next season, Seattle Arts and Lectures have 20 events booked, and all will go on whether they take place in-person or online. There are several subscription options available to the public to view these events. People may choose the “Create Your Own Series” option and choose four literary events to view. Or people may select the “Super SAL” option which provides access to 15 events of their choosing. Either subscription option will provide digital access to all events selected. More information about pricing and event options are available on SAL’s website.
Check out this video revealing SAL’s 2020-21 season of literary events:
Seattle Arts and Lectures is a literary arts organization that has presented the public with talks from various writers, poets, and scholars in large lecture and classroom settings for over 30 years. Associate Director Rebecca Hoogs says that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Seattle, SAL “quickly shifted events and teachings online.” Authors who were booked to speak in the spring recorded their talks and readings from their homes and SAL packaged and produced them for people to view online. Despite the change in formatting, Hoogs says that many viewers “appreciated the intimacy of the events” as it “felt like they were sitting and talking with the authors.” Hoogs shares that the “direct connection” viewers felt with authors was a “silver lining” for audiences despite the change in event formatting.
Moving forward, even if events happen in person next year, Seattle Arts and Lectures will still offer livestreams for people who feel more comfortable viewing talks online. Hoogs suggests that it will likely take time for people to feel comfortable sitting in large lectures again, so providing livestreams will allow SAL the opportunity to expand its audience and provide widespread access to its talks.
Photo from a pre-pandemic literary event from Seattle Arts and Lectures at Benaroya Hall
In addition to its upcoming literary events, Seattle Arts and Lectures has announced its 2020-21 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate: Bitaniya Giday, a first-generation Ethiopian American poet who explores the “nuances of womanhood and blackness” through her work. The Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Program annually selects a young writer dedicated to poetry, social justice, and community engagement. Laureates gain various opportunities to share their voices, work among a cohort of poets in workshops, and even publish their work with Poetry Northwest Editions.
SAL’S 2020-21 Youth Poet Laureate Bitaniya Giday
Watch Giday read her work “Hyphenated Identity Crisis” here:
Seattle Arts and Lectures also connects with young people through its Writers in the Schools program. Through WITS, SAL connects professional writers and public-school students around the Puget Sound region. According to SAL’s website, WITS teaches students how to develop “authentic writing and performance voices” and “become authors of their lives.” Currently, SAL is working with teachers in the WITS program to plan how they will adapt their programming for the fall. Hoogs projects that the program will be conducted “either entirely or partially digitally.” Hoogs shares that due to the uncertainties underlying the global pandemic, it is especially “important to provide teachers and students with art right now” as a source of expression and storytelling.
WITS writer and YPL mentor Arianne True at a free online reading with SAL from July 10
Through its online lectures and various youth programs, Hoogs shares that Seattle Arts and Lectures will continue to “inspire people to read and think and be connected to writing and writers.”
From Seattle Arts and Lectures:
To support Seattle Arts and Lectures people can subscribe to different event packages, as well as purchase tickets to individual events. SAL emphasizes that there will be a digital component available for everyone, as well as flexibility for those who need to change their tickets or need refunds. Donations are always accepted, especially for SAL’s Writers in the Schools program.
Seattle Arts & Lectures champions the literary arts by engaging and inspiring readers and writers of all generations in the greater Puget Sound region.
