Culture Fiend

Local Writers

Today’s Recommendation: Follow Sherman Alexie on Twitter

And go to Hugo House on Friday to hear his latest work.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 17, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

In addition to the new fiction Sherman Alexie will showcase during the Hugo Literary Series on November 18, the Seattle scribe doles out a joke a day on Twitter (@Sherman_Alexie). Some highlights:

• Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller. That’s like Jonathan Franzen marrying Angelina Jolie.
• Can we end “douche bag” as an insult? I propose “enema.” It’s more inclusive and accurate.
• I make enough money to know that rich people who complain about taxes are evil.
• I want to be buried with a basketball, hand drum, and electric typewriter.
• Every woman knows that every man looks good in a pink shirt.
• Trapped and starving in the wilderness, I could eat human flesh. That’s why I always carry Tabasco sauce.
• In airports, I enjoy watching white businessmen get searched by black security workers.

Want to hear more like that? Alexie will muse on the topic “While You Were Sleeping” this Friday along with Portland author and publisher Kevin Sampsell; Nicole Hardy, author of Fallen: Memoirs of a Latter-Day Virgin; and Rachel Flotard of Seattle rock band Visqueen. The show’s sold out, but rush tickets will be available that day; come around 6:30 to put your name on the wait list.

Hugo Literary Series: While You Were Sleeping with Sherman Alexie, Kevin Sampsell, Nicole Hardy, and Rachel Flotard is Fri, Nov 18, at 7:30 at Richard Hugo House.

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Tags: Hugo House, Books & Talks, Twitter Comedy, Sherman Alexie

News

More Resignations: Hugo House Executive Director Steps Down

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 19, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

After two years running literary center Richard Hugo House, Sue Joerger has resigned as its executive director, effective July 1. The news comes shortly after Seattle Art Museum announced that its director, Derrick Cartwright, was also stepping down after two years on the job; Intiman Theatre cancelled its remaining 2011 season; Giant Magnet announced that this would be its final year; and Seattle Shakespeare Company lost—and re-gained—its managing director. Yes, execs come and go, and arts organizations will flounder, but this is starting to feel as recession-nasty as gas prices.

Here’s an excerpt of Joerger’s resgination letter, via @HugoHouse on Twitter. More on this later.

May 19, 2011

Dear Friends of Richard Hugo House,

I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign as Executive Director of Richard Hugo House, effective July 1. This was a very difficult decision for me, but with Richard Hugo House in a much stronger position than when I arrived, I believe that the House has a bright future—filled with talented staff and teachers, committed students, lively events and a strong community of writers.

Managing a nonprofit in these economic times is challenging. How do you meet the ever growing and changing needs of writers, while experiencing significant reductions in funding from all sectors including donors, foundations, government and corporations? How do you keep classes affordable and provide enough scholarships to meet the growing need? And, how do you provide access to Hugo House when you can no longer afford a facility manager?

In spite of these significant challenges, I am happy to report that Hugo House ended 2010 in the black for the first time in the last five years. I am very proud of this accomplishment.

… (She lists Hugo House’s accomplishments in the past year, which you can read in full here.)

As for me, I’m not quite ready to announce what is next, but it is certain to have something to do with writing and my commitment to telling the untold stories about Puget Sound. In the meantime, I’m working on my summer reading list, based on the writers we’ve invited to the next Hugo Literary Series, perusing the summer quarter catalogue for a writing class (I know I can finish that essay!) and getting my boat ready to sail north.

It is my intention to provide a smooth transition to new leadership by working closely with my talented staff. The staff and Board of Hugo House are dedicated to its future, and I am confident that this organization will continue to thrive, offering a haven to writers and readers in our community.

Sincerely,
Sue Joerger
Executive Director

John Burgess—the new president of the board of directors, as of June 1—said in a statement that a search committee is working to find a new executive director by early fall.

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Tags: Hugo House

A&E News Briefs: Kate Whoriskey Says Goodbye to Intiman

And we say goodbye to Kim Ricketts.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 26, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

THEATER After a little over a season with Intiman, artistic director Kate Whoriskey parts ways with the struggling theater and returns to New York as a freelance director. (NYTimes Arts Beat )

FILM Seattle International Film Festival will open this year (May 19) with heartwarmer The First Grader, about an 84-year-old man who takes advantage of a new education initiative in Kenya to go back to school. Director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) will be in house on opening night. (SIFF )

VISUAL ART Canadian painter Andrew Dadson wins the Henry’s second Brink Award: $12,500 and an exhibit at the gallery. That’s two for two for Canada. (Slog )

BOOKS & TALKS Richard Hugo House is looking for a few new writers-in-residence; authors and teachers have until June 6 to apply. (Hugo House )

RIP, Kim Ricketts.

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Tags: Hugo House, SIFF, Intiman Theatre, Kim Ricketts

Writing Life

It’s a Write-In at Hugo House

Bring your laptop, your moleskine, your pens and a couple bucks for booze.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 22, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

What: The last fourth Tuesday of every month, Hugo House holds a writing happy hour, Write Out, when anyone can work on their craft for two hours—with the help of booze at happy hour prices and a writing prompt by a local scribe. The prompt is for inspiration, but if you have your own, that’s also allowed.

Who: This month’s happy hour writer-in-residence is the crazy-talented novelist Stacey Levine, a Pushcart Prize nominee and Washington State Book Award finalist for her second novel Frances Johnson.

When: Soon. 6-8pm TONIGHT, February 22, at Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave).

Why: Because sometimes it’s nice to be surrounded by people like you, suffering together in silence over a dangling modifier.

See you there.

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Tags: Hugo House, Seattle Happy Hours, Seattle Writer

Arts Crush

Checking Out The Novel: Live!

Thirty-six authors + six days + countless pots of coffee = marathon book-writing session.

Posted by: Olivia Margoshes on Oct 12, 2010 at 12:30PM 2 Comments

When I first heard of The Novel: Live! I envisioned a group of writers huddled around a computer while one of their own sat typing to a chorus of sharp gasps and choice expletives. How else would 36 people crank out a novel in six days? “I wanted something wild and nutty that would get people excited,” said author Garth Stein, co-conspirator behind this week’s marathon book-writing session at Hugo House.

Inspired by New York’s annual marathon reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses, Stein recruited his fellow Seattle7Writers, a cadre of nationally acclaimed authors, even his mom (“She’s typing up a synopsis”) to take turns crafting sections of the story. When I arrived at Hugo House yesterday, Day 1 of Noveling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author William Dietrich was nearing the end of his two-hour stint at the computer. As he typed, his words were projected onto a giant pull-down screen behind him:

So they prowled through the desk. As before, much of it seemed like Mayan code to both of them, a bunch of numbers and accounts that gave no clue as to whether to Angeline Hotel was solvent or bankrupt.

So far, the story depicts the life of Alexis Austin, who lives on the top floor of her mother’s Seattle hotel. There are caskets in the basement (next to the washing machines) and an old hippie resident with a pet crow named Habib. Clearly, one of the strengths of the novel will be its reflection of styles and genres as diverse as its authors. How diverse? Dietrich pens historical/mystery novels. Sean Beaudoin used to write for the Onion. Robert Dugoni deals in murder, treachery, and legal thrillers.

“In a lot of ways it’s easier than writing a whole novel,” said Stein, who’ll take his turn on Thursday. “With fiction, anything is possible. You’re all by yourself. Here, though, you have a preexisting scenario that other writers get to draw from.” For a full list of participating writers, as well as a live feed (it’s not as creepy as it sounds, I promise) of the author up to bat, visit thenovellive.org. To witness the magic in action, head over to the Hugo House between 10am and 10pm, now through Saturday. Once finished, the novel will be edited and published in the spring as an e-book; tips and donations benefit Writers in the Schools, which places local authors in public schools as a way to spark interest in reading and writing.

UPDATED 10/15/10. Open Road Integrated Media, a company that publishes and markets ebooks, announced today that it will publish the novel produced by Novel: Live!

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Tags: Hugo House, Books & Talks, Arts Crush, Publishing

Thirsty Thursday

Met Pick: Cheap Beer and Prose

Where culture and cans of PBR collide.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 11, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Book readings don’t have to be dull, says Brian McGuigan as he rattles off some of the better anecdotes from past Cheap Beer and Prose nights at Richard Hugo House—where the cans of PBR cost $1 and the entertainment gets a little wacky.

“People get onstage with grocery bags from QFC and they throw groceries at the audience…”

“Just before Dave Schmader’s reading, his dog passed away. He was hit by a car right in front of Dave. Dave didn’t know what to do…so he emailed me later saying, can I bring a dog with me? He ends up bringing his dog’s best friend, a pug, onstage and proceeds to read his essay with the dog sitting in a chair, looking at the audience.”

But cheap beer doesn’t translate to cheap thrills. “It’s not a drunken silly fest, and it’s not stodgy,” says McGuigan, who in 2005 came up with an alternative to “pretentious, expensive” outings by selling dollar cups of wine at free poetry readings at Hugo House. “I think really good readings are performance art. That’s what I have in mind when I create events.”

Tonight’s CB&P lineup includes Janna Cawrse Esarey, author of travel memoir The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman’s Search for the Meaning of Wife; Jonathan Evison, whose All About Lulu won the 2009 Washington State Book Award for fiction; former Stranger theater critic and playwright Bret Fetzer; and Stacey Levine, a 2009 Stranger Genius Award winner and author of short story collection The Girl with Brown Fur.

Cheap Beer and Prose starts at 7 and ends with an open-mic session, which you can sign up for at the door. So much fun for just a couple bucks.

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Tags: Thirsty Thursday, Hugo House, Cheap Wine and Poetry, Cheap Beer and Prose