Selected Previous Readings

"Writing Grief and Loss at Harborview"
Friday, July 16, 2010
Noon to 12:45 pm
I read from excerpts from my writing about patients at Harborview, as well as ekphrastic short-shorts created by Harborview patients in the writers' workshops I led on the inpatient psychiatric unit. Many thanks to all who came to discuss my six weeks as Writer in Residence at Harborview Medical Center. (Read more about my residency in the Center's staff newsletter, STAT, here.)
Maleng Building Conference Room (MB 111/112)
Norm Maleng Building
Harborview Medical Center
At the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jefferson Street
First Hill, Seattle
Sponsored by 4Culture and the Seattle CityArtist Program, with deep thanks to the Harborview Art Program and program director Peggy Weiss.

Sustainability • Sostenibilidad
a photographic & literary response
una respuesta literaria & fotográfica
Exhibit ran May 27 through July 11, 2009
I co-curated (along with Catalina Cantú) the literary portion of this La Sala gallery show, featuring a dozen local writers, including Felicia Gonzalez, Gabriella Guttiérez y Muhs, Donna Miscolta, Juan Carlos Reyes, and María Victoria. Heather Dwyer of 4Culture writes: "Curators Marita Holdaway, Wendy Call and Catalina Cantú have successfully meshed this body of work into a fascinating exhibition that is sure to speak to all of us about our individual and collective place in our communities - and on this planet."
Benham Gallery
1216 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 622-2480
Thanks to La Sala, Benham Gallery, the Cervantes Institute, the Seattle Office of the Latino Community Fund, and the Latin American Studies Program of the University of Washington.

Hedgebrook Reading
Literary Landscapes Reading Series
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
6:30 pm
I am curating this reading, with my performance group comrades (and Friends-of-Hedgebrook) Byron Au Yong, Laura González, Anastacia Tolbert and Storme Webber.
in the Hedgebrook Longhouse
2197 Millman Road
Langley, WA 98260
Many thanks to all who attended, and to Byron, Laura, Anastacia and Storme for sharing their poems, their songs, their music, and their hearts. Rarely is a reading magical. This one was. You can read the anagram poems I wrote for my writer-artist-comrades here.

Beyond One Language / Más Allá de Una Lengua
reading • theater • music
Friday, June 12, 2009
7:00 to 9:00 pm
This final event in the year-long "Beyond One Language" series features Spanish-language theater, Chilean food, and Mapuche poetry and music. The event is FREE with dinner for sale. Todos están bienvenidos.
South Seattle Community College
West Seattle Campus, Olympic Hall
6000 16th Avenue SW
Seattle, WA
on bus routes 125 and 128
This is the last in a series of four bilingual English-Spanish readings I helped organize with fiction writers María de Lourdes Victoria and Paola Casla, and poets Laura González and Eugenia Toledo-Keyser.
Thanks to 4Culture and the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for sponsoring this series.

First Annual Creative Writing Faculty Reading
Seattle University
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
6:00 to 9:00 pm
I will be reading (briefly) from a work-in-progress, with my colleagues Sharon Cumberland, Alice Marshall, Edwin Weihe and others.
LeRoux Room, First Floor, University Center
(on E. James Way, between Broadway and 12th Ave)
Seattle University Campus
Seattle. WA, 98122
I'm very grateful to Sharon Cumberland for organizing this reading and honored to have been a part of it.

"Distinguished Northwest Writer in Residence" Reading
for Seattle University's Creative Writing Program
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
4:00 to 6:00 pm
I presented an excerpt from my book manuscript, No Word for Welcome, along with my photographs. I also read four of my poem translations (by Mexican indigenous poets who write in Zapotec and translate their work into Spanish).
Book signing and reception followed the reading.
Wyckoff Auditorium
Bannan Engineering Building
(10th Avenue East and East Columbia Street)
on the Seattle University campus
Seattle, WA 98122
Hear a podcast of the event.
Many thanks to Seattle University's English Department and Creative Writing Program, and especially to Dr. Sharon Cumberland, for hosting this event.

Reading: 2008 Jack Straw Writers
I shared a shortened version of my essay, "My Life in Books, in a Place Without Them." We also heard poetry by my colleague at Seattle University, Sharon Cumberland, and from Michael Spence and Kevin Craft. And on the prose side, we enjoyed a thoughtful essay by my Hugo House / Artist Trust colleague Waverly Fitzgerald, along with smart (sometimes hilarious) memoir by my buddies JD Munro, Janna Cawrse Esarey, and Ghida Sinno.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
2:00 to 3:30 pm
Central Library
Seattle Public Library
1000 4th Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104
Many thanks to Judith Roche, the Writers Series Curator, and Chris Higashi, of the Seattle Public Library, for making this reading possible.

Beyond One Language / Más Allá de Una Lengua
reading • writing workshop • book exchange
Friday, September 26, 2008
6:00 to 9:00 pm
Several local writers who work in Spanish will share their work; I will share English translations (some by me, some by others) of their words. I will also teach a half-hour bilingual English/Spanish nonfiction writing workshop. Reading and music begin at 7:15 pm. Spanish-language book-exchange all evening! The event is FREE with dinner for sale. Todos están bienvenidos.
This was the first in a series of four bilingual English-Spanish readings I am co-organizing with fiction writer María de Lourdes Victoria and poets Laura González and Eugenia Toledo-Keyser.
Thanks to 4Culture and the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for sponsoring this series.
NewHolly Gathering Hall
7054 32nd Avenue South
Seattle, Washington 98118

"So Long, So Short... a Goodbye Reading & Celebration"
with friends Shelley Gillespie, Laura González &
Storme Webber
Thursday, June 12, 2008
7:00 pm
Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
I bid a fond farewell to Richard Hugo House, after two years as Writer in Residence, with three of the 105 writers I worked with during my office hours. Shelley Gillespie showed her collages and read her nonfiction prose poems. Storme Webber performed portions of her memoir. Laura González read her poems in Spanish and I read my English translations of them. I also read my translations of poems by two Zapotec poets from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, and debuted the introduction to my book in progress,
No Word for Welcome, illustrated by my photographs.

Jack Straw May Reading Series
with the poets Merna Hecht and Kevin Craft, and fellow prose writer (& Hedgebrook alum) Jennifer Munro
Thursday, May 15, 2008
7:30 pm
Jack Straw Productions
4261 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, Washington 98105
See the essay I read here.

Reading & Discussion: "Writers at Work"
Hedgebrook & the Creative Process
with Anjali Banerjee and Rachel Chapman
Hosted by the American Association of University Women and cosponored by Watermark Book Company
Saturday, February 23, 2008
10:00 am
Island View Elementary School
2501 J Avenue
Anacortes, Washington 98221

Spanglish Potluck at Cafe Rozella
una noche de palabras y música
an evening of words & music
with Maria de Lourdes Victoria
with music by Charanga Danzón, led by Irene Mitri
Co-sponsored by Hedgebrook & Supported by 4Culture
part of Hedgebrook's Women Authoring Change series
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
7:00 pm
Café Rozella
9434 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, Washington 98106
Muchísimas gracias a las 80 personas que vinieron.
Many thanks to the 80 people who joined us!

Richard Hugo House Teachers' Reading
with my colleagues Paul Nelson, Daniel Hintzsche, Judith Roche, Michael Dylan Welch, Ann Spiers,
and fellow Hugo House writer-in-residence Cody Walker
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
6:30 pm
Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98122

Writers in the Schools: A Reading
with Christa Bell, Matt Gano, Karen Finneyfrock, Rachel Kessler, Judith Roche & Cody Walker
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
7:00 pm
Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98122

Women Authoring Change: Literary Landscapes
Día de los Muertos Reading
with Anjali Banerjee, Lana Ayers, and Susan Rich
Hedgebrook Retreat on Whidbey Island
Saturday, October 27, 2007
7:00 pm
Hedgebrook Retreat
2917 Millman Road
Langley, Washington 98260
See Anjali Banerjee's blog for a brief recap of this lovely event.

"We Read Banned Books! A Celebration of Banned and Challenged Literature"
The Information School, University of Washington
with Charles R. Cross, Ellen Forney, Cody Walker & others Thursday, October 4, 2007
6:30 pm
Part of a national event organized by the American Library Association.
Room 220, Odegaard Undergraduate Library
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington 98105

Fellows Reading
with Henrietta Goodman and Natalie Serber
Fishtrap Summer Gathering
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
7:30 pm
Wallowa Lake Camp & Retreat Center
Enterprise, Oregon