by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS
Olympia’s ever-surprising art gallery Salon Refu is instituting story time for the holiday season. Local poets, writers, storytellers and, as gallery owner Susan Christian puts it, “people of good will and excellent language skills” will read their work every Thursday through Sunday in December.
During the month of December the gallery will display wood veneer lamps by John Corzine and monoprints by Christian. At story time, however, Christian says, all lights will go off except for Corzine’s lamps: “It will be very cozy.”
“We’ve never done this before—it’s all in my head,” Christian said. “I’ve sent out an invite to a lot of writers and a couple of actors, and I’m filling up the Salon Refu calendar—all the Thursday, Friday, Saturday (and) Sunday in December until Christmas Eve—with volunteers who want to read something as a gift at the end of the day when the gallery day is over. Whoever comes to the gallery can also look at and buy the lanterns, monoprints, small paintings and large expensive tribal carpets we’ll be showing, but during the reading they’ll be invited to sit, lounge, lean, be comfy and enjoy. There will be cookies, popcorn, something comforting and nice.”
Among the readers will be poet Patty Kinney (reading on Dec. 3), Christian herself on the eighth, and novelist Steven Hendricks, author of Little Is Left to Tell, Dec. 9. Anatha Attar will read on the 10th and artist Lois Beck on the 18th.
Other writers who’ve agreed to join in the fun but have not yet scheduled a date (some may read on multiple evenings) include Don Fraes, poet Barbara Gibson, Miguel Perez Gibson, Tim Kelly, poet Emily van Kley, actor John Serembe, Linda Strever, Sandy Yannone and Ned Hayes, author of The Eagle Tree and other novels. Full disclosure: Hayes is the publisher of OLY ARTS. This writer will also take part in the readings, as will OLY ARTS‘ managing editor, Christian Carvajal. Carvajal is the author of Mr. Klein’s Wild Ride, under the pen name Lynn Savage.
No matter the weather in the shortened days of December, the atmosphere inside Salon Refu will be warm and inviting.
What: story time
Where: Salon Refu,
114 N. Capitol Way, Olympia
When: 5:15-6 p.m. every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December
How much: free
Learn more: 360-280-3540 | Salon Refu