posts about books, literature, storytelling, stories, story slams, poetry slams, word performances, readings, etc.
(UPDATED October 18, 2016) On the third Tuesday of each month, Rhythm & Rye hosts StoryOly, Olympia’s most beloved “story slam” event. Half the suggested donation to compete or listen goes to Olympia SafePlace. Starting at 5:30 p.m., volunteers throw their names in a hat, and 10 are invited to tell an eight-minute autobiographical story …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The photo book Banned in DC, about the punk scene in the nation’s capital, was published in 1988—so quickly that some questioned whether it was too soon to document the scene. Nearly three decades later, co-author Cynthia Connolly has produced a seventh edition and is making stops around the …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Once upon a time, Nikki McClure hung out with Olympia’s own “riot grrrls.” She danced on stage at Nirvana’s early performances and labored alongside K Records founder Calvin Johnson on a light table used for music newsletters. Over time, McClure also became a well-regarded papercut artist and began selling …
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded Saint Martin’s University associate professor and dean of English Jamie Olson a Literature Translation Fellowship to support his translations of the works of contemporary Russian poet Timur Kibirov. “This is a highly competitive program,” said Jeff Crane, dean of St. Martin’s College of Arts and Sciences, …
Saint Martin’s University welcomes award-winning Portland, Oregon writer Molly Gloss to its annual Les Bailey Writers Series. She’ll meet with university students in English classrooms to discuss the craft of writing. That evening, in her public presentation, “Romancing the West: Rethinking and Rewriting the Great American Mythos,” Gloss will discuss her longtime passion for Western …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS Olympia Zine Fest (OZF) makes its second annual appearance this fall. The fun begins Sept. 30 with a pre-fest celebration with special New Orleans guest Osa Atoe. The main event, the tabling expo, takes place Oct. 1, and a number of workshops begin the following day. There will also …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS As the seasons change from green to orange, Old Growth Poetry Collective continues to bring poetry events to Olympia. The collective’s weekly poetry show, “Olympia People’s Mic,” takes place every Thursday evening at Ben Moore’s Restaurant. Every first and third Thursday event will take the form of Olympia’s only …
Anna Badkhen writes about people in extremis, exposing the world’s iniquities by honoring the lives these iniquities most affect. Her investigation into what it means to live in the Global South has yielded five books of lyrical nonfiction, most recently Walking With Abel: Journeys With the Nomads of the African Savannah, a book about transience …
Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) will present an evening of science fiction in the Midnight Sun Performance Space. This event marks the sixth installment in the ongoing series Words, Words, Words, a sardonic quotation from Hamlet. Full disclosure: This collection of sci-fi classics was curated by OLY ARTS‘ managing editor, Christian Carvajal, himself a published author …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The downtown Olympia Timberland Regional Library now has a child-size, handmade bookmobile built by local woodworker Jay T. Scott, with a painting of otters on the back by artist Nikki McClure. On the side is an aphorism hand-lettered by Ira Coyne–“You Otter Be READING!”–and a poem, also lettered by …