posts about books, literature, storytelling, stories, story slams, poetry slams, word performances, readings, etc.
By Alec Clayton John Dodge, longtime columnist for The Olympian, has published a book about the most powerful windstorm ever to hit the West Coast. That book is A Deadly Storm: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm. On Oct. 12, 1962, winds in this region topped 100 miles per hour. The Naselle Radar Station in southwest Washington clocked gusts of …
By Alec Clayton September promises to be a stellar month for events at Olympia’s Orca Books. Richard Robbins will read from his book Body Turn to Rain: New & Selected Poems. Other readings include Atrophy by Jackson Burgess, joined by musical guests Jesse Branch and Mortimer, and Craig Holt from his Hard Dog to Kill. …
By Christian Carvajal As StoryOly completes its third season of raconteurial entertainment, host (and professional storyteller) Elizabeth Lord is busily making plans for 2018’s “Grand Slam” finale. Winners from the preceding 11 monthly events compete head to head for the votes of celebrity judges. (Disclosure: This writer was among those monthly winners.) StoryOly is a …
By Alec Clayton Browsers Bookshop has a full schedule of art exhibits, book readings and book-club discussions in its newly remodeled event area upstairs. The art exhibit for August will feature paintings by Olympia’s Brett Rude, a self-taught artist whose work relates to the color-field artists of the mid-20th century. Browsers hosts, not one, not …
OLY ARTS brings to the South Sound Wordsmiths, a new local literary interview series. Wordsmiths features local literary groups in the Pacific Northwest and their impact on their local communities. In Chapter One, Wordsmiths interviewed Jackie Casella and Joshua Swainston of Tacoma’s Creative Colloquy – a nonprofit where writers come together and read their work …
by LUCIA VOLKER Swimming Holes of Washington authors Anna Katz and Shane Robinson will be in Olympia next week to talk about their new book. The two of them spent time investigate 68 swimming spots in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, and share their findings with us in a new guide book, published by Mountaineers Books. …
The following recommended reading list was provided by Orca Books in Olympia for Pride Week coverage in OLY ARTS. Orca Books is the largest independent bookstore in Olympia, Washington, located in the heart of downtown’s vibrant shopping district. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseBenjamin Alire Saenz As two young loners start …
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS In June, Lakewood Playhouse will host a staged reading of a play based on the best-selling novel The Eagle Tree by Olympia novelist Ned Hayes as a special presentation of the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. (Hayes used the royalties from his novel to found this publication, OLY ARTS.) * Set in …
by Billy Thomas for OLY ARTS On Saturday, June 2, 2018, comic book creators, readers, and collectors will once again gather in downtown Olympia to celebrate the Olympia Comics Festival. The annual festival celebrates and showcases the medium to bring awareness to its artistic and literary quality. This year’s festival is set to offer a …
by Bryan Willis for OLY ARTS Washington State’s new Poet Laureate, Claudia Castro Luna, will be featured at the Lacey Library Monday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. at a free event for the public. Castro Luna will be joined by Olympia poets Dawn Pichón Barron and Emily Van Kley. All three poets will read from …