Arts & Culture

  • Arthur C. Pillsbury Photograph Collection

    Interested in seeing panoramic photos of Seattle and Alaska at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush? We recently digitized 197 photographs taken by Arthur C. Pillsbury between approximately 1896 and 1900, documenting the Gold Rush and scenes from California, Oregon and Washington. The collection includes a mixture of photograph sizes, many of them panoramic… Continue reading

  • Local Graphic Novels to Gear Up for Short Run

    Graphic novels are doing particularly well in the Pacific Northwest, with Short Run Comix & Arts Festival coming up I like to prepare for the small press and independent level of creators by focusing on local creators. From mainstream on down to independent, Seattle has every genre being created right here. Here are a few… Continue reading

  • The Space Needle: A 21st Century View

    How many times have you gauged your location or some necessary distance by that 605 foot spinning top of a landmark? Long after March 1962, the centerpiece of Seattle Center has evolved just as the campus it towers over continues to morph and change with the ever-growing city surrounding it. The future is here! Built… Continue reading

  • Music Memoirs, Meditations, and More

    This fall, there is an embarrassment of riches for music fans and aficionados of all stripes. Here are some of the most anticipated books to look forward to over the next few months. Continue reading

  • Anna Deavere Smith’s Living Theater

    Life and literature reflect each other in interesting ways. As the trial begins for Amber Guyger (the Dallas police officer charged with killing Botham Jean in his own apartment last September), I have been led to read books about the aftermath of previous trials and grand jury decisions involving police officers, and how they affected… Continue reading

  • Toni Morrison and the Library

    From a small town girl to a big city woman, Toni Morrison had a deep, enduring connection to libraries. As a teenager, after school, she did housework for a white family. Complaining about the treatment she received, her sister helped her get a job shelving books at the Lorain Public Library. This experience was the… Continue reading

  • New Music Mixtape

    This year is giving me life when it comes to new albums coming my way by some old favorites and new loves. Brooks and Dunn from my childhood; the Hotel Cafe alumni, Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles, who were the soundtrack of my twenties; and the band Joseph is a gem my husband shared with… Continue reading

  • A Region of Makers

    We are a region of makers, artists, renegades, foodies, and punks. When you throw all that together we have some of the best markets to explore all that can be imagined! From the bigger markets like Renegade Craft, Urban Craft Uprising, and The Great Junk Hunt to more localized markets like Georgetown Night Market, Chinatown… Continue reading

  • The Apollo 11 Anniversary 1969-2019

    What began as one small step for [a] man, is now one giant leap through half a century of the calendar of human history, as we commemorate the first landing on the moon, July 20, 1969. With the anniversary comes books and other resources highlighting the landing, the astronauts, and the space race—which was an… Continue reading

  • Book-It’s BEHOLD THE DREAMERS: Beyond the Theatre

    Imbolo Mbue’s thought-provoking and compassionate 2016 novel Behold the Dreamers follows the experiences of Jende and Neni Jonge, Cameroonian immigrants who are pursuing the American dream in New York City on the cusp of the 2008 financial crisis. Book-It Repertory Theatre’s adaptation of Mbue’s BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, adapted and directed by Myra Platt, runs June… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Nia Vardalos, adapted from the book by Cheryl Strayed from May 17 to June 23, 2019. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books and films to enhance your experience of the show. Before she wrote a runaway bestselling memoir of solo hiking the Pacific… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN by Christina Ham from April 26 to June 2, 2019. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, music and films to enhance your experience of the show. Nina Simone’s “Four Women” is a haunting, critical exploration of racial stereotypes and the legacy of slavery… Continue reading

  • Theater in the Library: My Name is Asher Lev

    Seattle Jewish Theater Company has been performing classic and contemporary Jewish theater throughout the Seattle area since 2011. The Library has hosted several of these performances in the past and we are pleased to give patrons an opportunity to see SJTC’s latest production. Join us in the Microsoft Auditorium at the Central Library on Sunday,… Continue reading

  • ‘Tis the Season for Hanami

    Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest and the cherry trees are putting on quite a show! One of the more popular attractions in Seattle for cherry blossom viewing, also known as Hanami, is our cherry trees located at the University of Washington Quad. Although the origin of the trees is debated, according to The… Continue reading

  • Book-It Repertory Theatre’s RETURNING THE BONES: Beyond the Theatre

    Her heart was as big as Texas. That’s why it takes more than twenty voices to relay the story of her life. Aunt BeBe, otherwise known as Dr. Carolyn Beatrice Hammond Montier, was a woman to be reckoned with. Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 – Beyond the Theater

    Have you ever wondered what became of a beloved or engaging literary character after the last page turns, or the curtain falls? What happens next? In his award-winning play A Doll’s House, Part 2 – playing at the Seattle Repertory Theater from March 15 to April 28, 2019 – Lucas Hnath applies this curiosity to one of the… Continue reading

  • ACT’s ROMEO + JULIET: Beyond the Theatre

    A Contemporary Theatre presents ROMEO + JULIET by William Shakespeare from March 1-31, 2019. Librarians at The Seattle Public Library created this resource list of books, videos, and a podcast to enhance your experience of the show. ACT partnered with leaders in the Deaf community to make their production of Shakespeare’s classic story of young… Continue reading

  • Spring into Suspense with these Thrilling Tales!

    Spring into Suspense with these Thrilling Tales!

    This Spring, Thrilling Tales – our regular lunch hour Story Time for Grown Ups – will transport you from the psychoanalyst’s couch to the funeral parlor, from suburbia to death row, from the swamp to a magical realm where dragons fly overhead. Join us, won’t you? Admission is free, and brown bag lunches are welcome!… Continue reading