Arts & Culture

  • The Seattle Public Library Zine Collections

    A zine is a self-published work of original or appropriated and remixed materials, including photographs, drawings, poetry, and prose. Typically limited in print number, zines are most often stapled-together paper reproduced on a photocopier, and distributed locally. While zines are closely associated with music scenes such as punk or riot grrrl, they have existed in… Continue reading

  • Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month: In Our Own Image(s)

    At the Capitol Hill Library, we wondered how to create an Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month display that recognizes the many peoples who are categorized as “Asian” and “Pacific Islander” — each unique and with their own histories, languages, religions, cultural values, and experiences.  Is it possible to represent such broad and diverse communities… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s MAC BETH: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents MAC BETH, adapted from Shakespeare’s play and directed by Erica Schmidt, from May 18 to June 17, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, music and films to enhance your experience of the show. In MAC BETH, playwright/director Erica Schmidt reimagines Shakespeare’s classic tale of intrigue and… Continue reading

  • May the 4th Be With You!

    “May the 4th be with you.” What started as pun warmly shared by fans has become a full-fledged Star Wars holiday: Star Wars Day, a special once-a-year celebration of the galaxy far, far away. One of the earliest known records of “May the 4th” used in popular culture is in 1979, as described here by… Continue reading

  • Bird Week: Mythology and Birds

    Bird Week: Mythology and Birds

    The Seattle Public Library is partnering with the Seward Park Audubon Center for the first ever Seattle Bird Week, April 23-30, in celebration of the center’s tenth anniversary. Throughout human mythology, birds fly with us, inspire us, sing to us, and explain the natural world to us. Consider the ancient Greeks using the idea of a… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s FAMILIAR: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Rep’s FAMILIAR: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents FAMILIAR from April 27- May 27, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this resource list of books, CDs and DVDs to enhance your experience of the show. We know that a wedding unites more than two people. The couple are not just traveling the distance to complete their vows, their families are… Continue reading

  • Book-It’s THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO: Beyond the Theatre

    Book-It’s THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO: Beyond the Theatre

    Book-It Repertory Theatre presents THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz, adapted and directed by Elise Thoron, from April 19 to May 6, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this resource list of books, music and films to enhance your experience of the show. The history and culture of the Dominican… Continue reading

  • Friday the 13th: Stream the Screams

    It’s Friday the 13th, which always makes me want to curl up with a good horror flick…or even a bad one. But I’m sure I’m not the only one, and DVD wait lists can sometimes crush those plans…however with our streaming services a horror flick is just a click away with your library card. Want… Continue reading

  • Le Guin, Allende, Bradbury & More, This Spring at Thrilling Tales!

    This Spring Thrilling Tales, the library’s popular story time for grown ups, is branching out with new monthly evening events in addition to our regular lunch hour gatherings. Now in its 15th year, the program celebrates the joy of story with live readings of compelling, intriguing, wondrous and suspenseful stories. Here’s what’s coming up in the… Continue reading

  • Avengers Spoiler Alert: Andy Serkis is playing WHO?

    Ms. Marvel, White Wolf, Mantis, Drax, Falcon, Peter Dinklage as Pip the Troll!… Just when you thought the burgeoning cast of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn’t get any more crowded, Hollywood Insider has gained access to leaked scripts for an as-yet-untitled Avengers movie due out in April 2020 that reveal a veritable avalanche of… Continue reading

  • March Literary Holidays

    Aside from calendar noted holidays in March like Purim and Saint Patrick’s day, there are a few literary days of note that might peak your interest.   On March 2nd there is Read Across America day, which also happens to be Dr. Seuss’ birthday. It was created by the National Education Association as a day to… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s THE GREAT LEAP: Beyond the Theater

    Diplomatic tensions between American and China, played out in the sports arena. How the passions and actions of one person can make a difference in the world. The themes of Lauren Yee’s play The Great Leap – which opens its month-long run at The Seattle Repertory theatre on March 23 – could not be more… Continue reading

  • Feminist Slam

    Some of my favorite slam poetry fixes come from Button Poetry, founded in 2011 by Sam Cook and Sierra DeMulder, who were shortly joined by Rachele Cermak and Heidi Lear. They launched the first Button website and blog. Sierra DeMulder was the first to pull me in with her poem “Today Means Amen,” from her… Continue reading

  • Stream Oscar-winners from the past

    Stream Oscar-winners from the past

    Movie lovers rejoice! The Seattle Public Library recently added a film streaming service called Kanopy. Kanopy offers a collection of over 30,000 films with an emphasis on classic, independent and international films but also includes award-winning documentaries, selections from The Great Courses lecture series, and a wide ranging sample of some of the finest PBS… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN: Beyond the Theatre

    Seattle Repertory Theatre presents HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN from February 23 to March 18, 2018. Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this resource list of books, CDs, DVDs and musical scores to enhance your experience of the show. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” “Blue Skies” “Always” “Cheek to Cheek” “Puttin’ on the Ritz” “Easter Parade” “What’ll I Do”… Continue reading

  • Click! Photography through the Lens of History

    Click! A photograph is a precise record of an irretrievable instant, locked within the borders of a frame that transcends time. Did you know that the history of the camera predates the history of photography? Check out 100 Ideas that Changed Photography for more eye opening discoveries of how a room-sized device came to be… Continue reading

  • Seattle Rep’s TWO TRAINS RUNNING: Beyond the Theatre

    Here in Seattle we claim playwright August Wilson as one of our own, even though he was born in Pittsburgh and spent only 15 years (from 1990 until his death in 2005) here. But it was here, in the basement of his Capitol Hill house, where he completed his magnificent Pittsburgh Cycle (sometimes also called the… Continue reading

  • The Art of the Journey

    What do January and December have in common? The letter r, as in near or at the end of a journey. From January to December of this year, we have been on an artistic journey with the year-long Begin Bold End Inspired series focusing on the creative process. Each month offered an opportunity to explore… Continue reading