April 2023 Author Readings and Community Events With The Seattle Public Library
release date: March 31, 2023
The Seattle Public Library’s author programs and community events in April 2023 include a reading with Mircea Cărtărescu, the Romanian author of “Solenoid;” a conversation between Nicole Chung and Angela Garbes; and Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest and guests at a program titled “I Sing the Salmon Home.”
Many events require registration, but all Library events are free and open to the public. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar.
The Library offers a range of other free events and workshops in April, including services such as Tax Help (at eight locations) and Homework Help, free phone and service enrollment and business workshops and consults.
EVENTS SCHEDULE
- Mircea Cărtărescu, author of “Solenoid,” in conversation with Ileana Marin. From 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 5. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Named one of the best books of 2022 by The New Yorker and Publishers Weekly, “Solenoid” is based on Cărtărescu's own role as a high school teacher and grounded in the reality of late 1970s/early 1980s Communist Romania. It begins with the mundane details of a diarist's life and quickly spirals into a philosophical account of life, history, philosophy, and mathematics.
- Elsa Sjunneson Discusses “Being Seen.” From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, April 6. Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, 2021 Ninth Ave., Seattle, and online. Join us for an evening with Elsa Sjunneson, Washington State Book Award Winner and author of "Being Seen: One DeafBlind Woman's Fight to End Ableism." Part memoir, part cultural criticism, part history of the DeafBlind experience. “Being Seen” explores how our cultural concept of disability is more myth than fact, and the damage it does to us all.
- Rena Priest and Guests: “I Sing the Salmon Home.” From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. For this unique collection celebrating salmon, Washington State Poet Laureate and Lummi tribal member Rena Priest gathered poems from more than 150 Washington poets ranging from first graders to tribal elders, all inspired by the Northwest’s beloved, iconic salmon. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
- Virtual Writers Read. From 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 9. Online. Join us for a monthly reading series featuring an open mic and selected author readings from local writers. The event will end with a Q&A session, followed by an open mic session. Thanks to our partner The African-American Writers' Alliance.
- Low Vision Book Group. From noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 11. Central Library, Level 4, Room 6. Join our Low Vision Book Group for a discussion of "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.
- Ladies Musical Club Concert. From noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 12, Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. The Ladies Musical Club concert at the Central Library features songs by Russian and French composers and piano solos by Liszt and Schumann.
- Virtual Write With Hugo House: Seattle Writes. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12. Online. Virtual Write with Hugo House is an online writing circle for all ages and genres of writing.
- It's About Time Writers' Reading Series. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 13. Online. This month’s online presentation welcomes Priscilla Longon speaking on The Writer's Craft, and readings by Ronda Broatch, Koon Woon and Danielle Hayden. New and experienced writers are always welcome to read for a three-minute open mic.
- Words, Writers and Southwest Stories. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, April 13. Online. Jennifer Sherman will discuss her book, “Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream.” Professor of sociology at Washington State University, she is also the author of the 2009 book "Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t: Poverty, Morality, and Family in Rural America."
- "Behind the Screen: Tap Dance, Race and Invisibility During Hollywood’s Golden Age." From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 15. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Writer, scholar, educator and dancer Brynn Shiovitz unpacks the religious narrative that Hollywood told around Black dancing while also highlighting some of the many tap dance artists who were subjected to these tropes. The talk will feature rare tap dance footage and a Q&A.
- Film Screening with Claudia Castro Luna and Milvia Berenice Pacheco Salvatierra. From 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, April 16. South Park Branch, 8604 Eighth Ave. S. The second event in Castro Luna’s guest-curated series includes a screening and discussion of “Pelo Malo,” a film centered on the Afro-Latino experience. Castro Luna and Milvia Pacheco, founder of Movimiento Afro-Latino, will lead the event. Because the film is intended for adult audiences, this program is scheduled for after the branch closes. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
- Write with Hugo House: Seattle Writes. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 19. Douglass-Truth Branch, 2300 E. Yesler Way. Write with Hugo House is a drop-in writing circle for all ages and genres of writing.
- Nicole Chung and Angela Garbes discuss "A Living Remedy." From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 19. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for a conversation about Chung’s newest memoir, a searing portrait of family, class and grief. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
- Poetry Everyday / Poesía Cotidiana: A Poetry Reading and Workshop with Claudia Castro Luna. 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, April 20. Central Library, Level 4, Room 1. Claudia Castro Luna and artist Adriana Morales Marín will lead a bilingual workshop where participants will listen to poetry, and write and illustrate their own poems. It’s the final event in Castro Luna’s guest-curated series.
- Carletta Carrington Wilson discusses “Poem of Stone & Bone: The Iconography of James W. Washington in Fourteen Stanzas and Thirty-One Days.” From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 30. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Wilson will read from and discuss her recent book documenting a series of site-specific installations she created on the property of noted sculptor James W. Washington Jr. in 2011.
MORE INFORMATION
Find more events at www.spl.org/Calendar, and more ideas on what to do with the Library in our article on “50 Free Things to Do Through The Seattle Public Library,” at www.spl.org/50things.
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.