2024 Readings

January 26, 2024 — Paul Hunter (poetry/fiction)

Paul Hunter’s poems and stories have appeared in numerous journals, as well as nine full-length books and four chapbooks. His first collection of farming poems, Breaking Ground (Silverfish Review Press) was reviewed in The New York Times and received the 2004 Washington State Book Award. A featured poet on The News Hour, Hunter published his autobiography in prose poetry, Clownery, in 2017, and two western novels, Sit a Tall Horse and Mr. Brick & the Boys, in 2020 and 2022, from Davila Art & Books. Sit a Tall Horse won a Will Rogers Medallion Award in 2020.

February 23, 2024 — ’Lyn Fleury Lambert (nonfiction)

’Lyn Fleury Lambert, coauthor of Dudley Carter: Tales of the Legendary Wood Sculptor https://www.amazon.com/Dudley-Carter-Tales-Legendary-Sculptor/dp/1734500603/“, grew up on the Alberta prairies where she developed an interest in and a respect for Plains Indians. After working at the Hudson’s Bay Company in high school she headed to Boston to study retail merchandising. That set her up for a career in department store human relations and advertising. ’Lyn married an American, became the mother of two sons, and the Boeing Company brought the family to Seattle in 1970 where the art and culture of Northwest Coast Indians and the monumental works of the renowned wood sculptor Dudley Carter enchanted her. Late in Carter’s life, ’Lyn acted as his “executive secretary,” which offered her the opportunity to work closely with him. Following his death in 1992, ’Lyn continues to serve as a source of information about the artist.

March 29, 2024 — Laura Lee Bennett, Elizabeth Carroll Hayden, and Chi Stewart (poetry)

Tonight’s performance features a collaborative voice play channeling the characters of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades in a reimagining of the classic Greek tale. This evening’s three poets are excited to return to RASP—where they first met—to celebrate the publication of I Am Not Cursed.

Chi Stewart worked for 14 years in healthcare in Chicago, Oregon, Washington, and Saudi Arabia, and then became an at-home mom for two decades. She is now caregiving for elders and continues to paint and write.

Elizabeth Carroll Hayden is published in the anthologies Here, There, Everywhere, and 10x10, and the online journal, Belletrist. She received an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia.

Laura Lee Bennett has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Oregon. In the 1990s, she featured at Seattle’s Red Sky Poetry Theater. Her chapbook, Snake Medicine: First Step, was published in 2017 by Nine Muses Books.

April 26, 2024 — Sara Quinn Rivara (poetry)

Sara Quinn Rivara’s most recent collection, Little Beast (Riot in Your Throat Press), is a finalist for the 2024 Oregon Book Award in Poetry. Her previous collections include Animal Bride (Tinderbox Editions) and Lake Effect (Aldrich Press). She received her MFA from Warren Wilson College and currently serves as the dean of the Humanities and Social Science Divisions at Mt. Hood Community College. She lives in Portland with her husband, their two boys, five cats, one ancient dog, and three chickens. Visit https://www.saraquinnrivara.com/.

May 31, 2024 — Janae Lu (poetry)

Janae Lu is an aspiring young writer who is inclined toward free-verse poetry and creative prose when not writing to champion the inherent beauty of scientific narratives. She is a sophomore at Tesla STEM High School, an active member of the Redmond Teen Advisory Board, and a second-year member of the Seattle Youth Poetry Fellowship, where she has had opportunities to read poetry at Seattle Town Hall. Her work has been featured at the University of Washington Henry Art Gallery and the Rising Phoenix Review. When not writing, she does endless amounts of homework, overworks her Spotify account, and adds to her growing book collection.

June 28, 2024 — Mary Lou Sanelli (nonfiction/poetry)

Tonight’s performance is in honor of National Immigration Month.

Mary Lou Sanelli, author, speaker, and master dance teacher, has published five collections of poetry and four works of nonfiction. Her latest collection of essays, Every Little Thing, was nominated for a Pacific Northwest Book Award and a Washington State Book Award. Her first novel, The Star Struck Dance Studio of Yucca Springs, was released in 2020 and her first children’s book, Bella Likes to Try, was published in 2022. Her readings win an audience with poignant insights and gentle self-effacing humor. The Seattle Times said, “What Sanelli does in front of an audience is easier to recognize than it is to define.” Her website is www.marylousanelli.com.

July 26, 2024 — Erin Malone (poet) and Shawn Wong (novelist)

Erin Malone’s new book, Site of Disappearance (Ornithopter Press), was a finalist for the National Poetry Series. She’s also the author of Hover (Tebot Bach Press, 2015), and a chapbook, What Sound Does It Make (Concrete Wolf, 2008). Her poems have appeared in Field, New Ohio Review, Salamander, Cimarron, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Formerly the editor of Poetry Northwest, Erin has taught at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the University of Washington, Hugo House, and with Seattle’s Writers in the Schools. She lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and works as a bookseller.

Shawn Wong is the author of two prize-winning novels, Homebase and American Knees, and editor/coeditor of six Asian American and American multicultural literary anthologies including the pioneering anthology Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024. His second novel, American Knees, was made into an award-winning film. He is currently a professor of English and the Byron and Alice Lockwood Professor in the Humanities at the University of Washington. Previously, he directed the creative writing program, chaired the English department, and directed the university honors program. In 2019, he started “Shawn Wong Books,” a book series with the University of Washington Press, dedicated to publishing both classic and new Asian American writing.

August 30, 2024 — Alex Smith (poetry)

Alexander Smith has been a longtime participant and featured reader at open mic venues throughout the Pacific Northwest, and he also sits in on harmonica with blues bands. Alex has developed a harmonica/poetry style to add to his spoken word, and his poetry is typically ironic free verse. Originally from California, Alex has lived in Seattle since 1989, and is the father of three grown children who “all put their clothes on by themselves and have jobs” he says proudly.

September 27, 2024 — Michael Keen (fiction)

Michael Keen is a writer from Puyallup, Washington. He has a PhD in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an MFA from Syracuse University, and an MSW from Columbia University. He has worked for many years as a social worker, primarily with people suffering from severe and persistent mental illness. In recent years he has worked as a medical social worker in hospice. His debut novel, Notes from the Trauma Party, was published by Tailwinds Press in 2023.

October 25, 2024 — Julene Tripp Weaver (poet)

Julene Tripp Weaver, a psychotherapist and writer in Seattle, has four poetry collections: Slow Now with Clear Skies (MoonPath Press, 2024); Truth Be Bold: Serenading Life & Death in the Age of AIDS (Finishing Line Press, 2017), which won the Bisexual Book Award, four Human Relations Indie Book Awards, and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards; No Father Can Save Her (Plain View Press, 2011); and a chapbook, Case Walking: An AIDS Case Manager Wails Her Blues (Finishing Line Press, 2007). Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including I Sing the Salmon Home. Visit https://julenetrippweaver.com/.

November 21, 2024 — Jack Straw Writers

This reading was cancelled, and rescheduled to January 31, 2025.

December 13, 2024 — RASP Holiday Party