Apply Now to Be Seattle's Next Civic Poet!

Are you our next Civic Poet?

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and the City of Literature support an experienced poet with a two-year City residency as literary ambassador. In addition to annual City events, the Civic Poet will foster community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public and other artists while celebrating the literary arts.
Eligibility:
This call is open to Seattle-based poets who have an established body of work including published works, reading/spoken word and project-planning experience and who have skills in racial equity practices. Applicants must be eligible to work in the US, be committed to this commission's purpose and have a strong relationship to Seattle
Deadline:
Wednesday, April 24, 2019; 10:59 p.m. PST 
Application:
Find the guidelines and online application here
Workshops:
Saturday, February 16, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Seattle Public Library – Columbia City Branch, map it
4721 Rainier Ave. S.
Seattle, Washington 98118
Learn what makes a strong application. The session will cover specifics on eligibility, and how to apply. All applicants are encouraged to attend.

Photo of current Civic Poet Anastacia-Renee courtesy Marcus Donner

Some Exciting News!

Seattle City of Literature has some exciting news. Having administered the UNESCO Creative City designation since late 2017, the nonprofit organization Seattle City of Literature is now entering into a limited agreement with the Office of Arts & Culture, the Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

This agreement represents even greater municipal buy-in to our efforts and shifts the Creative City designation under the aegis of The Seattle Public Library for a period of two years.

During this time, the role of the Seattle City of Literature nonprofit organization will be to advise programmatic decision making and to raise funds to help support program initiatives.

We’re so excited that the City of Seattle is investing in the Creative Cities Network in this way, truly showing that the designation of City of Literature belongs to the entire municipality. And we’re looking forward to working closely with all of these organizations to support City of Literature programming going forward!

Happy UNESCO Birthday to Us!

It’s been one year since Seattle was designated a UNESCO City of Literature. And what a year! 
Let’s look back over the work that Seattle City of Literature has accomplished so far:

Creative Cities Network Update

Delegates from twenty-six Cities of Literature convened in Iowa City, April 2018

Since our designation, Seattle attended the Cities of Literature Subnetwork meeting in Iowa City (April 2018) and the Creative Cities Network meeting in Kraków (June 2018).

• In Iowa City, 26 of the 28 Cities of Lit attended. Seattle was welcomed into the network with 7 other new cities. We spent time getting to know the delegates and also how the subnetwork functions.

• In Kraków, 180 cities across all 7 disciplines attended. Our time was divided into a literary study trip and the UNESCO conference. Seattle also had the opportunity to meet with delegates from the other U.S. Creative Cities.

• The literary study trip introduced delegates to the breadth of the literary community in Kraków, and included meetings with publishers as well as the Polish Book Institute; visits to area bookstores; visits to cultural nonprofits; and attendance at the OffMiłosz Festival and the Szymborska Awards.

• The theme of this year’s conference was “Creative Crossroads,” and it focused on the idea of connection and intersection. The purpose was to “strengthen ties between cities from around the world” and to “serve as a platform to define the strategic objectives of the network,” centered around UNESCO’s Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are targets for the Creative Cities to strive toward as we undertake our individual and collaborative work.

• Seattle presented to our literature subnetwork on our Equity Trainings, and presented as part of the full conference on a “Creative Mobilities” panel on transportation—showcasing Seattle’s Poetry on Buses.

Program Updates

Maori writer Nic Low with Jack Straw writers, October 2017. From left: D.A. Navoti, Catalina Cantú, Levi Fuller, Nic Low, Jamaica Baldwin

Seattle City of Lit has been producing and partnering on a variety of programs in the last year and a half. Here’s a bit more information about them:

• Seattle City of Lit has hosted four equity trainings for members of the literary community. These trainings have focused on cultural competency, implicit bias, unpacking privilege and hiring & retaining a diverse workforce. We have some funding to continue hosting these trainings.

• We partnered with our sister city Christchurch on an indigenous writers’ exchange. In 2016, Elissa Washuta traveled to Christchurch and took part in the WORD Christchurch Literary Festival. In 2017 Maori writer Nic Low traveled here and participated in LitCrawl Seattle. We also conducted a literary journal exchange where a journal from each city featured writers from the partner city to coincide with the writer’s visit.

• We have had ongoing partnerships with Reykjavik City of Lit, Iceland Naturally, and their “Taste of Iceland” festival. This has included a program with saga experts and a band at KEXP (2016) and a recent visit from Reykjavik writer and environmental activist Andri Snaer Magnason.

What Have We Learned?

Since Seattle originally started the designation process, UNESCO’s focus has shifted to concentrate on ways that the network can help build sustainable cities through the arts.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals exist to help guide the overarching work that the network undertakes and give us a framework for how the arts sectors can help create more livable cities.

We’re excited about how this work can create real impact in our city and in cities around the world. The Creative Cities Network, which Seattle is now a part of, is an amazing resource for inspiration, collaboration and best practices. And the best news? 

We’re just getting started!

The United States, Literature & the World

Over the summer, Seattle University hosted participants from the Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) for Scholars on Contemporary American Literature. The director of the program, Charles M. Tung, invited Stesha Brandon, Board President at Seattle City of Literature, to address the participants at their closing event.

The Institute hosted eighteen scholars and educators—from eighteen different countries—who visited the United States for four weeks of academic residency at Seattle University, and two weeks of a study tour to San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. 

This year's participants were from Algeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Slovak Republic, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, and Ukraine. 

This Fulbright-related program is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State. SUSI's goals include more diverse and complex understandings of U.S. literature and culture, an enhanced set of pedagogies for teaching such complexity, stronger research and curriculum development in participants’ home countries, and the possibility of further opportunities for meaningful exchange of ideas and experiences. 

Stesha Brandon, Board President at Seattle City of Literature, addressing the SUSI Scholars (Photo by Charles Tung)

Brandon touched on this last point when she addressed the scholars at their farewell banquet. Her remarks highlighted the power of literature to bind us to one another despite the disparate circumstances of our lives:

"As you all well know, literature can act as a window. And it can act as a mirror. It can reflect our experiences or introduce us to new ones. It allows us to build empathy and understanding; to pay witness; and to grapple with difficult concepts and emotions. You come to this conference at a time when our country and our community is exploring and redefining what it means to be American, what it means to have literature of, and for the United States. While Seattle, as a UNESCO City of Literature continues to be dedicated to upholding the ideals that UNESCO stands for, it’s clear that America is currently grappling with difficult concepts. We’re asking: what is true? And who gets to define the narrative? And how can we build empathy if we’re building walls?"

Learn more about SUSI and the 2018 program here.

Let's Celebrate!

Seattle was designated a UNESCO City of Literature and it's time to celebrate! Join us for a public celebration on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 7pm at The Seattle Public Library. The party will take place at the Central Library, in the Reading Room on the Tenth Floor.
We hope you can join us!