Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

In the beginning there was a bit. And then the pixel: a particular packaging of those bits. With the coming of the pixel, the organizing principle of most all modern media. Nearly every picture in the world is now composed of pixels: cell phone photos and Mars Rover transmissions, book illustrations and video games. Pixels and digital images are now all but synonymous. Pixar cofounder Alvy Ray Smith offered in his new book, A Biography of the Pixel, simple but profound ideas that unify the dazzling varieties of digital image making. Pixel’s development begins with Fourier waves, proceeds through Turing machines, and ends with the first digital movies from Pixar, DreamWorks, and Blue Sky. Don’t know what a Fourier wave is? Don’t have a clue what a Turing machine does? Smith makes hard-to-understand concepts accessible to the layperson. Every field has now been touched by the small and mighty pixel – from the arts to technology; from business to entertainment. Smith opens our eyes to show how pictures composed

Have you ever visited the defunct coal chutes on Capitol Hill? Do you know where you can find a 100-year-old sidewalk or the nearest pocket park? Susanna Ryan, local cartoonist and creator of Seattle Walk Report, was joined by Crosscut’s Knute “Mossback” Berger for a fresh look at Seattle’s hidden historical gems. Ryan gave us a preview of her new book Secret Seattle with a visual presentation exploring the weird and wonderful hidden history behind some of the city’s most overlooked places, architecture, and infrastructure. Local history buffs, walking enthusiasts, and armchair explorers alike can revel in the hidden locales uncovered, and revealed, by Ryan. Self-taught cartoonist, illustrator, and designer Susanna Ryan is the artist behind Seattle Walk Report, a popular comic series hosted on Instagram and published as a book in 2019. With her keen eye for Seattle’s overlooked landmarks and everyday ephemera, she captured everything that makes the Emerald City magical. Her work has appeared in Seattle Magaz

At first sight of Frida Kahlo’s painting The Two Fridas, author Emily Rapp Black felt an instant connection with the artist. An amputee from childhood, Rapp Black grew up with a succession of prosthetic limbs, and learned she had to hide her disability from the world. Kahlo sustained lifelong injuries after a horrific bus crash and her own right leg was eventually amputated. In Kahlo’s art, Rapp Black recognized her own life. In this astoundingly personal presentation, Rapp Black joined us with fellow author Lidia Yuknavitch to explore her own story and her attachment to Kahlo. With candor and vulnerability, she chronicled how Kahlo’s art reflected her own, from numerous operations, to the compulsion to create, to silent pain. She told the story of losing her infant son to Tay-Sachs, giving birth to a daughter, and learning to accept her body.  Rapp Black examined how the experiences and art of another can help shape our own lives—and inspire us to find a way forward when all seems lost. Emily Rapp Black is

In postwar America, there was arguably no newspaper comic strip more recognizable than Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. It was everywhere, not just in thousands of daily newspapers. For nearly fifty years, Peanuts was a mainstay of American popular culture in television, movies, and merchandising, from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to the White House to the breakfast table. Most people have come to associate Peanuts with the innocence of childhood, not the social and political turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. Some have even argued that Peanuts was so beloved because it was apolitical. The truth, according to history professor Blake Scott Ball, is that Peanuts was very political. Whether it was the battles over the Vietnam War, racial integration, feminism, or the future of a nuclear world, Ball argued in his book Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts that the strip was a daily conversation about very real hopes and fears and the political realities of the Cold War world. In conversation with c

From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of Braille to the science of echolocation. What is the common thread between them? In this stunningly personal and informative presentation, writer and educator M. Leona Godin explored the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight. In conversation with blind author and illustrator Keith Rosson, and based on her book There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness, Godin probed the ways in which blindness has shaped our ocularcentric culture, challenging deeply ingrained ideas about what it means to be “blind.” They explored the history of blindness being used to signify such things as thoughtlessness, irrationality, and unconsciousness, while at the same time blind people have been othered as the recipients of special powers as compensation for lost sight. With insight from her own life as a person who began losing her vision at age 10, Godin illuminated the often

In Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories, author Donna Miscolta traced the social education that a Mexican American girl receives as she experiences and responds to microaggressions and systemic racism in and out of school. Unfortunately, though Living Color is fiction, many of the incidents depicted in Angie Rubio’s life are inspired or derived from Miscolta’s own girlhood. To further explore the topics of racism, family, and identity, Miscolta participated in a class with Anne Liu Kellor called “Shapeshifting: Reading and Writing the Mixed-Race Experience.” They joined us, along with two other writers from the class, Rebecca Delacruz-Gunderson and Sarah McQuate, to discuss the course and the importance of writing to see ourselves. The panel of four—all of whom identify as mixed-race—shared why they took the class, and what resonated most for them in terms of the readings, prompts, and discussions. What themes occupy mixed-race writers and what does writing about them resolve? What awareness of themselves as mi

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate, that is the question. It has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing and bridging new words and concepts. In conversation with Rich Smith, Associate Editor of The Stranger, academic and anthropologist Pardis Mahdavi shared an introduction to the hidden life of an ordinary thing—the hyphen. With support from her book Hyphen, she took us on a journey through the history of the hyphen from antiquity to the present. Along the way, she uncovered the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities, revealing the quiet power of a writing convention concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Herself a hyphenated Iranian-American, she weaved in her own experiences of struggling to find a sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between, as well as those of three other individuals. Join us for this compelling conversation about th

Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don’t coexist easily. We value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs, a fact which has never been more clear than over the last year. Bestselling author Sebastian Junger created an experiment to examine that tension between individualism and dependence that lies at the heart of what it means to be human, and he joined us to share what he has learned. Encompassed in his book Freedom, Junger told us about his journey walking the railroad lines of the East Coast with three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghan War vets. In conversation with veteran and author Matt Gallagher, he related about dodging railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over fires, and drinking from creeks and rivers, ultimately forging a unique reliance on one another. Weaving in research on primatology, boxing strategy, the history of labor strikes, Apache

“Chickens are a lot more mainstream than veganism and a little bit like kombucha: super weird twenty years ago, now somewhat more popular and made even more so by logos, brands, and hashtags.” So begins Gina Warren’s book Hatched: Dispatches from the Backyard Chicken Movement. In this presentation that is part memoir, part food and sustainability discussion, Gina G. Warren sat down with renowned fellow chicken aficionados Chicken Mike and Nicole Graham to dig into the history and food politics of the backyard chicken movement. Together, they provided their deeply personal experiences with the movement’s social and cultural motivations, the regulations it faces, and the ways that chicken owners build community. Warren shared other interviews with urban agriculture advocates, entrepreneurs, animal rights campaigners, and chicken enthusiasts, exploring America’s complex relationship with animals and what it means to be a conscious eater. Join them for this enlightening, unique, charming story that offers a fres

One thing that seems to be true in all generations of American life is that it can be challenging to summon the courage to follow your dreams in a material world. In this conversation with writers Eric M. Johnson and Thomas McGuane, they considered this difficulty paralleled with their own work and lives. Through the lens of Johnson’s debut novel—a story of a young man who must decide what he stands for in the midst of Wall Street greed and family civil war—and McGuane’s fiction and life, they shared their struggles and triumphs on the path to following their own dreams. With short readings from their respective works, they touched on writing, life, and fly fishing. Don’t miss this riveting discussion from two consummate American writers. Thomas McGuane is an American writer. He began contributing fiction to The New Yorker in 1994. He has written ten novels, including the National Book Award-nominated Ninety-Two in the Shade, as well as six nonfiction essay collections and two short-story collections. His wo

The United States is the only country in the world that sentences thirteen and fourteen-year old offenders, mostly youth of color, to life in prison without parole, regardless of the scientifically proven singularities of the developing adolescent brain. In 1991, Ian Manuel, then fourteen, was sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide crime. Today, thirty years later, he is neither in prison nor dead. His story has been told many times by highly regarded experts in their field–judges, prosecutors, juvenile probation officers, sociologists, journalists. But he joined us now to share his own story. Contained in his book My Time Will Come: A Memoir of Crime, Punishment, Hope, and Redemption, Manuel offered a powerful testimony of his life. From growing up homeless in Central Park Village in Tampa, a neighborhood riddled with poverty, gang violence, and drug abuse, to his efforts to rise above his own circumstances, he told how he found himself imprisoned for two thirds of his life, eighteen years of wh

Paul Shoemaker believes America is approaching a looming inflection point. The author and social impact leader says that the massive upheavals over the last year is emblematic of how the social, economic, and health challenges facing us in the 2020s are radically different from those we faced even one generation ago. But far from feeling downtrodden by this challenge, Shoemaker argued that this can be an opportunity for undoing and expelling old ways of thinking and working and being. In his book Taking Charge of Change: How Rebuilders Solve Hard Problems, he introduced us to the leaders and change agents he dubs “Rebuilders,” and the five vital traits they use to solve big problems. He sat down with one of those Rebuilders, retired Seahawk wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who Shoemaker profiled and celebrated for exemplifying the trait of “24-7 authenticity.” Together, they discussed Baldwin’s background, and how Baldwin thinks about his own leadership. He discussed his leadership on the field, elucidating how a

“By turns raw and mystical, steeped in loss but also reconciliation, it is a book that challenges our preconceptions, in regard to content and form.” So says author David L. Ulin about The Spring, the debut book from author Annie Connole. Connole joined writer Frances McCue in a virtual conversation about the book-length lyric essay. Together, they explored the themes in the book, which examine grief and transformation through the lens of mystical animal appearances following the death of the narrator’s partner. Traversing the wild landscapes of the American West, it combines prose and photography to create a lucid, dream-like vision of visitations and allegorical animal encounters with Snake, Owl, Horse and Dragonfly, among others. Connole invited us to experience a bit of that mysticism as she shares from the stirring, elegiac tale of death, love, rebirth, and friendship. Annie Connole is a writer living in the Mojave Desert. She was born and raised in the rocky highlands of Helena, Montana. Her work has

Anna Sale wants you to have that conversation. You know the one. The one that you’ve been avoiding or putting off, maybe for years. The one that you’ve thought “they’ll never understand” or “do I really want to bring that up?” or “it’s not going to go well, so why even try?” The founder and host of WNYC’s popular podcast Death, Sex & Money presented her case for discussing the tough topics that all of us encounter in conversation with author and fellow hard-talk-haver Angela Garbes. Sale used the best of what she’s learned from her podcast—and has collected in her book Let’s Talk About Hard Things—to argue that when we have the courage to talk about hard things, we learn about ourselves, others, and the world that we make together. Through the lens of five of the most fraught conversation topics—death, sex, money, family, and identity—she moved between memoir, fascinating stories of Americans opening up about their lives, and expert opinions to show why having tough conversations is important. She share

Ronit Plank was six years old when her mother left her and her four-year-old sister for India to follow Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a cult guru at the center of Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country and whose commune was responsible for the largest biological attack on US soil. This was the beginning of a very long road to Plank grappling with the toll her mother’s leaving took, measuring her self-worth by her mother’s absence. In this stunningly personal presentation, Plank joined us with storyteller Alice Ikeda to share from her coming-of-age memoir When She Comes Back. Plank told us about her father, who’d left the family the previous year, stepping up and bringing the young Ronit and her sister to live with him. She explored how, on the surface, his nurturing was the balm that she sought, but she soon took on the role of partner and confidant to him, and substitute mother to her sister. Though they have a relationship now, Plank examined the pain a child feels when she discovers that her love for her mother

“The finest rock songwriter after Dylan.” “The best electric guitarist since Hendrix.” Who is this man? A man who packed more than a lifetime of experiences into his late teens and twenties? None other than international and longtime beloved music legend Richard Thompson. The master of British folk music joined us with an intimate look at the early years of his career, encapsulated in his memoir Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975. In this conversation with Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, Thompson took us on a moving journey through the pivotal years of 1967 to 1975, when he formed the band Fairport Convention with some schoolmates and helped establish the genre of British folk rock. The journey then took us through a heady period of massive tours, where he crossed paths with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. But while there were some high highs, there were undoubtedly some low lows. The eight-year period was also marked by change, upheaval, and tragedy. Join us for a conve

In publishing today, some of the most expressive, form-breaking, innovative writing seems to come from Native authors. While the written tradition often overlooks Indigenous authors, in recent years we have seen a small increase in Native people telling their own stories in their own ways. In a conversation facilitated by author Kristen Millares Young, authors Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton joined us to discuss other worlds present in Native women’s literatures. Following their co-editing of the an anthology collecting essays by contemporary Native writers, they discussed their individual books, White Magic: Essays and Other Worlds Here: Honoring Native Women’s Writing in Contemporary Anarchist Movements, respectively. Together, they shared thoughts on the unique and essential voices that Native women can contribute to the overall storytelling landscape. Don’t miss this fundamental exploration of inheritance, land, heartbreak–and hope for the future. Elissa Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tri

Marlon Peterson grew up in 1980s and 90s Crown Heights, raised by Trinidadian immigrants. Amid the routine violence and crack epidemic that would come to shape the perception of his neighborhood, Peterson spent his childhood preaching the good word alongside his father, a devout Jehovah’s Witness. The specter of the American Dream loomed large, and with his achievement of 6th grade valedictorian, it seemed within reach. But in the aftermath of physical and sexual trauma, Peterson made a series of choices that led to his first arrest, getting shot, and his participation in a robbery that resulted in two murders. At 19, Peterson was charged and later convicted; he served ten years in prison. During his incarceration, Peterson immersed himself in anti-violence activism, education, and prison abolition. He continues this work today, and he joined us now to recount his coming of age story, contained in his book Bird Uncaged: An Abolitionist’s Freedom Song. With his own story, Peterson challenged the typical “redem

The roster of Warner Brothers Records and its subsidiary labels reads like a roster of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Prince, Van Halen, Madonna, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and dozens of others. But the most compelling figures in the Warner Bros. story are the sagacious Mo Ostin and the likely crew of hippies, eccentrics, and enlightened execs who were the first in the music business to read the generational writing on the wall in the mid-60s. How did they do it? And what can we learn about the the industry today and to come from these unique operators? Journalist and music biographer Peter Ames Carlin joined us to celebrate the story of this innovative label, in conversation with musician and Tom Petty biographer Warren Zanes. Contained in his book, Sonic Book: The Impossible Rise of Warner Bros. Records, from Hendrix to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna and Prince, Carlin captured the rollicking s

What kind of beat is irresistible to listeners, and how is it achieved? What makes a musical collaboration successful? What can musical minds teach us about innovation? They don’t think like we do, and in the creative process, they don’t act like we do. R. Michael Hendrix believes it isn’t a coincidence that some of the world’s most respected creators, like Jimmy Iovine and Bjork, are also entrepreneurs. The designer and musician joined us to share from interviews he conducted for his book Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation. He discussed conversations with some of the biggest names in music, and how their musical strengths correlate to innovative business practices: with Justin Timberlake, he spoke about the importance of demoing; with Jimmy Lovine, the essentials of acute listening. Hendrix shared secrets to maximizing results in a collaboration from Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams. He imparted the importance of experimentation from musical pioneers Imogen Heap and Radiohead, and pro