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Seattle's Thriving Women's Literary Scene
by Jeannine Hall Gailey

When I first moved to Seattle in 1999, I knew it was a good city for writers after I came across a poetry-only bookstore, a literary community center complete with library and reading stage, and found literary magazines next to Glamour on local newsstands. This was before I discovered the incredible number of readings, festivals, conferences and publications that originate here.

Listing all of the literary resources available to Seattleites would take up the length of this article, so I’ll name just a few. Richard Hugo House is Seattle’s literary center located on Capitol Hill, and Wallingford’s Open Books is one of only two all-poetry bookstores in the country. Seattle Arts and Lectures brings in big-name writers for readings and discussions, and offers seminars and classes on a variety of literary topics. There are numerous festivals within a two-hour drive: Centrum’s Port Townsend Writers Conference, Whidbey Island’s Burning Word, the Seattle Poetry Festival, Redmond’s Poets in the Park, and the literary events at Bumbershoot. Classes for writers of all levels of experience can be found through UW Extension programs, local community colleges, the Richard Hugo House and Field’s End on Bainbridge Island. Classes are also posted on “listservs” such as Seattle Writergrrls, or on the walls of independent bookstores like Elliott Bay Book Company and Open Books.

But what really makes ours a thriving environment for writers is the grassroots efforts of local women like Christine Deavel, who owns and runs Open Books with her partner and husband, John W. Marshall; Amber Curtis, founder and editor of Cranky magazine who is also responsible for the now-legendary Cranky reading series; Larisa Lomacky Moore, who curates a monthly reading series called Reel to Real and is a longtime volunteer for the Seattle Poetry Festival; Linden Ontjes, poetry editor for Seattle Review and board member of Eleventh Hour Productions and Whit Press; Brangien Davis, founder and “editrix-in-chief” of Swivel magazine, a journal that describes itself as “the nexus of women and wit;” and Frances McCue, artistic director and co-founder of Richard Hugo House.

An Entrepreneurial Spirit

In 2004, a University of Wisconsin study listed Seattle as the second most literate city in the country. Seattle spends time and money on books. We house them in our gigantic new downtown library, we browse both new and used books at neighborhood independent bookstores, and we crowd readings at Elliott Bay, Benaroya Hall or the local coffee joint. Linden Ontjes describes Seattle as “a town of ideas and idealists. We love books; we love film; we support our artists.”

Christine Deavel, whose store, Open Books, is an unofficial hub of poetry social life, says “Seattle still has the feel of a new city to me – while it lacks a lengthy literary history, that lack means that it is more open to new literary endeavors …There is a desire to be supportive of all things literary. Many people here are eager for a varied and vital literary community.”

Seattle is fortunate, Deavel adds, to have a broad spectrum of literary events happening on a regular basis. “Not every city of our size has such a range of readings going on every week or a sold-out poetry series or a poetry-only bookstore for that matter. Bookstores are vital to a literary community because where readers are, there are writers (usually), and that often leads to publishing, too.”

Seattle women also seem inclined to take action when they see an unmet need in the community. “I think Seattle is extremely indie-friendly in general – maybe it’s that Northwest pioneering spirit,” says Brangien Davis. “Whatever it is, it makes it a lot easier – not easy, but easier – to get independent/individual projects off the ground.”

Frances McCue agrees that “compared to other cities, I feel a sense of expanse here. In other cities, particularly in the East, you might feel you have to ask someone’s permission to start a magazine or a reading series, whereas in Seattle you can just go for it.” She feels there’s a need for more women-owned and run book presses. “The Seattle community is very welcoming to women – but this whole region is craving more presses. Women need to start more presses.”

Welcoming to Women?

One of the things that has impressed me over the years is how many reading series and local magazines are run by women. In October 2004, this magazine was launched by women. And on the lit scene, there’s a whole slew of female editors publishing their own journals. In addition to the above-mentioned Seattle Review, Cranky and Swivel, Seattle is also home to literary journals Rivet, Crab Creek Review, Snow Monkey and KNOCK, most of which are either run by or edited by women.

A group of women editors recently formed StatStet, an informal collective of independent publishers and editors working together to strengthen and promote do-it-yourself publishing in Seattle. One of the founding members, Amber Curtis, described why they got together. “I work with Brangien Davis (Swivel), Jennifer Foster (KNOCK), Leah Baltus (Rivet) and Linden Ontjes (Seattle Review). We work independently on our own journals but come together to share resources and to present events like “Synchronicity: An Indie Press Sideshow.” Seattle, she says, is a “city full of strong women driving the literary scene – i.e. Frances McCue, Rebecca Brown, Judith Roche, and Anna Maria Hong. I think women tend to be more inclusive in general. And the city is full of great female writers – Kary Wayson, Martha Silano, Stacey Levine, and on and on.”

Brangien Davis observes that the Seattle scene is welcoming to women because “the lit scene here is welcoming in general ... in a genderless way. I don’t think it’s a political thing at all. I wanted Swivel to contain all female writers because I do think there’s a (ma)lingering societal weirdness about women not being funny that needs to be addressed … but it doesn’t feel like there are any boys-only or girl-only clubs here. (Remember: Swivel is dude friendly!)”

Other lit magazines, Davis says, were a source of inspiration for her. “Perhaps what speaks most about the local lit vibe is the fact that when I decided to start my own literary mag, it didn’t seem all that insane. I knew that other people were doing their own mags in town, and they seemed to manage okay. I also knew that since lit mags are not a ticket to living the high life, these people must be really committed to spreading the word (or rather, words) about new writing out of sheer love of the form. I love that – and I really feel that way about Swivel … I wouldn’t keep cranking out the issues if I didn’t feel such a wellspring of support for my efforts.”

Centers of the Scene

From the art museum to the corner coffee shop, from grand concert halls to people’s homes, lectures, readings, and book release parties need a “place” to happen. Named after famous poet Richard Hugo who lived here for a time, Capitol Hill’s Richard Hugo House has become a kind of welcoming place for writers, hosting readings, seminars on publishing and classes of all sorts, on everything from creating a zine to comedy writing to serious craft classes with writers like Marvin Bell and Dara Weir. It also houses the offices of local magazine, The Raven Chronicles, and publishers Whit Press and Floating Bridge Press. Frances McCue, the artistic director of Richard Hugo House, observes, “When I first came onto the scene, the only poetry readings were either at UW or with Red Sky – I thought Seattle needed an alternative to the ‘either/or’ of ‘academic’ versus ‘slam’ poetry.”

Open Books hosts poetry readings on a regular basis and you can almost always find a casual conversation going on about literary topics there. Another regular hub is Elliott Bay Book Company, which recently hosted readings by Kim Addonizio and Louise Erdrich.

While perhaps more of a “virtual scene,” the Seattle Writergrrls Listserv is also an invaluable resource. Subscribed to by novelists, journalists, poets, screenwriters, technical writers, editors and others involved with the written word, the Web site and e-mail discussion list provide a wealth of useful information, as well as a venue for mentoring and networking opportunities.

The Reading Series

Almost every night of the week you can find readings going on in coffee shops and bookstores around the greater Seattle area, and nothing draws out local writers like the words “open mic” posted in the shop window. One of Larisa Lomacky Moore’s goals in reviving the Reel-to-Real reading series is to bring together poets who participate in Seattle’s many local readings. “When I arrived in Seattle, I felt that the poetry community here was really fractured – there was lots of poetry going on, but groups didn’t know about each other. So with the three readers that I invite each month, I try to invite them from different groups, both so that they get to know each other, and so the audience members that show up for a particular reader can see writers they may not have heard of before.”

For Amber Curtis, who already had years of experience running the Radio Free Leroy’s reading series at the Pioneer Square Saloon from 1990-1994 and the popular colloque wheel series at the Victrola Coffee House on Capitol Hill, which was recently discontinued, having a reading at the launch party for the fledgling local literary journal, Cranky, seemed like the obvious thing to do. “We just decided on an impromptu reading from all the contributors in attendance – we went through the issue from the front to the back and invited contributors to come forward and read their poems. It seemed to work! The issue and the reading was a small success and Cranky was on its way.”

Since then, Cranky has hosted readings for each issue, which has increased the magazine’s sales and visibility. “The model works, I think, because we combine local writers (tons of them!) with up-and-coming writers. It’s fun for everyone and the atmosphere is almost festive. It’s often the case that it’s difficult to see early-career successful poets reading locally, except perhaps at Open Books. So I think that Cranky is doing a service to the community in this regard.”

What can you do if you want to get more involved with the local literary scene? Make an effort to find out what’s going on in your community. Check out listings in local papers. If you find something you enjoy, ask how you can contribute. Some groups need donations; others need volunteers for publicity, distributing, or fund-raising. If you like independent bookstores, make sure to actually purchase books from them. Most importantly, you can support the local literary scene by subscribing to or purchasing the books and journals produced by the many talented and committed writers in our area.

Jeannine Hall Gailey is a Seattle-area writer whose first book of poetry, Becoming the Villainess, will be published next spring by Steel Toe Books.

©2005 Caliope Publishing Company