A few hundred people turned out Wednesday night to Town Hall to hear some of the stars of Seattle’s literature scene make the case for the city’s bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Seattlish called them “the literal literati.”
The speakers were (not in any particular order) Mayor Ed Murray and Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, memoirist Elissa Washuta, Sasquatch Books’ publisher and president Gary Luke, Seattle Public Library rock star Nancy Pearl, Elliott Bay Book Company’s Rick Simonson, Washington Center for the Book’s Chris Higashi, Hugo House’s Tree Swenson, and novelist Ryan Boudinot, who has been the public face and voice of the effort. It was emceed by Brian McGuigan of the Hugo House. They each made the case for why this bid is important and worthwhile.
Next week, Seattle will formally submit its application to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to become the world’s eighth City of Literature. Being in the Great Hall at Town Hall, attendance may have seemed somewhat sparse, but that was only because the room was so big. I would guess that somewhere between one and two hundred people showed up. All were writers and/or dedicated readers.
Ryan Boudinot first raised the idea of Seattle becoming a City of Literature last June, when he gave a talk at Elliott Bay Book Company’s 40th anniversary celebration. He said:
Unesco cities of literature currently include Dublin, Reykjavik, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Norwich, and Iowa City. These cities comprise an international network devoted to collaboration and cultural exchange. Our city, which has given us so many authors, books, events, and resources deserves to stand beside these cities and uphold the responsibilities that come with the designation. I have contacted Unesco to begin the process of applying for the City of Literature program and learned that the application process begins again next year. I’ve also been consulting with friends in Reykjavik who successfully applied for inclusion in the program and reached out to Iowa City’s City of Literature Board of Directors. Tonight I’m proposing a committee to pursue City of Literature designation, comprised of representatives from Seattle’s arts organizations who have a stake in Seattle’s thriving literary culture. And I’m proposing that we present Elliott Bay Book Company’s forty-year commitment to the written word as one of the primary reasons that the world should recognize Seattle as a City of Literature. If you’re interested in becoming involved, let me know, and let’s make this happen.
(You can read the full speech here – and should.)
The first speaker Wednesday night was Elissa Washuta, who noted Seattle’s cultural history and Native American heritage. She said, “Storytelling in Seattle boasts a 10,000 year legacy.” Chris Higashi noted how Seattle voters have always supported library levies overwhelmingly. Rick Simonson talked about a reading at Elliott Bay Book Company in 1997 that was packed for then-mostly-unknown author Haruki Murakami, who hadn’t sold 10,000 books in the US at the time. Nancy Pearl was Nancy Pearl. She spoke of bringing in authors from war-torn nations to Seattle to tell their stories. Tree Swenson envisioned a city-wide literary hub.
Mayor Murray was the second speaker, who after showing off his Elliott Bay Book Company punch card, said that “Seattle is a city of literature, Seattle is a city of readers.” He went on to note that “To be a city of literature, we need to be a city of literacy” while speaking of his own learning disabilities as a child and how he learned to read and it became his favorite pastime.
One funny moment came when Ryan Boudinot tried to interrupt Brian McGuigan’s introduction of Nancy Pearl, saying he wanted to introduce her. She ended up shush both of them.
Ryan Boudinot promised that every book he writes, for the remainder of his career, “will be stamped ‘Published in Seattle.’” He challenged writers to work with one another and complete their own projects. “Now is the time for alliances,” he said. He also noted that “Seattle writers will see more visibility in foreign markets” and that “we will se an increase in cultural tourism… More writers will come to Seattle to work and learn.”
As someone who lives in Seattle and loves books and its literary scene, it was tough not to feel inspired leaving Town Hall. Seeing Seattle designated as a “City of Literature,” one of fewer than ten in the world, would be incredibly exciting and the benefits would be immense. I could think of nothing more exciting than having Seattle become a “City of Literature” in the same year it became Super Bowl champions. This is big deal.
As Mayor Murray put it, “Arts are good for business, yes, but the arts are also good for the human spirit.” He also said that this would be “recognition for something that already exists.”
{Photo by Joe Mabel from Wikicommons.}
