Jack Straw Literary Podcasts

Here you’ll find out which writer has a certain fondness for three-letter words, who uses language as a central theme, and why poetry matters. The podcast features clips from in-studio readings by writers Kevin Craft, Rebecca Hoogs, and Brian McGuigan as well as selections from their interviews with curator Judith Roche (pictured right).

Here’s the lineup for the Jack Straw Writers Program Reading Series:

• THURSDAY, MAY 15, 7:30pm
  Merna Ann Hecht, Kevin Craft, Jennifer Munro, Wendy Call.
  
• WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 7:30pm
  Janna Cawrse, Waverly Fitzgerald, Brian McGuigan, Ghida Sinno.
  
• THURSDAY, MAY 29, 7:30pm
  Michael Spence, Rebecca Hoogs, Judith Skillman, Sharon Cumberland. 

Judith Roche will host at Jack Straw Productions, located at 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle. Admission to each reading is a $5 suggested donation, which comes with a gift of the 2008 Jack Straw Writers Anthology, featuring new work by this year’s writers.

This podcast was produced as part of the Jack Straw Writers Program. Music in this podcast is performed by Matt Weiner and Del Rey and recorded as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

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Jack Straw Productions is proud to announce the literary artists selected by curator Judith Roche for the 2008 Jack Straw Writers Program. They are Wendy Call, Janna Cawrse, Kevin Craft, Sharon Cumberland, Waverly Fitzgerald, Merna Ann Hecht, Rebecca Hoogs, Brian McGuigan, Jennifer D. Munro, Ghida Sinno, Judith Skillman, and Michael Spence.  

Click here for writer bios
 
“There are too few ways to honor literary artists,” says Roche. “The Jack Straw Writers Program addresses that by providing promotional opportunities for some of our area’s finest writers, and the Program’s emphasis on oral presentation helps return poetry and story to its origins in the oral tradition.” 

The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce local writers to the medium of recorded audio; to encourage the creation of new literary work; and to provide new venues for the writer and their work. The program was created in 1997, and each year a single curator selects 12 writers/writing teams out of dozens of applicants based on artistic excellence, diversity of literary genres, and a cohesive grouping of writers.
This year’s writers will participate in various activities that include voice and presentation training, in-studio interviews, the May Reading Series, the annual Jack Straw Writers Anthology, and the Jack Straw Literary Podcast series. 
This year’s May Reading Series will take place: 

• Thursday, May 15, 7:30pm   

• Wednesday, May 21, 7:30pm   

• Thursday, May 29, 7:30pm   

All readings are open to the public and are hosted at Jack Straw Productions (4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle). Admission is a suggested donation of $5, and comes with a free copy of the anthology. These live performances are recorded for future production as podcasts, radio features, and other noncommercial new media content.    

Jack Straw Productions has selected award-winning poet Judith Roche as the curator of the 2008 Jack Straw Writers Program. As curator, Roche will select the 12 participants in the upcoming cycle of the annual Writers Program, who will be announced in February 2008, and she will participate in a variety of public events, development trainings, and activities with the writers at Jack Straw’s recording studio. 

“I have enormous respect for Judith as a poet, teacher, and literary advocate,” said Joan Rabinowitz, executive director of Jack Straw Productions and founder of the Jack Straw Writers Program. “We are honored to have her as this year’s curator. Our writers and our program will benefit dramatically from Judith’s creativity and leadership.” 

Judith Roche, an alumnus of the 2001 Jack Straw Writers Program, is the author of three collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Wisdom of the Body, won an American Book Award. She has edited a number of poetry anthologies and has worked in collaboration with visual artists on several public art projects which are installed in the Northwest area. She is Literary Arts Director Emeritus for One Reel, a Seattle-based arts presenter, and teaches poetry workshops. She was Distinguished Northwest Writer in Residence at Seattle University in 2007 and is a Fellow in the Black Earth Institute.  

Each year the Writers Program culminates in May with a series of readings featuring the new writers and hosted by the curator. This year’s May Reading Series will take place:  

Thursday, May 15, 7:30pm  

Wednesday, May 21, 7:30pm  

Thursday, May 29, 7:30pm 

The readings cost a suggested donation of $5, and audience members receive a complimentary copy of the Jack Straw Writers Anthology. 

“The Vis-a-Vis Society is for the poetic analysis of the everyday.” That’s how Sierra Nelson and Rachel Kessler sum up their literary duo. The pair take surveys of their audiences and present their findings in dynamic performances. 

In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from their interview with writers program curator Matt Briggs along with poetic surveys and data from their live performance at Jack Straw Productions.

This podcast was produced as part of the 2007 Jack Straw Writers Program. All of the writers heard in this series are published in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology, and featured online at www.jackstraw.org.

Music in this podcast is performed by Jim Knodle and recorded as part of Pam Dionne’s residency in the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

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 Writer Willie Smith started writing when he was nine. His first love was science, but when he had the opportunity to enter a grade school writing contest, Smith wrote his first short story. From that point forward, Smith was hooked.

As a poet and a novelist, Smith has had his writing published in various magazines and journals. His reputation for using obscenities and lewd content has gained him a devoted following. His book “Oedipus Cadet” was published by Black Heron press in 1990. It offers an intimate look into a seemingly normal 1950s American household.

In this podcast, you’ll hear Smith talk about his beginnings in writing with program curator Matt Briggs and excerpts from his live performance at Jack Straw Productions.

For more about Willie Smith, you can read his bio here.

This podcast was produced as part of the Jack Straw Writers Program. All of the writers heard in this series are published in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology.

Music in this podcast is performed by Christian Asplund and recorded as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

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For Laurie Blauner writing is an exercise that helps her to understand her own thoughts and subsequently herself. She began her writing career as a poet and later explored prose where she could “spread out.” In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from her interview with writers program curator Matt Briggs and selections from her live reading at Jack Straw Productions. 

Blauner has published five books of poetry, her most recent one is All This Could Be Yours published by Cherry Grove Collections, 2006, and two novels, her very recent one is Infinite Kindness - a historical novel set in 1867 London, which won a 4Culture grant and was published in January 2007 by Black Heron Press.  She has received an NEA, Seattle Arts Commission, King County, and Artist Trust grants and awards. 

For more about Laurie Blauner, visit her homepage here.   

This podcast was produced as part of the 2007 Jack Straw Writers Program. All of the writers heard in this series are published in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology.  

Music in this podcast is performed by Sean Osborn and recorded through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program. 

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Cheryl Strayed experienced a range of living situations in her childhood, from apartment living to camping in rural Minnesota. Her mother told her that these experiences would be “character building,” but she didn’t come to truly appreciate them until adulthood. Now her experiences serve as fodder for her writing. In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from Cheryl’s interview with writer’s program curator Matt Briggs and her reading at a live performance at Jack Straw Productions.

For more about Cheryl Strayed, visit her homepage here. 

This podcast was produced as part of the 2007 Jack Straw Writers Program. All of the writers heard in this series are published in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology.

Music in this podcast is performed by Sheila Fox and recorded through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

 Cheryl Strayed: Growing up in rural Minnesota: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download