by Noni Ervin
(Inspired by Mr. Delbert Richardson’s “1619: Resistance/Resilience/Remembrance/Liberation” exhibit, November 2021 to January 2022, for the City of Seattle Arts & Culture, ARTS at King Street Station.)
Tell me again
About my melanin skin
And how my story began
On the soil, rich with minerals and precious stones
Hot dirt, clay, and sand.
by Patheresa Wells
Clara Olivo’s debut poetry collection, The Whisper, The Storm and The Light In Between (Alegría Magazine, 2022), examines how the storm, the quiet before its arrival, and the light that occurs between the two have shaped her identity and her voice as a poet. I sat down with her to discuss the book and her experiences as a fat, queer, neurodivergent Afro-Salvadoreña.
Continue reading Clara Olivo Debuts ‘The Whisper, The Storm and The Light In Between’The King County Library System (KCLS) and the South Seattle Emerald are teaming up to bring you the “South End Scoop.” Dig into this community-centered column each month for great book, music, movie, and event recommendations from your local librarians.
Continue reading South End Scoop: Books & More From KCLS — Summer Reading Program
Pongo Poetry Project’s mission is to engage youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. In the spring of 2022, Pongo began mentoring poetry with young people at the Echo Glen Children’s Center, a juvenile institution for youth serving criminal sentences. Studies of incarcerated youth indicate that up to 70% suffer from a mental health disorder and that many have experienced childhood trauma. The isolation, economic upheaval, and turmoil of the last two years have only exacerbated this issue. Youth at Echo Glen have endured significant mental and emotional challenges in the last two years, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, sleep issues, and behavioral challenges.
Pongo believes there is power in creative expression, and articulating one’s pain to an empathetic audience. Through this special monthly column in partnership with the South Seattle Emerald, Pongo invites readers to bear witness to the pain, resilience, and creative capacity of youth whose voices and perspectives are too often relegated to the periphery. To partner with Pongo in inspiring healing and relief in youth coping with mental and emotional turmoil, join the Pongo Poetry Circle today.
by a young person at the Echo Glen Children’s Center
Locked up in my cell
That’s my life right now
Been here for about a month and a half
Got a 6–8-month sentence
Which is baby time to me
I live my life for the moment
I don’t live a month ahead,
week ahead,
day ahead
I only live for the present, like right now
People see me as criminal and label me as someone who’s a delinquent,
who won’t change.
by Amanda Ong
The voices of a community are an incredibly vibrant thing, and nearly impossible to hold in your own hands and distill into words. But this is what Seattle-based poet Ricardo Ruiz does in his new poetry collection, We Had Our Reasons/Teníamos Nuestras Razones, which has recently been released for publication by Seattle publishing house Pulley Press.
Continue reading Ricardo Ruiz’s ‘We Had Our Reasons’ Tells the Stories of Immigrant Workersby NEVE
Welcome to our moon-synced movie review show, hosted by Saira Barbaric and NEVE. This duo of South Seattle creatives make multidisciplinary work together and individually. For this show, they’re ecstatic to join their love of astrology, ritual, and pop culture.
Stream this month’s podcast at the New Moon Movie Review official podcast website.
The short and sweet Obvious Child, directed by Gillian Robespierre and starring Jenny Slate, was released in 2014. Still, it gets its name from the 1990’s Paul Simon and Olodum (Black Brazilian drumming and performance collective/political movement, whose name means “God of Gods”) song “The Obvious Child.” “The Obvious Child” was Paul Simon’s reflection on mortality and aging, in which the singer is not only grown but has a child who’s grown. Simon asks, “Why deny the obvious child?” Given that the film Obvious Child is about an unplanned pregnancy in the life of a 20-something comedian, you might think the obvious child is the one that might have been. Still, I like to think that the obvious child is the one in the heart of Slate’s hilarious Donna. Paul Simon and Olodum’s song features in the film as well. Its freckled, speckled, peppered, stacked, happily gnashing drums accompany the scene in which Donna and her one-night stand Max (Jake Lacy) hook up for the first time and inadvertently get pregnant. It’s a very charming scene, with a lot of dancing, jumping, and playing around. Very little obvious sexy time, which I found endearing and wholesome. They were genuinely enjoying themselves, and the movie wanted us to know this. The downside to this scene and song choice is that Max owns both khakis and bongos. You do the math.
Continue reading New Moon Movie Night: On Being an Obvious Child (Who Is Not Ready to Have a Child)by Amanda Ong
This summer The Seattle Public Library is hosting Summer Book Bingo — a summer reading program for adults, now in its eighth year. And anyone can participate! Just pick up a bingo card at any Library location, or download one online in English or Spanish, and start reading to fill out the categories. Each bingo placement offers a different reading challenge. You can read books in five categories to achieve bingo — a line across, up, down, or diagonally — or in all 25 squares for blackout.
Continue reading Seattle Public Library’s Summer Book Bingo Starts Its Eighth Year With New Categories
Pongo Poetry Project’s mission is to engage youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. For over 20 years, Pongo has mentored poetry with youth at the Clark Children & Family Justice Center (CCFJC), King County’s juvenile detention facility.
Many CCFJC residents are Youth of Color who have endured traumatic experiences in the form of abuse, neglect, and exposure to violence. These incidents have been caused and exacerbated by community disinvestment, systemic racism, and other forms of institutional oppression. In collaboration with CCFJC staff, Pongo poetry writing offers CCFJC youth a vehicle for self-discovery and creative expression that inspires recovery and healing.
Through this special bimonthly column in partnership with the South Seattle Emerald, Pongo invites readers to bear witness to the pain, resilience, and creative capacity of youth whose voices and perspectives are too often relegated to the periphery. To learn more about Pongo’s work, join its GiveBig campaign today.
by a young person, age 16
I don’t know how I want to be today
I don’t know how to read a poem
I could write a poem about a lot of things
But I need to learn
Presentation skills
by E. Bailey Medilo
If you’d choose a word to describe Mr. Suzuki’s store, it wouldn’t be organized.
But words like impractical, nonsensical, maximalist, or a general mess come to mind.
Continue reading Fiction: new world organs
