Storytelling is a timeless art. The use of word, images and sound can entertain, convey new ideas, instill moral values and transmit tradition in a way that crosses cultural boundaries and builds community. Storytelling is an important pillar supporting the humanities and is a key component of our civic and cultural education programs.  

Indeed, each of Humanities Washington’s programs utilize the power of story in a unique way. At the most basic level, Motheread teaches parents and children to share stories, building the literacy levels of both as a result. Inquiring Mind speakers tell the stories of local, state and global communities, building understanding of history and current issues. Traveling Smithsonian Exhibits give occasion for communities to articulate their stories in new and unique ways. Above all, each program enables people to tell their personal stories, hear the stories of others and create a common community story for future generations. 

Bedtime Stories 2009: In Your Dreams
Amazon.com Endorses Event's Role in Creating New Work

With Bedtime Stories 2009 just two weeks away, authors are completing final edits to their stories. The 2009 theme In Your Dreams has inspired some deeply personal work that our audience is sure to find extremely moving. Washington State Poet Laureate Sam Green, for example, will treat the audience to a sweet glimpse into his family’s first years living on remote Waldron Island and Bharti Kirchner will explore how an uncommon recipe transformed a relationship in unexpected ways. 

Humanities Washington is pleased to welcome Amazon.com as its 2009 Headline Sponsor. Intrigued by the event’s 10-year history of inspiring new work, Amazon felt it furthered its goals of fostering the creation, discussion and publication of books. Amazon joins first-time underwriter PEMCO Insurance and long-time benefactor the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation in its support of Humanities Washington’s civic and cultural education programs.

We encourage you to purchase tickets soon – the event is nearly sold out!

Amelia Luisa Martinez hated roads.  Straight Roads.  Curved roads.  Dirt roads.  Paved roads.  Roads leading to all manner of strange places, and roads leading to nowhere at all.  Amelia hated roads so much that she cried every time her father took out the map…
-- from Amelia’s Road, by Linda Jacobs Altman, a favorite of WSMC families

Motheread Uses Children's Stories to Share Culture, Build Literacy

From old family letters to history books, the written word is an important tool to communicate history and culture.  But what if you couldn’t read them?  Or, what if they’d never been written at all?

Humanities Washington recognizes that literacy is key to preserving the richness of our past and capturing current experiences for future generations. For this reason we remain committed to our family literacy program, Motheread, and its work to build the literacy levels of children and families across the state. Since 1997 we have reached almost 100,000 students and distributed more than 110,000 books.

The challenges faced by our Motheread families are always numerous and often unique. For example, one of our key partners, the Washington State Migrant Council (WSMC), serves families who move frequently due to harvest schedules.  By training each of their Migrant Head Start teachers in the Motheread curriculum, Humanities Washington helps ensure some continuity as children move to new facilities throughout the state. 

Humanities Washington will train 20 additional Migrant Head Start teachers in mid-October, enabling the Migrant Council to reach an additional 3,000+ children and their families in the coming years. 

Ilwaco Infuses Local Flavor into Smithsonian
Key Ingredients Exhibit
September 5 - October 25

As current host of the Smithsonian’s Key Ingredients exhibit, the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum is presenting several food-related events designed to tantalize peoples’ palates and tempt them to take a second and third helping of local history.

• Now through February 2010, the Museum will unveil a companion exhibit called Peninsula Eats!: Dine at the Source, profiling the region’s rich bounty of sea- and land-crops. 
• On October 3, Inquiring Mind speaker Tames Alan will present Trial By Fork: Victorian Dining Demystified, a discussion of protocol, menu, place settings and dress for a formal 12-course Victorian dinner.
• October 10-11 marks the annual Cranberrian Fair, a turn-of-the-century Peninsula tradition that was revived by the Museum in the 1980s.  Don’t forget to try the cranberry peach pie!

Inquiring Mind Speakers Present Stories of Past and Present
New Topics Include Stories of Native Fishing Traditions, Working Cowboys and Civil Rights Pioneers

Inquiring Mind has kicked off its 2009-10 season, which includes upcoming presentations from storytellers Eva Abram (Civil Rights: the History of Us) and Gerardo Calderon and Cindy Williams Gutierrez (The Poetry and Music of Ancient Mexico).  New presenters include journalist Jim Kershner, author of Carl Maxey, A Fighting Life, who speaks eloquently about Spokane civil rights pioneer Maxey (pictured at right), and musician/composer Amy Rubin’s first-hand accounts of her experience as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Ghana.

Hosting an Inquiring Mind presentation is easier than ever before with new online resources for booking, event promotion and follow-up reporting. Humanities Washington provides funding for speaker stipends and is committed to hosting at least one presentation per county during the upcoming program year. For more
information on booking a speaker or upcoming presentations in your area, visit our Web site. 

Recent Grants Support Reading and Storytelling

Several recent Humanities Washington project grant events based in reading and literature will be enjoyed by audiences across the state this fall. 

Richard Hugo House’s Hugo Literary Series encourages artists to create in a new way and to teach and discuss their work, ideas, and process with the audience. The 2009-2010 season includes:

• October 23 – Truth or Dare
  Rebecca Brown, Keri Healey (2008 Bedtime Stories Author) & Eric McHenry
• November 20 – Visiting Hours
  Elizabeth Austen, Benjamin Parzybok & Matt Smith
• February 19, 2010 – Gods and Monsters
  Linda Bierds, Terrance Hayes & Garth Stein
• March 19, 2010 – Laws of Attraction
  Marya Sea Kaminski, Phillip Lopate & Emily Warn

Spokane is Reading will host author Garth Stein (pictured at right) for a discussion of his book The Art of Racing in the Rain.  October 29 at 1pm at the North Spokane Library and 7pm at the Spokane Masonic Center.

As part of the Asotin County Library’s Everybody Reads program, David Guterson will visit the area to discuss his book The Other with the region’s readers November 9-13.   

Community Forums
Give Input on Humanities Washington's Current & Future Programs

Speaking of stories, we want you to help craft Humanities Washington’s next chapter!  In October, November and December, Humanities Washington staff will tour the state, holding Community Forums with program partners, donors and audience members to learn how to better meet the needs of local communities. Confirmed Community Forums include:

• October 6: Olympia (2 pm, Olympia Public Library)
• October 7: Ilwaco (12 pm, Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum)

Other visits are planned for Anacortes, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bremerton, Ellensburg, Everett, Pasco, Port Townsend, Longview/Kelso, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Yakima. Specific dates, times and places will be posted to our Web site once they are confirmed. 

If you are interested in attending, please e-mail us at Info@humanities.org and we will make sure you’re added to the invitation list for the Forum closest to you. 

June - August Quick Grants

Edmonds Community College Black Box Theatre – Edmonds
Bruce Barcott: Conversations in the Humanities – Environmental journalist Bruce Barcott and faculty from the English, Political and Environmental Science departments at Edmonds Community College discuss the topic "Tweeting Truth to Power: Investigative Journalism, Sustainability, and the Ever-Shrinking Public Square." This is the kick-off event in their "Conversations in the Humanities" series.
Upcoming Event: October 8 at 7:30 pm

Spokane Folklore Society – Spokane
Fall Folk Festival – The Fall Folk Festival is an annual multicultural event that showcases over 100 traditional and ethnic music, dance and storytelling performance groups in a free two-day audio, visual and participatory experience for the Inland Northwest community.
Upcoming Event: October 31 - November 1