Literary Notes

Writer and social worker Michael Keen visits our studio to talk about Notes From the Trauma Party, a novel taking heavy inspiration from his experiences with love, writing, addiction, and more. The interview was conducted by former WTBBL patron services specialist Izzy Fernandez. 

Writer and former National Park ranger Russell Cahill sits down with WTBBL volunteer Howard Lazzarini to discuss his memoir, two works of fiction, and the life outdoors that inspired them.

In 2009, author Jamie Ford stopped by our studios to discuss his debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It tells the story of a Chinese-American boy in Seattle during the 1940s and his connection to a Japanese-American girl who was interned at a camp south of Seattle. Former volunteer Na Young Kwon sat down with Ford to talk about the novel, the hotel that serves as its setting, the Seattle jazz scene, and more.

Historian Jennifer Ott joins us to chat about Seattle's drastic 19th century transformation that she writes about in Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal. WTBBL volunteer Martha Baskin conducts an in-depth interview with Ott about the engineering, planning, and immigrant labor that went into connecting the bodies of water within and around the city.

The Sound of Seattle: 101 Songs That Shaped a City is a look into the rich, storied history of the Pacific Northwest's music scene. It was written by musician and KEXP DJ Eva Walker along with writer Jacob Uitti. They sit down with WTBBL volunteer John Gahagan to discuss music in the Northwest, the history of KEXP, and more.

Jessica Gigot is a poet, writer, and farmer who spends most of her days on her sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. She wrote about her experiences with farm life in her memoir A Little Bit of Land. WTBBL volunteer Ren Caldwell sits down to speak with her about writing the memoir, Skagit Valley food tours, and bookstores owned by writers.

Writer, filmmaker, and King County Metro bus driver Nathan Vass has collected stories about the riders he meets along bus routs 7 and 49 in his book The Lines That Make Us: Stories From Nathan's Bus. He chats with WTBBL volunteer Chris Snee about the book, how the bus experience has changed over his career, and optimism during trying times.

Poet, novelist, screenwriter, and translator E.J. Koh reunites with her former roommate and current WTBBL volunteer Yoon Park to discuss her memoir, The Magical Language of Others, and her novel The Liberators. They talk about Koh's writing process, Korean mothers, and Koh returns some money she owed Park from back in the day.

Disability advocate Anna Zivarts has a conversation with WTBBL volunteer Betsy Haddox about her book When Driving is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency. They discuss how mobility can improve for all sorts of populations, the disability activism of years past, their favorite Seattle bus lines, and much more.

Musician, record producer, and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin dropped by our studios back in 2008 to talk about his book The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. Library volunteer Dave Watson conducted the interview.