Event

City Arts Festival: The Ecstacy of Influence: Heather McHugh

Heather McHugh is one of the most distinct and important voices in American poetry. Her words sing off the page and tickle the brain. This remarkable pairing of wit and hymn has transfixed audiences for decades, and this reading will celebrate McHugh while taking a closer look at her influence on NW poetics. The evening features short readings from three of McHugh's most talented former and current students Kary Wayson, Kate Lebo and Erika Wilder-punctuated by songs based on McHugh's poems by the spunky bluegrass trio The Half Brothers, and a reading by McHugh herself. The event will be hosted by Jennifer Borges Foster. Chrom-A-Matic, a visual arts collective and on-the-spot painting troupe will be creating new paintings based on the poems and songs presented throughout the evening. These paintings will be autctioned off after the readings to benefit Heather McHugh's favorite charity, the World Society for the Protection of Animals. Presented by City Arts and Town Hall Seattle.