826 Seattle Benefit Concert
Those who enjoy their literacy iced liberally with whimsy were out in mass for the 826 Seattle Benefit last night. Those in attendance got a lesson from Sarah Vowell on how a song about an abolitionist terrorist became The Battle Hymn of the Republic and David Eggers read a heartfelt letter from a dog in Texas named Steve. As if that wasn’t enough, Lemony Snicket rocked out on the accordion with Mike Doughy and The Transatlanic Orchestra (aka Death Cab for Cutie) to Duran Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf.
826 Seattle (no relation to 2045 Seattle) is a writing center opening up this fall that will provide tutoring and workshops to help kids with their writing skills. I’ll let their own bullet points paint the picture.
826 Seattle champions written language and the skills needed to communicate effectively.
826 Seattle teaches students not only how to write, but also why to write.
826 Seattle levels the playing field by offering free services that help all young people become skilled writers and accomplished students.
826 Seattle connects young people with their communities by giving them opportunities to help others with their writing needs
The event last night raised about $18,000 for the center. Moving forward, I’m sure they’ll need more donations of both time and equipment, so if you’d like to volunteer and work with some local kids, check out the 826 Seattle website. By the way, the center will also function as a space travel supply store. No kidding.
I would like to register one complaint about the event: McSweeney’s does a great job of publishing lesser known authors, so why not have some local Seattle authors read some of their work in between the better known national authors? Along with raising money for 826 Seattle, they could have raised the profile of local writers who would actually be able to work with the kids at the center on occasion.
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When I’ve seen McSweeney’s types appear at bookstores, they usually bring a couple of locals along for the ride.
I wonder if the reliance on named acts was because the event was a benefit for the center and they wanted to keep the stage full of national type acts? Another possibility could involve speaker fees, which were donated to 826 Seattle. I don’t know if Bumbershoot/OneReel have rules about compensation for performers and how these theoretical rules would have applied to additional readers.
Of course, this is all completely speculative.