The Spirit of the Northwest

By Sheri Boggs

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by Sheri Boggs

When Get Lit started in 1998, it was a homespun local event designed primarily to promote local writers and publishers. And although the festival has grown to include some pretty big names in recent years (i.e., Kurt Vonnegut, David Sedaris, Garrison Keillor), they've never lost sight of the many writers working right here in the Inland Northwest. We'd like to bring your attention to several readings that have been scheduled to highlight these writers, including the Inlander-sponsored opening night event on Friday, April 15, at 9 pm at O'Doherty's Irish Grille, 525 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. This just-announced benefit for EWU's Willow Springs literary magazine offers recent work by John Whalen, Georgia Tiffany and Inlander contributor and poet Dennis Held.

You don't have to be hairy, dead or Jack Kerouac to call yourself a "Northwest Legend." The Get Lit planners have deemed regional writers Jess Walter, Tod Marshall, Claire Davis, Laurie Lamon and Robert Michael Pyle worthy of the title. They read Wednesday, April 20 at 7 pm at the Lorinda Knight Gallery, 523 W. Sprague.

And finally, EWU's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is one of the best of its kind in the country. Several readings -- for instance, the EWU Alumni reading on Friday, April 22 at 2 pm at Kafka Coffee, 410 Second St., Cheney -- feature recent graduates of the MFA program. Others highlight EWU faculty like Gregory Spatz, Nance Van Winckel, Chris Howell, Sam Ligon and Jonathan Johnson -- like the one on Monday, April 18, at 7 pm at the Masonic Temple, 1108 W. Riverside Ave. These are just a few of the scheduled Get Lit events featuring local talent; for more information, check out the Web site at www.ewu.edu/getlit or call 623-4262.

Publication date: 04/14/05