Films, art, music and more are on the Pierce County READS program schedule
The Pierce County READS program is underway — and this year organizers are changing up the events.
Organized by Pierce County Libraries, the annual community reading program focuses this year on not one but five books by Northwest Native American author Sherman Alexie. The event schedule, running through March and April, includes big central events around art and film, regional events from comedy nights to poetry slams, library book and film discussions, and, finally, an author talk by Alexie on April 29 at Clover Park Community College in Lakewood.
It’s partly attendance patterns and partly the sheer nature of Alexie’s work that spurred the change. Last year, library staff noticed fewer people were attending the events held at regional libraries, so they redesigned the program to create fewer but bigger, more central events.
The fact that Alexie is a filmmaker, comic and poet, as well as an award-winning author who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and who’s not afraid to tell it like it is about contemporary Native American life, means that the events draw on art, poetry, film, comedy and history to look at the topics he deals with. The five books selected for the READS program are “War Dances,” “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” “Reservation Blues,” “Flight” and “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.”
“He’s a controversial figure, but it’s still very powerful to see the contemporary reservation in popular culture,” says Danica Miller, assistant professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Puyallup tribe member. On March 30 at The Grand Cinema, Miller will lead a discussion of Alexie’s “Smoke Signals,” a film she teaches frequently in her classes.
“I saw ‘Smoke Signals’ as an undergraduate, and it was the first time I had ever seen the reservation reflected back to me on the big screen,” Miller says. “It was a powerful moment, and for my students from indigenous or minority backgrounds it’s also a powerful moment.”
Miller says that while she’s “excited about the dialogue” Alexie raises due to his controversial portrayal of Native Americans as predominantly alcoholic, poor and violent, she can see both sides of the issue.
“We’re not a monolithic people, so no one person is going to speak for us all,” she explains. “My younger students tend to concentrate on the alcoholism … I have to show them that his writing is more nuanced than a first reading would show.”
In the discussion, Miller hopes to touch on the idea of how “Smoke Signals” brings traditional storytelling into a new visual medium. “(That’s) momentous for indigenous people,” she says.
Here’s the schedule of events for Pierce County READS 2016. All are free.
Signature events
Made at the Museum: Native American Artists
What: Hot Shop presentation about Sherman Alexie and other Native American artists.
When: 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 17.
Where: Museum of Glass,1801 Dock St., Tacoma.
Information: 866-4-MUSEUM, museumofglass.org
“Smoke Signals”
What: Screening of Alexie’s award-winning film with discussion led by Puyallup tribal member and UWT professor of American Indian studies Danica Miller.
When: 6:30 p.m. March 30 (limited seating).
Where: The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma.
Information: 253-593-4474, grandcinema.com.
Unless the Indians Are Willing: Flathead Resistance in the 1905 Journals of Abby Williams Hill
What: Talk by associate professor of English Tiffany Aldrich MacBain and Laura Edgar, curator of the University of Puget Sound’s Abby Williams Hill collection, about the 19th-century Northwest landscape painter’s experiences with the Flathead Indians of Montana.
When: 7 p.m. April 5.
Where: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma.
Information: 253-879-3669, pugetsound.edu.
(Re)Presenting Native Americans exhibit and book discussion
What: A look at how Native Americans are represented in the museum’s artwork, and book discussion of “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.”
When: 6:30 p.m. April 21.
Where: Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.
Information: 253-272-4258, register at tacomaartmuseum.org.
Meet Sherman Alexie
What: Author talk and book signing with Sheman Alexie. Book available for purchase.
When: 7 p.m. April 29.
Where: McGavick Conference Center, Clover Park Technical College, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood.
Information: piercecountyreads.org.
REGIONAL EVENTS
Banned Books: Sherman Alexie
What: American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Patrick Gallagher talks about censorship in the context of Alexie, one of the country’s most frequently banned authors.
When: 6:30 p.m. March 14.
Where: Pierce County Library Administrative Center, 3005 112th St. E., Tacoma.
Information: 253-548-3300, piercecountylibrary.org.
The Art of Jeffrey Veregge
What: Veregge, a member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe and cover artist for Marvel’s “Red Wolf” comics, talks about his art, which blends traditional designs with superhero styling.
When: 2 p.m. March 19.
Where: Gig Harbor library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive NW, Gig Harbor.
Information: 253-548-3305, piercecountylibrary.org.
Pierce County READS Poetry Slam
Compete for prizes or just watch poets slam it out.
When: 7 p.m. April 6.
Where: Urban Timber Coffee, 6621 166th Ave. E., Sumner.
Information and rules: piercecountyreads.org.
“Reel Injun”
What: Screening of award-winning documentary “Reel Injun” by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, with discussion by UWT film professor Claudia Gorbman.
When: 1:30 p.m. April 9.
Where: University Place library, 3609 Market Place W., Suite 100.
Information: 253-548-3307, piercecountylibrary.org.
Stories and music by Paul ‘Che oke ten’ Wagner
What: Performance of traditional Coast Salish songs and stories by Che oke ten Wagner, award-winning flutist, storyteller and member of the Saanich Nation of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
When: 2 p.m. April 9.
Where: South Hill library, 15420 Meridian E., Puyallup.
Information: 253-548-3303, piercecountylibrary.org.
Laugh Like Alexie: Stand-up Comedy
What: An evening of laughs with local stand-up and sketch comedians.
When: 7 p.m. April 20.
Where: Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. SW, Lakewood.
Information: 253-588-0042, lakewoodplayhouse.org.
Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest
What: A puppet show based on the Caldecott Award-winning picture book about the trickster Raven who steals the sun.
When: 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. April 23.
Where: Sumner library, 1116 Fryar Ave..
Information: 253-548-3306, piercecountylibrary.org.
Book discussions
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (2007)
14-year-old Arnold decides to travel 22 miles each way to attend an affluent school off the reservation. His family and friends feel betrayed and deserted. Arnold explores the foreign culture of the white school and learns that maybe he can be part of both worlds.
7 p.m. March 17: Orting library, 202 Washington Ave. S.; 253-548-3312.
6:30 p.m. March 22: Milton/Edgewood library, 900 Meridian E., Suite 29, Milton; 253-548-3325.
6 p.m. April 13: Steilacoom library, 2950 Steilacoom Blvd.; 253-548-3313.
2:30 p.m. April 14: Graham library, 9202 224th St. E.; 253-548-3322.
2 p.m. April 21: Parkland/Spanaway library, 13718 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma; 253-548-3304.
2:30 p.m. April 21: Gig Harbor library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive NW; 253-548-3305.
“Flight” (2007)
Zits is a 15-year-old Native American orphan failed by the foster care system. He participates in a violent act. But just as he pulls the trigger, he begins a time-traveling flight into different eras and settings, where he discovers the depths of history, violence and a post-9/11 world.
6:30 p.m. March 29: Lakewood library, 6300 Wildaire Road SW; 253-548-3302.
6:30 p.m. April 19: DuPont library ,1540 Wilmington Drive; 253-548-3326.
“Reservation Blues” (1995)
Winner of the American Book Award and Murray Morgan Prize, “Reservation Blues” begins when legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson wanders onto the Spokane Indian Reservation, leading to magic and misadventure for the Native American band Coyote Springs.
6:30 p.m. March 15: Buckley library, 123 S. River Ave.; 253-548-3310.
11 a.m. April 14: Key Center library, 8905 KPN, Lakebay; 253-548-3309.
6:30 p.m. April 18: Fife library, 6622 20th St. E.; 253-548-3323.
“The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” (1993)
A precursor of “Reservation Blues” and the inspiration for the film “Smoke Signals,” this book of interconnected short stories contains many of the same characters, who deal with the cultural duality of life on and off the reservation.
2 p.m. March 12: Summit library, 5107 112th St. E., Tacoma; 253-548-3321.
7 p.m. April 14: Sumner library, 1116 Fryar Ave. Sumner; 253-548-3306.
“War Dances” (2009)
A PEN/Faulkner Award-winning book of stories about Native Americans living in non-reservation settings and blended neighborhoods, and the negotiations made when living among two cultures.
3:30 p.m. March 17, 10 a.m. March 18: University Place library, 3609 Market Place W., Suite 100; 253-548-3307.
7 p.m. April 11: South Hill library, 15420 Meridian E., Puyallup; 253-548-3303.
Storytime: Native American Stories for Children
From March 28-April 1, advance copies of Alexie’s forthcoming picture book “Thunder Boy Jr.” and other age-appropriate Native American books will be read during storytime sessions at all libraries. Schedule: piercecountylibrary.org/calendar.
Film Discussions
“Dance Me Outside” (1994)
This Canadian drama, directed and co-written by Bruce McDonald, is based on a W. P. Kinsella book where a young girl is murdered on a First Nation reservation.
5 p.m. March 23: Parkland/Spanaway library, 13718 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma; 253-548-3304.
“Smoke Signals” (1998)
Sherman Alexie’s screenplay “Smoke Signals” is adapted from a short story in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” The film received the Sundance Filmmakers Trophy and the Sundance Audience Award.
7 p.m. March 15: Graham library, 9202 224th St. E.; 253-548-3322.
1 p.m. March 19: Eatonville library, 205 Center St. W.; 253-548-3311.
2 p.m. April 2: Bonney Lake library, 18501 90th St. E.; 253-548-3308.
2:30 p.m. April 16: Summit library, 5107 112th St. E.; 253-548-3321.
2 p.m. April 19: Tillicum library, 14916 Washington Ave. S.W., Lakewood; 253-548-3314.
Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568, @rose_ponnekanti
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Films, art, music and more are on the Pierce County READS program schedule."