As Chair of the Mercer Island Arts Council’s Literary Program, I am responding to John Gordon Hill’s letter to the editor (published on Feb. 17) regarding the Literary Program’s Meet the Author program held on Feb. 13.
John’s chief complaint appears to relate to “government subsidies” being paid to Mercer Island author, Michael Medved, and possibly a room rental fee paid to Aljoya. The following is clarification on these points:
1. Through the years, there have been very successful Meet the Author events with the authors’ compensation coming from selling and autographing their own books. Examples have included Mercer Island authors, Michael Medved (“Five Big Lies About American Business,” his 12th book) and Franca Martin (“Franca’s Story”); Seattle author and National Book Award winner, Tim Egan (“The Worst Hard Times”); and Bellevue entrepreneur and author, Scott Oki (“Outrageous Learning,” a book about education). The Arts Council tries to spotlight Mercer Islanders in our various programs and, as there has been great interest in Mercer Island authors, we are pleased to include them whenever possible.
2. Aljoya is sponsoring the Literary Program’s free community literary events by donating the use of their facilities and providing refreshments for the guests, providing advertising and promotion, and sharing in the budgeting for some of our functions.
With regard to John’s concern about the Arts Council’s understanding of art, in this case the literary arts, the Literary Program’s events have included: a three-part series, “Meet C.S. Lewis,” through Perry Lorenzo, past director of education for the Seattle Opera (until his passing, Perry was one of the Literary Program’s most frequent speakers, such as presenting pre-Shakespearean play lectures at Luther Burbank Park); Shakespeare lectures by George Mount, director of Wooden O Theatre Productions (MIHS graduate); and sonnet writing workshops. Our current schedule includes “Renaissance and Romantic Literature,” a four-part lecture series by Renaissance and Shakespearean scholar, Jeffrey Woolley (MIHS graduate); “Back to the Greeks: Art and Philosophy, and Homer’s Odyssey,” a two-part lecture series by comparative English and media scholar Lance Rhoades; and, of course, our annual Shakespeare’s Birthday Party in April, which includes cake and ice cream for all ages and cartoons for preschoolers through second-graders, with historian Tames Alan, in period costumes, presenting her “Life and Times in the Elizabethan Era” program for ages 8 through 98, and Orson Welles’ film, “Othello,” for adults (relating to Wooden O’s live presentation of “Othello,” one of two Shakespeare in the Park plays scheduled this summer at the amphitheater in Luther Burbank Park).
For the past eight years, as Chair of the Literary Program, I have been creating and presenting approximately 25 free programs a year for all ages of Mercer Island residents. I have worked with the English departments at Crest and Mercer Island High Schools; Wooden O and Seattle Shakespeare Companies; MI Sister City Association; Friends of the MI Library; King County Library System; MI Rotary; the Seattle Opera; and the MI Preschool Association. These programs include: Shakespeare and Friends on Mercer Island; All Island Book Club; Classics on Film; Literary Lecture Series and Meet the Author.
Over the years, John has given generously of his creative and intellectual talents to this community and beyond, and similarly, the Literary Program of the Arts Council has also enhanced the cultural life of Mercer Island. I believe the facts and history that I have presented here should not only answer the questions raised in John’s letter about the Literary Program, but will also clarify and, hopefully, provide a greater understanding of a carefully tended stewardship of the literary arts for the shared learning and pleasure of the Mercer Island community.
Judy Leithe
Literary Chair
Mercer Island Arts Council
