Folio Presents: Jennifer Ott discussing "Where the City Meets the Sound: The Story of Seattle's Waterfront"
Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum welcomes author, historian and Folio member Jennifer Ott for an author reading celebrating the release of her book Where the City Meets the Sound: The Story of Seattle's Waterfront.
From canoes on the beach at Dzidzilalich to steamships and piers, Seattle's waterfront was the center of the city's economy and culture for generations. Its tumultuous history reflects a broader story of immigration, labor battles, and technological change. The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake brought fresh urgency and opportunity to remake this contested space, sparking intense debates over history preservation, the environment, and Indigenous connections long ignored.
Today, the revitalized Waterfront Park offers a new chapter in this ongoing story. The removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the reconstruction of the seawall have redefined how the city interacts with its shoreline. With its blend of historic structures and forward-looking public spaces, the waterfront will continue…
Jennifer Ott details…
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: info@folioseattle.org. Event Types: Special Events.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum.
UW China Studies Program and Department of Asian Languages and Literature Present: Ping Wang discussing "The Poetic Way of Xie Lingyun"
During the dark centuries between the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 CE and the golden age of reunified China under the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279), the shi poetic form embraced new themes and structure. In this meticulously constructed study, Ping Wang traces the social conditions that sparked innovation and marked a significant turn in intellectual history. Using biography, social history, and literary analysis, she demonstrates how the shi form came to dominate classical Chinese poetry, making possible the works of the great poets of later dynasties and influencing literary development in Korea and Japan.
Focusing on the life of poet Xie Lingyun (385–433), Wang traces the exile of aristocratic families in the wild south, which led to their thematic use of “mountains and water” (shanshui) landscapes over the pastoral ones of earlier writers and artists. Changes in poetic form moved away from genres associated with aggrandizement of the imperial court and, through innovative use of meter and syntax,…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Thomson Hall (THO). Accessibility Contact: Chinast@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM.
For more info visit jsis.washington.edu. Pacific Lutheran University Presents: Banu Subramaniam discussing "Botany of Empire" | Rachel Carson Science, Technology, and Society Lecture
Pacific Lutheran University welcomes Banu Subramaniam, author and the Luella LaMer Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Wellesley College, as the 2026 Rachel Carson lecture series guest speaker.
Subramaniam's work explores the natural sciences in relation to race, gender, colonialism, ethnicity, caste, and xenophobia. There will be a Q&A session following the lecture. This event is free and open to the public.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Anderson University Center. Accessibility Contact: events@plu.edu. Event Types: Special Events.
Monday, February 23, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Pacific Lutheran University.
For more info visit calendar.plu.edu.