Meet a Member
At this very moment, over 1000 people can call themselves members of Hugo House. Every month we'll introduce you to one of them.
Angel Latterell is a longtime member and volunteer. If you came to the Hugo Literary Series, she might have torn your ticket. If you came to Write-O-Rama, she might have greeted you at the door.
Hey Angel, what have you been writing lately?
I am currently finishing my first manuscript of poetry. I'm adding to and revising the poems in the manuscript. It will be called "Blood Orange" and focuses on the themes of family history, genealogy and origins. I am also working on my second spoken word opera "My People Never Grew Corn," which will be a Roma perspective on WWII and "the Devouring" (the gypsy term for the Holocaust). Last, but not least, I am about to embark on an endeavor to blend poetry and burlesque--poets, musicians and dancers all interacting.
What do you do for a living?
I am an attorney/project manager/event manager. My business card says attorney for artists, event planner and poet. I put on large and small events, conferences, artistic projects like spoken word operas and parties for fundraising or fun. I do this full-time for Seattle Children's Research Institute and part-time for those who request my services. In my free time I assist artists with their questions about copyright and other intellectual property and contract issues. On top of that I volunteer with the Housing Justice Project assisting low-income individuals with their eviction proceedings.
Where are you from?
Duluth, Minnesota originally. Born in the same hospital as Bob Dylan and hoping some of his talent rubbed off on the walls and transferred to me. I enjoy being in Seattle immensely as one doesn't have to shovel the rain and there is topography. Also a lovely blossoming of culture that supports my creative self.
What brought you to Hugo House?
I was recommended to look into Hugo House by someone from Minnesota at the literary center in Minneapolis known as The Loft. I joined Hugo House immediately upon moving here.
I was suffering from some serious writers block until I took Paul Nelson's Organic Poetry workshop and it just opened up a whole bunch of new work that is the basis for my manuscript. Another class I took taught me how to put together a poetry manuscript and another how to market one--these not being innate skills. I appreciate the large array of offerings and I am looking forward to the next class I take.
Where can we read your writing?
Currently online my writing is only available at the Poets in Wartime Web site. I will have a poem in the upcoming Washington Poets Association Journal Cascade and I have quite a few chapbooks looking for homes. You may find me at the Poetry Slam open mic or perhaps at "Cheap Wine and Poetry."
