It Goes On
$3 wine & poetry
Readings by Samar Abulhassan, Kevin Emerson, Ramon Isao, and Arlene Naganawa
Hosted by hosted by Jeanine Walker & Aaron Counts
Thursday, March 26, 7pm
Doors at 6pm
Hugo House is delighted to partner with poet Jeanine Walker and mixed media artist Aaron Counts to bring It Goes On to the Hugo House stage! It Goes On features $3 glasses of wine, $12 bottles, and invaluable words. March 26 stars poets Samar Abulhassan and Arelene Naganawa, and fiction writers Kevin Emerson and Ramon Isao. Come on out to our cozy cabaret-style theater to partake in the words, wine, and full-on spring fun.
Free admission to this event is made possible with support from 4Culture.
The House bar will be open to serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.Jeanine Walker
Jeanine Walker is the author of The Two of Them Might Outlast Me (Groundhog Poetry Press, 2023) and the recipient of a 2025 microgrant for Korean poetry translation from Seattle City of Literature. Her poems and translations have found homes in Poetry, Denver Quarterly, Pleiades, Poetry Northwest, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. She is the former host of Cheap Wine & Poetry and Cheap Beer & Prose and loves to make an audience feel welcomed. She teaches poetry at Hugo House.Â
Samar Abulhassan
Samar Abulhassan is a Jack Straw Writer and holds an M.F.A. from Colorado State University. Born to Lebanese immigrants and raised with multiple languages, she is a 2006 Hedgebrook alum and the author of six chapbooks, including Farah and Nocturnal Temple. Samar has worked with youth at Hugo House since 2012 and with Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools since 2008. Samar also recently participated in the 2024 Skagit River Poetry Festival. In 2016, Samar received a CityArtist grant to aid in completing a novel-in-poems reflecting on memory, longing, and the Arabic alphabet. Samar often finds inspiration in images and places and replicates these techniques in her teaching. She also loves to dance and is interested in the intersection between movement and writing. Â
Arlene Naganawa
Arlene Naganawa works with high school and middle school writers in poetry, fiction, and academic writing. Arlene's work appears in such journals as Crab Orchard Review, Crab Creek Review, Pontoon, Calyx, All the Sins, Sow's Ear Poetry Review, Caketrain, and others. Her poems have been featured on Poetry on Buses and in Washington 129, an anthology of Washington State poets curated by Tod Marshall. She is the author of three chapbooks and is currently part of the Pongo Publishing Teen Writing team and a Writing and Critical Thinking instructor with Minds Matter Seattle, a nonprofit organization that helps high school students from low income families to prepare for success in college.
Kevin Emerson
Kevin Emerson is the author of twenty-two novels for middle grade and YA readers. His novel LAST DAY ON MARS was listed by the American Library Association as one of the Top 50 Middle Grade Novels of the 21st Century and made the LITA List for Excellence in Science Fiction, as well as numerous State award lists. Kevin has taught for Hugo House and Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers in the Schools program. He is also a singer-songwriter, playing around town with pop projects Model Shop and Particular Ferns.Â
Ramon Isao
Ramón Isao is a recipient of the Tim McGinness Award for Fiction, as well as fellowships from Artist Trust and Jack Straw Cultural Center. His stories appear in such journals as The Iowa Review, Ninth Letter, Moss, and Hobart, and his screen credits include ZMD and Dead Body. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and serves as Fiction Editor at New Orleans Review.
